Vic council implements cloud-based modernisation program

As part of a cloud-based digital modernisation program, Manningham Council in Melbourne’s North East has deployed Dynamics 365 to serve both as a lens, delivering clarity about the needs of the community, and a catalyst, for enhanced employee and community experiences through ongoing innovation. The modernisation has enabled citizens to use Manningham’s Snap Send Solve app to take and submit a photo of something that needs council attention, prompting a workflow on the back end.

Reporting has also been transformed — instead of a council employee developing monthly reports that just revealed bald volumes of activity, Dynamics 365 and Power BI combine to deliver richer reports in four hours, which cover six separate channels with data updated every night.

Sasha Lord, Managing of Citizen Connect for Manningham Council, said that the council receives about 1000 citizen communications every day, approximately 300 of which are recorded in Dynamics 365. “Dynamics 365 provides complete transparency about each and every one. In the past there was no easy way to understand what customers were requesting, how well council was responding or if it was meeting service level agreements. Now all of that’s been opened up to us,” Lord said.

Implementing a modern CRM was identified as a critical element in Manningham Council’s plan to prioritise its citizens. Dynamics 365 was selected as the best platform. While there were some delays due to Melbourne’s COVID-related lockdowns, the council, working with Microsoft partner Fusion5, is now live with Dynamics 365 CRM and is exploring additional modules.

“We’re going through our first phase of implementation and I think the community will start to see some really exciting benefits in our second phase. What I’m seeing already is efficiency for our people — it’s so much easier for our teams to manage our customer requests. From entering customer feedback in to Dynamics 365 to following its journey and then looking at integration opportunities,” Lord said.

Aware that its 550 employees were facing challenges associated with rolling lockdowns, the council crafted a comprehensive change management program to ensure people were able to use Dynamics 365 as soon as it went live. A team of 30 super users who undertook early training supported other users as they started to learn about the platform, with Microsoft Teams providing support to new users. “Our CEO also ran a session on our new CRM. He hosted the session, and we just threw the floor open for people to ask questions and they did. And they weren’t backwards in coming forward. It definitely kept the lines of communication open and really engaged our users,” Lord said.

As employees have moved across to the new system, much more data has been collected, which has upgraded the reporting process with a granular report available for executives that shows all the metrics about the council’s response to telephone calls, to in-person requests and digital communications. “I can give them almost a 360 view of how our customers are engaging with us. And that’s helping data-driven decision-making when it comes to improving our customers’ experience and measuring our organisation’s KPIs,” Lord said.

Lord added that this is all built within Power BI, noting that the organisation is now building bespoke dashboards for different areas. “We’re doing some work with our HR teams and helping our grants team to set up a new dashboard based on businesses that are in CRM. It has really expanded Manningham’s possibilities,” Lord said.

Priyanka Morjaria, Manningham Council’s Project Manager, said Dynamics 365 is now established as the foundation for ongoing innovation and workflow automation to drive extra efficiency. The council is currently working on Dynamics 365 Field Service for its Infrastructure & City Projects service unit.

“Manningham has different maintenance management systems — but they are silos, and many still involve manual, paper-based processes,” Morjaria said.

The council plans to digitise with Field Service and integrate with its asset management system. This will introduce mobility for field staff, helping them streamline operations, reduce data duplication and improve customer experiences.

“It’s a clear example of how the right modern digital platform can provide a clear runway delivering efficiency, enhanced experiences and encouraging ongoing innovation,” Morjaria said.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/boripanc