By Helen Masters, Managing Director, Infor Pacific
Local Governments have never been under more pressure to consistently provide high-quality services to ratepayers and other stakeholders.
Around the country state governments, industry bodies and professional groups have sought to strengthen risk identification and management, monitoring and reporting amongst councils.
Additionally, ratepayers themselves are increasingly demanding in the quality of services delivered by local governments.
Whilst these requirements can place additional pressure on time and resource-poor council administrators, technology can help them monitor, control and improve the quality of their processes.
1. Recognising the importance of quality data
Councils have long recognised the need for high-quality data for truly effective quality assurance programs. Fortunately today it has never been easier to collate and analyse often large-scale and varied data sets. Modern software built for the needs of local governments, is able to centralise data, identify potential issues or gaps in performance and provide the right information to employees within the council to rectify any issues.
2. Understand nothing happens in insolation
Modern councils have such a broad remit of duties that it can be easy for things to slip through the gaps – particularly when issues are a result of a disconnect between otherwise disparate functions. Manual analysis can be difficult or laborious at best. Business intelligence tools can streamline this process. Not only can they detect potential performance issues but, by creating a single software management platform, assets can be optimised and delivery of ratepayer services further improved.
3. Be agile
Local Government is prone to constant change, and a flexible framework is required to accommodate any unforeseen events. Councils will benefit best from cloud technologies that will help to prioritise projects based on risk and should invest their capital improvement funds in ways that will have the greatest impact.
*Copy supplied by Infor Pacific
