Highlights:

• Knowsley Council, serving a UK borough with 148,000 residents, faced over £100 million in budget cuts from central government, prompting a reevaluation of service delivery.
• The Council adopted Channel Shift, moving from costly in-person and phone interactions to digital channels, despite a 30% reduction in IT staff.
• Leveraging low-code technology and strong product ownership from the Customer Services team, Knowsley Council achieved a 3-year channel shift target, reducing costs significantly by transitioning from £9 in-person visits and £4 phone calls to £0.17 online interactions.

Since the British government implemented austerity measures in 2010, local governments like Knowsley Council have experienced significant reductions in funding, impacting service delivery, particularly for non-statutory services. To manage these challenges, Knowsley Council’s IT Service collaborated with Customer Services, utilizing low-code technology and community engagement to ensure essential services remained accessible to residents.

A Shift in Strategy

Knowsley Council provides over 160 services to its 148,000 residents and 3,900 businesses, ranging from park maintenance to social care services. Due to austerity measures, the Council faced a substantial budget cut of £100 million since 2010. This necessitated a thorough review of service delivery, as described by Phil Aspinall, Head of Customer Services for Knowsley Council.

In response, the Council launched the Knowsley Better Together program, aiming to foster collaboration between the local authority, businesses, and residents. Aspinall explains, “It’s about pooling resources, skills, and expertise to support each other. By working together, we can achieve more, helping residents become more self-sufficient and focusing our resources on vulnerable populations and essential services.”

Service delivery was a major focus for Aspinall. His team managed around 4,500-5,000 face-to-face service requests and 18,000 phone inquiries per month. These interactions accounted for 98% of transactions, with only 2% occurring online. The high cost of face-to-face (£9) and phone interactions (£4) compared to online interactions (£0.17) highlighted the need for a more efficient approach.

Aspinall introduced the concept of channel shift, aiming to transition service delivery to digital channels to save costs and maintain essential services. His goal was to save £300,000 over three years by moving 75% of transactions online by 2020.

Embracing a Can-Do Attitude

Channel shift, while promising in theory, posed significant execution challenges for Andy Garden, Head of IT for Knowsley Council, and his team. Traditional software solutions were costly and required extensive customization. Consequently, the decision was made to develop solutions in-house.

“We bring a very can-do attitude as an IT Service,” says Garden. “We push boundaries to find solutions.”

Historically, IT projects at Knowsley Council faced hurdles, including unclear requirements and lengthy development times. Additionally, the IT Service had reduced operational staffing, relying on fixed-term graduate placements for development, leading to legacy code without clear ownership. Supporting 120 existing IT systems further complicated new development efforts. To achieve the channel shift, IT needed to integrate these systems and provide a unified platform for users—a costly endeavor using traditional development methods.

“We had to decide whether to increase resources for development and support teams or explore alternative methods,” says Garden. “That’s why we turned to low-code.”

Accelerating Progress with Low-Code

In 2016, Knowsley Council selected Mendix after evaluating various low-code platforms. “We needed a solution that allowed us to generate code quickly and to standard levels for easier support,” says Garden.

Fairclough and Perry quickly adapted to low-code development, finding it intuitive and efficient. With developers trained and ready, the team set out to create applications aligned with the Knowsley Better Together mission.

High-volume transactions were prioritized to deliver early value, starting with complex revenue and benefits services. Previously, these processes were cumbersome, requiring lengthy face-to-face interactions. By integrating Mendix with legacy web services, the team streamlined the process, enabling residents to complete transactions more efficiently.

The IT and Customer Service teams developed a customer services application, offering a 24/7 online one-stop shop for various services. “It covers a wide spectrum,” says Perry, “from complex revenue and benefits queries to simple requests like pest control visits or replacement bins.” To facilitate the transition, the Council installed Android tablets in one-stop shops for self-service and hire the helpers to assist residents.

“The change involves re-educating people to use self-service options instead of queuing for in-person assistance,” says Fairclough. “They can now complete transactions from home as well.”

A key tool was the Mendix Collaboration Portal, enhancing communication between IT and Customer Services, speeding up the feedback cycle and improving the development process. “Regular contact with the business through the collaboration tool has been invaluable,” says Fairclough.

Achieving Significant Savings and Improved Engagement

Initially, online transactions were minimal, with only 779 in one month. By April 2019, online transactions averaged nearly 11,000 per month, increasing from 2% to 50%. This shift reduced the cost per interaction by more than half in under three years.

Aspinall confidently anticipates meeting the 2020 goal. “Three years ago, these targets seemed challenging, but with the progress we’ve made, I’m confident we’ll achieve the 75% online target by 2020.”

The success of the program is attributed to the dedication of Garden and his team. “Mendix made development and support easier, allowing us to involve more developers without increasing costs,” says Garden. The impact on the IT Service has been positive, with staff seeing the quick results of their efforts.

For Fairclough, low-code development kept the focus on residents’ needs. “Low-code encourages developers to understand the end user and the final goal,” he says.

Photo by Ibrahim Zada (unsplash.com)