Cumberland Council has changed significantly since the 2000 Summer Olympics. The number of residents has grown rapidly – from 58,000 in 2001 to more than 88,000 in 2015 – increasing demand for public services. The number of dwellings and infrastructure that require maintenance has also risen.
To meet increased demand, Cumberland Council has shifted to an integrated enterprise approach, implementing TechnologyOne’s OneCouncil solution.
Employees can now access their enterprise software on mobile devices, allowing them to access critical data anywhere and at any time. This has empowered employees to keep up with community demand and offer top-class services, by being more agile to track tasks and manage productivity.
For many years, the council relied on a paper-based system to track tasks and schedules; an old-fashioned arrangement that reached its limits as the city grew.
“We must strive to go beyond simply delivering public services,” says Mr Fitzgerald. “If there are technological solutions that allow us to make consistent decisions and confidently plan for the future, it is our duty to use them.
“However, It is not easy to change old habits. People have been filling out forms, processing cheques and estimating resources off the top of their heads for a long time, so it is hard to convince them of an alternative way of doing things, even if they are faster and more reliable.
Since its implementation, the OneCouncil solution’s greatest success has been to give Cumberland Council unparalleled visibility over its assets.
This new confidence extends to other areas of Council’s day-to-day responsibilities.
The removal of unreliable data and redundant processes has also made the council a much more flexible and efficient work environment.
A key improvement has been the speed at which jobs are attributed and completed.
OneCouncil has also had a positive effect on decision-making and team leadership as it allows data to speak for itself. The detailed information the system provides enables fast and informed decision-making, removing doubts or emotional responses and making it easy to see why something didn’t work.
Mr Fitzgerald says TechnologyOne was instrumental in implementing the solution and promoting it across the organisation. It created a partnership that linked and empowered all team leaders.
“TechnologyOne’s integrated approach helped us improve our processes, allowing us to redefine the way we deliver services to our community,” he says.
Cumberland Council was recently formed through the amalgamation and merge of the existing Auburn and Holroyd Councils and encompasses a significant portion of the former Parramatta City Council. The newly formed Council is one of the most culturally diverse communities in Sydney, and encompasses a significant portion of western Sydney.