Effective eEnablement of Communities with Transactional Portals

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Effective e-Enablementof Communitieswith
Transactional Portals

• Collaboration and Multi-Agency Working
• Working with Business

David Cullen, Director Local and Regional
Government Sector
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Objectives

• To understand why and how best to engage with the
  Business Community
• To explore what the business community actually
  wants
• To demonstrate how Harrow has approached this
  challenge
• To consider how future developments might affect
  local businesses and the wider community

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Agenda

• Case study London Borough of Harrow Business
  Community Portal
• Understanding business needs
• The SBA and where it is leading
• Beyond contact management

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About Harrow

• Unitary authority in North-West London
• Diverse community with significant minorities
• Pockets of deprivation and many small businesses
• Strong drive to promote the local economy

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Business customers the issues and needs

• Many small businesses
• Need to retain growing businesses
• Desire for B2B networking
• Lack of awareness of Council services
• Difficult for businesses to engage with LBH
• Harrow jobs for Harrow people

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The Harrow Business Community Portal

• Unitary authority in North-West London
• Diverse community with significant minorities
• Pockets of deprivation and many small businesses
• Strong drive to promote the local economy

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The Harrow experiencebring them with you from
the very outset

• A business- centric approach
• Majority of time spent in initial consultation
  stage as part of Accelerating Business in Harrow
• Understand value to the various segments of the
  business sector
• Start with services that involve and most
  directly benefit them- not those that reduce
  processing costs/ provide efficiency gains

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What problem were we trying to inform?

• What roles do other bodies in Harrow play?
• What can the Council encourage others to do?
• What can the council do through education
  institutes, through existing bodies, through the
  Asian community, through other communities?

• What can the council provide to businesses?
• What does the Council need to know about
  businesses to be able to engage them now and in
  the future?

What can the Council do indirectly?
What can the Council do directly?
How can Harrow retain and grow business in the
area?

• Regeneration
• Multiplier effect of businesses being close to
  other businesses

• What can the council do to impact ease of doing
  business? (e.g. premises, directories)
• What other barriers currently exist to doing
  business? (e.g. bureaucracy, complex processes)
• What can the council do to create incentives to
  grow?

What can the Council do to impact business
profitability?

• Why is this going to benefit businesses?
• What are the key hooks?
• Are all businesses looking for the same things or
  are there differentiators between user types?

SOLUTION INTEGRATED STRATEGY
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Our vision of the solution for businesses
Feedback Loop

• Consolidate information
• Launch core portal with 4 key module
• Council services online
• Advertising/ e-Directory module
• E-Procurement/ E-Tendering module
• E-Marketplace module

Online
Resource/ Organisation Implications
Physical

• Enhance HiB walk-in centre
• Facilities management
• Incorporation into First Contact
• Incubator

• Appoint a coordinator
• Nominate a senior sponsor

• Organisational changes
• Tactical and Strategic Account Planning
• Maximising Funding opportunities

Policy
Communication

• Provide forum for businesses to communicate to
  Council
• Single, consistent, integrated voice

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The Recommended Overall Solution
Provide a forum for businesses to communicate to
Council Build an account plan around how to
engage the larger businesses more
positively Communicate online and offline with a
single, consistent, integrated voice
Portal Information provision Online service
requests E-Directory E-Procurement/
E-Tendering E-Marketplace
Communication
Ensure incoming enquiries are handled in an
consistent, high standard (First Contact for
business)
Provide access to modern hi tech
equipment Provide access to meeting
spaces Provide expertise and consulting services
Portal
Incoming enquiries
Assign a business sponsor to coordinate a joined
up approach across directorates (Town Planning,
Regeneration, Revenues, Harrow in Business)
Council to employ a Funding Manager to focus
entirely on funding applications
Single point of contact for businesses
Organisational changes
Incubator
Provide facility to book to alternative meeting
space (e.g. University, schools)
Facilities
Policy
Business to have access to additional
funds Council to act as a VC organisation
potentially lend money to fund businesses Make
business a priority UDP (Unitary Development
Plan), Transport, and Tourism policies to be made
business-friendly
Face-to-Face
Enhance Harrow in Business walk in centre Extend
knowledge
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What was required to make this happen?
By December 2004
By March 2005
By Sept/ Oct 2004
Short term - High impact Quick Wins
Medium Term Delivering a Transformational
Solution
Long Term Consolidating the Change

• Develop portal (Council services, e-Directory,
  e-Procurement, e-Marketplace)
• Launch in Autumn
• Scope extended e-Marketplace
• Set up an incubator
• Provide facility to book alternative meeting
  space
• Enhance HiB walk-in centre
• Access additional funding opportunities
• Make business a priority on the council agenda
• Make UDP , Transport, and Tourism
  business-friendly

• Make Infrastructure and Policy changes to support
  business community
• Enhance Harrow in Business to
• make it into a compelling walk-in centre
• Continue to execute against policy strategy
• Develop statistical information about business
  trends in the borough to help prioritise policy
  making

• Extend the solution packages throughout West
  London Alliance, with Harrow as the leader
• Build on First Contact rollout so that it extends
  to First Contact for business contact
  centres/ walk-in-centres/ one-stop-shop
• Continue to execute against policy strategy

Online
Physical
Policy
COMMS ORG DEV

• Measure and communicate progress made against
  KPIs set
• Build on First Contact rollout so that it extends
  to First Contact for business

• Develop Account Plans for established businesses
• Define Council KPIs. Link to LPSAs
• Align with overall business engagement strategy

• Assign Business Fund Manager
• Assign a Council Business Sponsor
• Define comms strategy and targets

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Intended Benefits

• Improved local economy through
• Increased Council spending staying within the
  area
• Greater number of B2B transactions through
  improved awareness and access
• Reduced business admin costs
• Improved community leadership involvement
  through
• Local business being able to engage more with
  social issues ( eg crime and disorder)
• Increased ability to engage with the community

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Comparison with a process approachPARSOL

• Transactional Efficiencies
• PARSOL Exchange fast, consistent and visible
  decision making within required timescales
  through centralised e-consultation with agencies
• PARSOL Online Licensing efficient electronic
  submission, processing, consultation and
  publication for over 60 licence application types
• Planning Portal progressive levels of
  membership allow councils to accept online
  planning applications with minimal effort

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PARSOLBusiness Relationships

• PARSOL Fast Track speedier processing of
  planning applications from accredited businesses
  (e.g. architects, surveyors, planning agents,
  etc)
• PARSOL Business Self Assessment reduced
  inspection burden through use of online self
  assessment against relevant regulations
• PARSOL Online Licensing better business control
  through online tracking of applications through
  end-to-end process

Conclusion excellent transaction
efficiencies,currently limited relationship value
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Beyond contact management
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
information
information
information
information
information
information
information
information
Most CRM solutions across all channels have not
got much beyond contact management. Value
development only really begins further along the
CRM lifecycle
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Beyond contact management
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
Expectation
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
Contact
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
Promise
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
management
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
Evolving customer
information
information
information
information
information
information
information
information
Local businesses can be both customers and
collaborators with the authority. Unlike citizen
customers, there is value in starting with the
facilitation stage.
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The Single Business Account

• How relevant is it?
• Is it a valued initiative
• By Councils?
• By businesses?
• How will it co-exist with single citizen
  accounts?
• Is it a model for multi-party working?

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Summary

• Businesses are collaborators as well as customers
• in the local economy and community
• Pre e-Gov infrastructure permitted engagement
  with only the largest businesses in an area
• E-Gov channels have enabled a greater reach into
  the business market segment with the highest
  impact on a locality- the SMEs
• Engagement and co-creation of services from the
  earliest possible stage is essential- and can
  assist in accelerating evolution to true
  relationship management