Service Transformation Strategy - Waterloo Region
Learn how we worked with a large Regional municipality to help them think through their approach to digital transformation, positioning the work ahead as central to their ability to scale to their growing community while delivering effective and modern services.
Facing numerous pressures, the Region of Waterloo was looking for help to understand how Digital could be used to drive transformation throughout its organization - and to build out a strategy to achieve that.
We worked under tight timelines, with a core project team led by the Region’s Strategic Initiatives, Customer Service, HR and IT leaders and with their Corporate Leadership to shift the focus from Digital to Service Transformation.
We helped to build a strong consensus and a strategy around a multi-track approach to incubating and evolving customer centred digital approaches through a series of lighthouse investments and initiatives.
The resultant strategy was supported by leadership, adopted by Council and work is actively underway on realizing many of the recommendations.
South Huron - IT Service Delivery Review
How we helped South Huron take a step back and review their IT setup and IT management practices through an IT Service Delivery Review.
The Municipality was looking for a review of their IT services with outcomes including improving efficiencies, optimizing business processes, looking for redundant IT solutions functionality and improving governance.
Our discovery work revealed a number of potential opportunities to address the desired outcomes of the review, and the consultants put together a set of recommendations that looked at IT resources, functionality duplication, manual processes and governance around evaluating and prioritizing projects and other IT-related activities.
Recommendations were prioritized and put into a work plan that would assist South Huron to move forward with a more effective IT environment resulting in improved service delivery.
Haldimand: IT Organization Review
How we helped Haldimand leaders determine their IT priorities and design an IT organization structure equipped for the next 5 years.
PROJECT: IT ORGANIZATION REVIEW
DESCRIPTION
County leaders recognized the importance of technology. They were making significant investments in business systems with an ERP replacement project, new work management systems, and planning, permitting and licensing systems implementation. Our review identified gaps in business systems management skillsets and a requirement to scale up the IT function to support the new systems being implemented.
OUTCOME
We worked with County leaders to re-imagine the role of the IT function as a partner, not a supplier. We designed a new IT organization that could respond to this new mandate. This meant renaming the organization, an elevated role for the leader of the division to CIO, and the creation of 3 separate teams. We identified and prioritized the addition of positions over a multi-year period. We developed revised job descriptions for all members of the IT division.
PROJECT DATA
Budget: $50k
Timeline: 4 months
2020
Richmond Hill - GIS Strategy
How we helped Richmond Hill develop a new GIS delivery model and a GIS Strategy.
PROJECT: GIS STRATEGY
DESCRIPTION
Having worked with the Town previously on a corporate IT Strategy, we were asked to help with a GIS Review and Strategy. Like many organizations, GIS units had grown in Engineering, Planning and in IT, with other GIS staff sprinkled throughout the organization.
GIS was being integrated into the Town's core systems - Work Management, CRM, Permitting, Licensing and Land and the Town's dependence on GIS systems and GIS data was ever-growing.
Work practices and coordination had not kept up, and this was hindering
OUTCOME
Through an extremely collaborative process, involving all players in the GIS we developed a strategy that recommended a series of changes.
This included the creation of a centralized GIS unit, the establishment of a GIS leadership position, a redefinition of all GIS roles and responsibilities with new job descriptions, a new governance model to ensure expected service levels to all areas of the business could continue to be met and a series of projects to standardize and improve datasets of high importance to the organization.
PROJECT DATA
Budget: 75k
Timeline: 6 months
Participants in Strategy Development: 30+
Town of Whitby: Corporate IT Strategic Plan
How we helped the Town of Whitby’s new IT leader and new CAO develop a realistic but progressive Corporate IT Strategic Plan.
PROJECT: Corporate IT STRATEGIC PLAN
Revitalizing it in response to the cao’s challenge to become more digital and customer centric.
DESCRIPTION
A new CAO joined the Town with a vision for digitizing the customer experience, and a new IT Manager in an organization that had historically treated IT as a back office function. This project focused upon educating senior management upon the importance of technology, establishing the right conditions for the Town to become more tech savvy and establish the foundations to realize the CAO’s vision. Our assessments identified key challenges in the infrastructure area which needed to be rapidly addressed, and a need to replace a number of aging business systems, including the core ERP system. We provided a project plan to assist them in staying focused on the priorities while not getting distracted with new opportunities.
OUTCOME
The creation of a CAO chaired ‘Technology Transformation Team’, a governance body to oversee the modernization of the technology environment was a central recommendation helping the Town focus on the key issues. Recommendations to invest in a new ERP, re-organize and revitalize the IT Department with the addition of a number of new supervisory and business analyst positions were also included in the strategy.
PROJECT DATA
Pop: 130,000 growing to 200,000 in the next 10 years
IT Department: 15
Project: Corporate IT Strategic Plan
Budget: $50k
Timeline: 6 months
2017
City of Guelph: BRM Program
How we helped the City of Guelph setup a Business Relationship Management program for their IT Department.
Project: BRM PROGRAM
Improved business partnership through a focus on business relationship management
DESCRIPTION
We worked with the City's GM of Innovation and Technology to help reorganize the IT department to establish clear lines of accountability, and create leadership around digital, data analytics disciplines. One key area of focus was the creation of a Relationship Management function within the IT department, designed to build stronger relationships with business units.
OUTCOME
The Business Relationship function has had a major impact upon the ability of the IT organization to truly partner with business units, ensuring that IT is actively involved in business led technology initiatives.
PROJECT DATA
Pop: 125,000
IT Department: 32
Budget: $20k
Timeline: 2 months
2016
Hastings County: IT Review
How we conducted an IT review for Hastings and how we worked with their leadership team to make significant changes.
PROJECT: IT REVIEW
DESCRIPTION
The CAO of the County felt that IT was underperforming and area municipalities were interested in exploring a shared service arrangement for IT. The County thus initiated an IT review and strategy. Upon our review It quickly became evident that the County’s technology infrastructure was not sufficiently robust to support its aspirations, its practices were not mature and the IT team was not set up to be successful. We recommended numerous changes to the situation, with the central recommendation being the creation of a new Director of IT position, as a member of the Senior Management Team who would lead the renewal of IT service delivery.
OUTCOME
The County hired an experienced IT Director to stabilize the IT environment and renew the core infrastructure. This has been achieved, and now the IT team is providing strategic value to the corporation, with IT at the table for key County decisions.
Project Data
Pop: 40,000
IT Department: 7
Budget: $50k
Timeline: 6 months
2016
Innisfil: IT Master Plan
How we helped the Town of Innisfil develop its first IT Master Plan.
PROJECT: IT MASTER PLAN
DESCRIPTION
The Town was growing rapidly with an innovative leadership team excited to use technology. Unfortunately, the IT team was strapped for resources with only 3 staff at the time. The question was, how can we move the technology agenda forward with so limited a staff base?
OUTCOME
We worked with IT and organizational leadership to increase the profile of IT within the Town (bolstered more recently by the Town winning a number of MISA Ontario awards). We recommended, and the Town followed through on growing the IT team with the addition of new resources, including GIS and Business Analyst staff. The Town also used third party vendors, service providers and contracting to augment their limited resource base. A growth in the IT funding operating and capital envelope was also secured and a governance model was established to ensure alignment of technology and business priorities. Major enhancements have been seen around IT customer service and project delivery, GIS and the mobilization of field staff.
PROJECT DATA
Pop: 30,000
IT Department: 3 staff
Project: IT Master Plan
Budget: $40k
Timeline: 5 months
Year: 2015