Smooth merger at Gosford City Council.
Teams at two merging councils use Nintex Promapp to capture processes and prioritize which ones to retain for a bigger, better council.
Business benefits.
-
Complexity is managed and streamlined
-
All processes are in one place
-
Process data is available to create a smoother merger
-
Staff can contribute to and own changes in
processes -
Staff are enthusiastic and engaged
-
Staff feel empowered to contribute to a bigger and better council
Gosford City Council in New South Wales deals with a wide range of activities, including managing ffacilities, providing services and liaising with residents.
The council is a complex entity with a wide range of stakeholders, functions and responsibilities. Continuous improvement officer, Virginia Cross, says there were lots of opportunities for improvement.
Processes were stored in a variety of formats, sometimes in the heads of staff – and some process information had left the council with previous employees. After reviewing a large number of programs, the council started to implement Nintex Promapp into their business improvement program.
Shortly after Gosford began their Nintex Promapp implementation, they were advised to prepare for a potential merger with neighboring council Wyong.
Coincidentally, Wyong had been looking for a process mapping program. They had done a similar, independent review and had also chosen Nintex Promapp for its ease of use and simple logic.
Mapping then merging.
Virginia knew that undertaking due diligence, an essential step to help prepare for the potential merger, included gathering ‘as is’ business processes into one place. She wanted everyone on staff to be able to access and understand them, so they could contribute to future process improvements.
Staff of both councils attended process mapping workshops and Nintex Promapp training sessions, where they learnt to use the software and put the mapped processes into the system.
By mapping the processes of both councils separately, they could pick and choose the best of both worlds. When it was time to merge it would be clear which processes were most effective and where they should be combined – or replaced all together. It was about creating a new, improved council that could operate in the very best way for customers and residents.
‘It would have been ideal if we’d mapped these processes years ago, but when we did it we got real data – this is what happens in Gosford, this is what happens in Wyong, so what do we need to do to make it work?’ says Virginia.
Co-operation, not competition.
Like any major business change, a merger can be a disruptive time. Staff are often understandably anxious about how the new organization will operate, and their place within it. Virginia says including staff in the process mapping helped turn this change into a positive, giving them a feeling of ownership over the transition.
Team members were encouraged to express their ideas through the comments section of Nintex Promapp, as a way of helping build the new organization. ‘It’s not just senior management making these decisions. With Nintex Promapp, everyone has a chance to contribute – to feel like they’re helping to build the new organization,’ Virginia says.
Easy to set up, clear to follow.
Virginia found staff’s natural resistance to change quickly disappeared when they realized how easy Nintex Promapp was to use and follow. Enthusiasm for the new software took over, and teams were excited about the potential, particularly when they considered how useful it could be to customers.
Explore more.
