New system makes managing hundreds of ‘fix it’ requests every week heaps better

Did you know Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) receives an average of 400 requests for service every week?

These range from people calling in potholes, leaky pipes and fallen trees to reports of stray dogs, abandoned cars and rowdy parties.

QLDC Chief Information Officer Ryan Clements said recent investment in a new module to manage them is helping Council staff deliver a better service to the community.

“Requests for service are in many ways the bread and butter of Council business. They certainly keep our customer service team busy directing them to the right department so they can be fixed as quickly as possible.”

“Investing in a new request management module has made the whole process much more efficient. Not much may have changed from the point of view of the person making the request but behind the scenes everything is different.”

He said the creation of a new online dashboard, tailored questions for specific types of request and reducing 415 categories down to less than 200 allows staff to be more responsive and customer-focused.

“The new system is a lot easier to use, both for our customer service staff who receive the initial calls and emails, and also the people who go out and do the work whether that’s other Council staff or our contractors involved with road repairs, three waters infrastructure and so on,” said Mr Clements.

Improvements to request management is the first of many changes QLDC is making to TechnologyOne, its cloud-based system first introduced in 2014 that supports the delivery of many Council functions.

Modules scheduled to be transformed over the next two years include those serving regulatory functions like animal management and resource and building consents as well as the financial module underpinning Council’s day-to-day operations.

“Migrating these to the latest version will help our staff and contractors using them to be more customer focused, efficient, accountable and flexible in terms of where we work. Being out and about talking with customers and completing work using mobile devices is often a much more effective way to deliver Council services,” he said. 

“The improvements will maximise our investment in TechnologyOne and enable us to work smarter and faster on behalf of the community.”

ENDS|KUA MUTU.

QLDC media contact: communications@qldc.govt.nz or call 03 441 1802.