They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and this was the case for Yarriambiack Shire Council (YSC) when its ICT budget and a growing need to overhaul its outdated business processes did not align – creating a light bulb moment for this small shire of 6,639 residents that would change its path forward forever.
The tipping point for this transformation came about in early 2020 when the council received a $120,000 quote for a much-needed technology upgrade to its ERP system. This combined with an imminent contract renewal process with its technology partner of 12 years kick started a process to see what else was on offer. Begging the question – what can a council buy for $120,000 in the open market today? A lot, it turned out.
At this stage YSC began its due diligence, investigating not only SaaS based software vendors and their offerings but also the types of technology models that would work best for their council. This process was well underway when Tammy Smith was promoted to CEO early last year. However, being part of this business transformation in her previous role at YSC, Tammy was fully across the transformation.
“A best of breed model made sense for us – we could have the best of all worlds at a competitive cost,” Tammy explained. “And once we decided on the optimum combination of software solutions, the implementation was fast. Within two months Xero and Keypay were up and running – in time for our July 1, 2020, deadline, while the other five were operating by October 2020.”
Unlike many larger councils, YSC does not have a dedicated IT team, so it was important that these software solutions worked together without the added cost of external consultants. Anita McFarlane, Manager Corporate Service and Principal Accounting Officer at YSC – who collaborated with Tammy on both the new business processes and best of breed solution, says that they were lucky to find a like-minded champion who could help steer this best of breed solution, be it, from an unlikely source.
“One of our software vendors – Ben from Council Wise, could see what we were trying to achieve, he ‘got it’ from the start,” Anita said. “Even though his software was only one of the cogs within the group of solutions selected, Ben’s keenness to make sure our vision made it over the line was infectious while his expertise in this area was greatly appreciated.”
According to Tammy, a key part of this successful transformation involved working closely with YSC’s employees – bringing them along this transformation journey to ensure everyone coped with the upcoming changes.
“Our workers out in the field have had a huge shift in how they operate day-to-day, going from everything being paper-based to doing their timesheets on their phone and ordering supplies via a tablet,” Tammy explained.
“Plus, the knock-on effects of this automation are endless. Our payroll officer for example is now saving a day and a half a week – no longer having to key in timesheets, she can now focus on using analysis tools to check for accuracy and trends.”
Another aspect of the YSC’s processes that have radically altered is the audit process. The three-day onsite visit by an audit team is now a distant memory.
“From a finance side, it’s been excellent when it comes to audits,” Anita said. “The auditors can login to the system remotely – so we don’t need see or hear from them.”
For all their work and unwavering faith in their carefully selected best of breed model, YSC has been the recipient of two Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) awards – 2021 Business Transformation Award and the 2021 Digital Leadership Achievement of the Year Award. Since receiving these awards, both Tammy and Anita have been in demand, as other councils inspired by what they have achieved want to know more.
