The Challenge
North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) is responsible for around 4,400 properties. Their internal repairs team is integral to the service they provide and they had cemented themselves an excellent reputation in the local area. But, although the service was good, efficiencies were hampered with the existing paper based system. NWLDC therefore set about finding a solution which would maintain their customer-focused service but introduce greater efficiency.
The Solution
Marrying technology with good quality customer service – The operatives at NWLDC have built a good rapport with clients. It was important for Oneserve to work in tandem with this strength and further bolster their customer centricity. But at the same time, Oneserve would need to make efficiency savings to enable NWLDC to continue delivering an outstanding service, at a lower cost. We achieved this by delivering:
Real-time scheduling – Empowering NWLDC’s operatives to make decisions there and then, enabling them to effectively manage their time and offer a service based on their knowledge of the areas and customers they serve.
Photo capture – In addition to collating the data that was previously recorded on paper forms, NWLDC are now able to capture photos of the work they complete. This not only helps to clarify what work has been carried out, but also acts as an immediate audit trail.
Offline working – Mobile black spots are common in the area their operatives work, so, although a mobile solution would remove the inefficiencies caused by a paper-based system, they would quickly creep back in if the mobile solution wasn’t accessible during times of signal outage. Oneserve resolves this issue by still showing operatives jobs even when they are offline. They can also import data on their mobile and this information is stored and synced back to the Oneserve system as soon as signal is regained.
“Since adopting Oneserve and mobile working, we completed 15% more jobs in the first four weeks. It is about us being able to do more of the jobs ourselves and reducing our reliance on our SOR (Schedule of Rates) contractor.”
David Moxon, Financial Systems Team Leader - NWLDC
The Result
Efficiency savings and improved customer service
North West Leicestershire District Council quickly reaped the rewards of a modern, intuitive field service management solution, becoming more proactive by responding quicker to the needs of customers and changing priorities.
Since implementing Oneserve, NWLDC has also found success by:
- Increasing the number of jobs completed by 15% in the first four weeks of use.
- Significantly reducing duplication, because jobs are now only updated once, rather than the need for multiple form filling.
- Introducing more automation across the service, such as inbuilt sign offs, which give customers added reassurance that jobs have been completed.
- Reducing their reliance on outsourced contractors, focusing more on in-house expertise
Increased number of jobs completed by 15% in the first four weeks of use
Introducing automation has improved customer relationships
Lessened their reliance on outsourced contractors