Delegates were drawn from local authorities, government departments and
banking organisations – a healthy mixture with varying experiences to
bring to the discussions.
We were welcomed by Maggie Barr, Business Process Re-engineering
Manager at the Council, to the very impressive Town Hall building boasting
an excellent art collection, a wonderful wood-panelled Council Chamber and
including the best (and justly famous) toilets you will ever see!
Maggie gave some background into the difficult problems such as
insufficient funding, poor internal organisation and Union problems that
had beset the Council in previous years. She explained that a new
Leadership and Management structure had been introduced in 1998 which
determined to ensure that the Council would be led by the needs of the
consumers. They needed an end to the high cost/low quality services cycle
within which they had become trapped.
Much of this was to be achieved through increased use of IT. Maggie set
up an extensive Call Centre (Liverpool Direct) which would be a single
source of information on all council services. Up to 12 million calls a
year are received by 110 staff. Staff are trained to not only give out
information and re-direct callers but also to resolve certain issues over
the phone. They had exacting performance targets on answering calls within
a certain time. The service would be open at the times that were
convenient for customers – late in the evening, early in the morning and
at weekends.
IT had also been used to help streamline and improve the way that
Council services "joined up". For example, job applications for
Council posts were now drawn up using an electronic corporate template
with details from subsequent applications being transferred to this
electronic format so that they could be widely – and quickly –
disseminated throughout the Council. Automated response letters to job
applicants were also sent out within a couple of days of receipt,
increasing the efficiency of Council business and created a good image in
the eyes of the consumer.
Maggie took delegates to see one of several One Stop Shops within the
City where local people were able to make claims, get information and
discuss any problems face-to-face with Council staff. The building was
very light and airy, with a well-organised queue system, touch screen
information terminals and with comfortable waiting areas. Both the
building and the staff were branded in corporate colours and this added to
the very professional image the Council was promoting.
Delegates met David McElhinney, Executive Director of Liverpool City
Council, over lunch and he explained the challenges of changing the
internal structure of the Council. He was one of 5 Executive Directors who
were working closely and trying to break down the "operating in
silos" culture that had been commonplace. David explained how
management was now accountable for their budgets and that there was a
three-year budget plan in place where previously there had been none.
In the afternoon, Alex Cousins, one of the Council team working on the
Best Value Review, explained what stage Liverpool City Council had reached
and what this self-auditing process had told them about themselves.
Pauline Crabtree, a project manager with the Council, explained the
background into the Joint Venture underway with British Telecom. This was
an initiative that arose from the Best Value review in 1999 and will help
the Council achieve its objective of creating the UK’s premier
knowledge-based economy. Pauline explained that while the Council were
keen to seek private sector financial support, they insisted that they had
a major say ("The Golden Share") in the direction of the
company. The partnership has been very successful to date, offering staff
opportunities to take up seconded posts within BT.
Sally Cantello, Chief Executive of WIG, summed up the day saying that
two of the key messages were:
