Cities and counties suffer from siloed data as each department manages ‘work’ their own way
Pierluigi Oliverio – Dec
Based on first-hand experience, I have found that the private sector adopts technology faster than the government. The private sector is inherently motivated to be efficient, saving money and enabling positive customer experiences.
When I first started working in municipal government in 2007, I was shocked to find there was no customer relationship management (CRM) software being utilized to manage the needs of constituents. Instead, I encountered time-consuming, error-prone manual processes. Coming from the private sector, I used CRM daily to enhance customer success and believed the same could be done for constituents. Thus, I implemented CRM to enable responsive government for things such as potholes, streetlights, graffiti and overall constituent assistance. Not only did we provide thousands of great constituent experiences, but we also were able to measure success by tracking data.
Recently I watched a San Jose City Council meeting where management presented the quarterly “City Roadmap” that contains goals established by the council and the work that goes on behind the scenes to achieve success. In government, the elected body provides direction, but it is the staff that does the actual work. Several questions were asked by councilmembers, but when government entities use manual methods with static data, it is nearly impossible to answer questions in real time. Furthermore, waiting three months to know if a goal has been missed is both problematic and costly, such as when a grant application deadline is missed.
Cities and counties suffer from siloed data as each department manages “work” their own way. Policy work requiring collaboration across multiple departments brings further confusion on how to best manage and accomplish work. And now 86% of state chief information officers believe work from home is the new normal, which adds additional challenges in accomplishing collaborative tasks. Just ask anyone who has recently applied for a permit through the planning department.
This disconnect leads to all-so common scenarios in which an elected official asks a city manager or county executive about when something will be completed. At this point the answer is typically, “I don’t know, let me get back to you.” What transpires next is that management creates an unnecessary fire drill for staff six layers deep to provide a timely answer to the elected official.
A proven work management software solution would provide visibility and with-it accountability regardless of whether staff are in the office or working from home. Every new request could be analyzed immediately, allowing management to understand cost, time, trade-offs and the proper staffing levels to accomplish the work. This would give elected officials an understanding of what level of effort is needed to accomplish projects rather than wishful due dates that are consistently missed.
Once a request is approved, the software captures every milestone, task and deliverable that rolls up to prioritized goals set by the elected officials. Every action can be measured and displayed, providing real-time status. The ability to scenario plan and see how changing priorities impacts other projects is easily viewed. This approach enables government to retain institutional knowledge as staff retire, capturing best practices and historical records. Consultants or non-profit entities that receive taxpayer funds can report in real time and be held accountable to accomplish the work they were hired to do.
Work management software can unleash efficiency, productivity and cost savings; however, it requires leadership. Widely adopted by corporations, such systems have been proven successful by governments outside Silicon Valley. As voters and taxpayers, we should demand local utilization so government can be both accountable and transparent, and constituents can rest assured that our tax revenues are being used effectively and efficiently.
Pierluigi Oliverio is a member of the San Jose Planning Commission and a former San Jose City Councilman.
