Staffordshire Connects was one of seven Beacon partnerships taking part in a Learning Exchange at Manchester on Tuesday, June 27.
Opening the batting for the partnership at the learning exchange was Cannock Chase office champion Les Trigg who gave a whistle-stop tour of Staffordshire’s successes, including its saving of nearly £2m capital costs by tackling e-Government projects together.
Later, Les joined forces with partnership programme manager Tim Chesworth and communications manager Charles Malkin to lead a workshop which explained how Staffordshire’s single Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system had been the catalyst for shared service delivery which saved money and made the citizen’s life easier.
Meanwhile, business analyst Leanda Adams-Collett and programme support officer Heather Dennison were busy answering queries on the partnership’s exhibition stand, as well as handing out leaflets, branded goods and the first edition of the partnership’s quarterly Beacon newsletter.
Explained partnership chair and Staffordshire county councillor Jack Barber: “The whole purpose of the Beacon Scheme is to enable successful partnerships and councils to share their learning. But even though we’re a Beacon partnership, we know we have a lot to learn, which is why we were delighted to share experiences with the other Beacon authorities”.
Now, the partnership is preparing for an Open Day on Tuesday, October 10 when council decision makers will be able to visit Staffordshire to gain a deeper insight into the partnership’s work and the difference it has made to the customer.
The partnership’s crowning glory so far has been local government’s largest implementation of a single CRM system. It gives employees the information they need to deal with around 80 per cent of service requests at first time of asking and to log and track the remainder, enabling the customer to be kept informed. Other achievements include a unique Joined-up Directory that enables more than 12,000 employees across Staffordshire to communicate with each other at the click of a mouse. Service advisors use the directory to take ownership of customer enquiries or point citizens in the right direction. And just for good measure, the partnership introduced an e-Payments system which allows customers to pay for council services 24/7 by Automated Telephone Payment or Internet.
For more information on the open day, call Charles Malkin on (01782) 237081 or e-mail Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein!.
---
Editors’ note: Staffordshire Connects works for and is accountable to Staffordshire County Council and the unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent plus the districts and boroughs of Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands and Tamworth.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Charles Malkin
Quelle/Source: eGov monitor, 10.07.2006
