Agenda item

Presentation from Open Spaces - on their digital journey

Director of the Open Spaces to be heard.

Minutes:

The Director of Open Spaces provided a presentation to the Sub-Committee, the theme of the presentation was around how Digital Technology and Service has helped the Open Spaces Department overcome some of the challenges it faces. Members were informed that the Department has dealt with 24 Million visitors in the last few years and the expansion of the use of IT has enabled connectivity and productivity within the Department. An example cited was that previously, seven Gardeners from the City of London were sharing one computer, however, this has now changed, and the Gardeners are now equipped personal devices which enables them to access their emails in real-time. 

 

One of the key challenges faced by the Department was that their work is geographically challenging, as some of the Offices are in remote areas such as in a forest, which makes providing effective network connections difficult.  The use of Skype for Business for meetings has enabled the Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings with colleagues both internally and externally, resulting in saving travel time and costs.

 

At this point, Mr Jeremy Mayhew enters the room.

 

The Sub- Committee was further informed that 85% of the Departments transaction were non-cash, and the modernisation has allowed the transformation and making the transaction easier in public facing services, such as ticketing for admissions and retail systems.

 

A Member asked how the team was changing its culture towards Skype for Business and where the Department was with the CRM. The Sub- Committee was informed that the shift of culture has been embraced with a positive attitude, again referring to the rollout of the technology with the City of London Gardeners that has enabled them to be better equipped to do their job.  City of London Gardeners were able to communicate from remote locations whereas, in the past they would have to be in the office to email any problems or issues that needed resolving. This has led to a quicker turnaround time to report and resolve issues. Additionally, the change of culture has enabled further training and development for junior staff so that they are confident in the use of technology.

 

In terms of the CRM, two areas were identified as area of need, which was the need to be customer focused and contact centre to be equipped with tools which will allow multiple transactions. There has been a positive response from Call Centre Operatives, and it was stated that other teams are exploring the use of CRM for their own teams.

 

There was a discussion around how the efforts of the teams are being coordinated across departments for the new corporate website. The Sub- Committee were informed that multi-disciplinary teams are working together to coordinate an effective operation, but there are some functional issues such as sharing data with other stakeholders.

 

A Member stated that the previous web building was overbudget and beyond the deadline. Going forward what learning has the City of London taken onboard from the previous experience. The Sub- Committee were informed that the project is being supported by colleagues across the City of London. The learning from the previous experience has allowed the team to ensure that a dedicated Project Manager is appointed to act as the key point of contact and has the overall oversight of the project.

 

At this point, Mr Jeremy Mayhew left the room.

 

The Sub- Committee were further updated that there is a monthly Website Working Group meeting, where matters related to the project are discussed. This is further strengthened by the use of the weekly stand-up meetings to cascade messages across relevant stakeholders.

 

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the presentation.