The Agilisys Podcast: Transforming the public sector

In this episode of the Agilisys Podcast we investigate the partnership between Agilisys and Soroco, the provider of process discovery, task mining and process transformation solutions.

Specifically, we’ll discuss how the two organisations are coming together to accelerate automation across the public sector and improve citizen experiences through the use of this groundbreaking technology, enabling public sector organisations to make genuine data-driven decisions on what, where and how to focus their automation and transformation efforts.

Guests on this episode are Chris Duddridge, Vice President of Sales for EMEA at Soroco; Nina Atwal, Automation Lead at Agilisys and, Simon Perks, the Agilisys Intelligent Automation and Operations Partner.

Areas explored in this podcast include:

• What process discovery, task mining and process transformation means for public sector organisations
• Why Agilisys is partnering with Soroco
• Why the tie-up with Soroco means organisations can now unlock more of automation’s full potential
• Use cases that the public sector can learn from
• The areas where the Agilisys team think this technology will be most useful and the challenges it will address

In this episode, we discuss how data and insight are central to ensuring positive outcomes for the Force and its communities and hear how Agilisys has worked in partnership to support data- and insight-led activity and take it to the next level. We'll also find out what data ethics means for the organisation and share some key takeaways from the Force's journey to date.

To discuss this in more detail, we're joined by Jonathan Dowey, Head of Performance and Insight at Avon & Somerset Police, and Kate Hemstock, Principal Senior Data and Insight Consultant at Agilisys.

In this episode of the Agilisys Podcast, we focus on the development of Bolton Council’s game-changing data strategy, which has been developed to set free the organisation’s data and unlock insights that will shape future engagement and activities, and drive some pretty sophisticated service delivery.

In this podcast, we explore the challenges district councils are facing and how technology is helping to overcome them, discuss how leaders can ensure that funding and the business case for investment in technology are where they need to be, and look at where those responsible for digital transformation can turn for the all-important knowledge sharing.

Sharing their thoughts on these topics and more are Amanda Pujol, Head of Communities and Improvement at Teignbridge District Council, and Adam Gibbons, Housing and Local/Regional Government lead at Agilisys.

Key topics covered include:

• The major internal and external challenges faced by district councils
• How technology can help districts meet those challenges and the technologies that are key
• The problem of skills shortages
• The role of data and predictive analytics
• Examples of where Teignbridge has found new sources of funding and what makes a good business case
• Where transformation leaders in district councils can turn to for help and guidance

The Agilisys podcast: The role of RPA in an award-winning Council

This latest episode of the Agilisys podcast focuses on how Aberdeen City Council is using the robotic process automation (RPA) in innovative ways to drive positive outcomes for the organisation and the citizens, communities and businesses of the Aberdeen City area.

The Council is currently driving the most significant period of transformation in the city’s history. At the core of this unprecedented change is an ambitious and comprehensive technology-enabled redesign of the Council’s service delivery and demand management – with innovation embraced to build the council of the future. The ambitious transformation is already delivering benefits and led to the Council winning the prestigious MJ Awards Local Authority of the Year title in 2020.

This podcast discusses how automation has contributed to this success – and shares key learnings from the first phases of its ongoing journey with RPA.

Sharing their insight in this episode are Andy MacDonald, Director of Customer Services at Aberdeen City Council and Simon Watkins, Managing Consultant for RPA and AI at Agilisys.

Topics covered include:

· What prompted Aberdeen City Council to utilise RPA

· The major RPA successes ACC has enjoyed and what this means for the organisation and the people of Aberdeen

· What ACC is doing well to enable this success

· Key learnings from Aberdeen’s journey

· Advice for other local authorities looking to realise the benefits of RPA

· What the future holds for automation at Aberdeen City Council?

To learn more about the automation of teaching plans discussed in the podcast that freed up the equivalent of 14 full-time teachers, head along to our case study here.

Andy MacDonald

Director of Customer Services, Aberdeen City Council

Andy is the driving force behind the Aberdeen City Council’s digital transformation and champions using technology and data to enable a prosperous future for citizens, communities, and businesses.

He is a performance-driven and results-oriented leader with substantial experience in Transformation, Customer Experience, HR, Finance, Shared Services and Digital & Technology, in private and public sectors.

Recognised by stakeholders for business development, digital transformation, change and project management, customer satisfaction, risk assessment and mitigation, as well as revenue optimisation, Andy has been instrumental in leading and developing cross-functional teams within fast-paced environments whilst expert in identifying and mitigating underlying risks through root-cause analysis.

Simon Watkins

Director of Customer Services, Aberdeen City Council

Simon joined Agilisys with over 20 years of consulting experience within both public and private sectors. He is experienced in supporting high level strategy, project and programme delivery, detailed analysis and delivering new operating models and business change. He has worked with a variety of fields including (but not limited to) Licensing, Revs and Bens, Housing and finance. In addition, his private sector experience covers retail, FMCG, manufacturing, healthcare and banking/finance. He is an experienced Delivery Manager covering ERP, P2P, Master Data Management, Business Intelligence, Business Process Management and RPA.

It goes without saying that government and public services have changed substantially in the past decade.

So too have the demands on public sector leaders, who are navigating their organisations through a period of unprecedented change required to meet rising demand and increased complexity of demand – all against a challenging backdrop of austerity, the COVID-19 crisis, demographic changes and what is arguably the big one – climate change.

Then, of course, there’s the impact of technology on the way we work, how organisations deliver services and how citizens expect to interact with those services.

This changing and challenging landscape raises questions around the skills leaders of public sector organisations need – and how these skills are shifting, which is what we talk about in this podcast.

Discussing this in more detail are a trio of individuals who combine an understanding of executive leadership excellence and the skills required to successfully lead organisations – from both academic and public sector delivery viewpoints. Ioanna Rossi is Strategy and Partnerships Officer at the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and Lecturer on sustainable and ethical environmental management at Ravensbourne University London. Andy Cook is Ravensbourne’s Vice Chancellor, and Paul Sternberg is Director of Postgraduate Studies and Principal Research Fellow at Ravensbourne.

Key talking points from this podcast include:

The evolution of leadership skills across the public sector – and any gaps that exist

The impact major events such as COVID-19 and the climate emergency have had on leadership

Why public sector leadership skills need to be aligned with sectors including the third sector

The ‘power skills’ needed by today’s leaders

The measures leaders can take to ensure they have the necessary skills

As discussed in the podcast, Ravensbourne University London and Agilisys have launched a strategic partnership to design and deliver a high-level executive programme for senior leaders across the public sector.

We are seeking your views on this programme and would welcome your views on how new approaches to public sector leadership and development can be supported. The questionnaire takes no longer than 5 minutes to complete and can be found here.

In this latest episode of the Agilisys Podcast, we’re joined by a trio of robotic process automation (RPA) experts from Agilisys to talk about the successful automation of NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) processes.

This discussion focuses on the Agilisys team and the agile delivery methodology that ensured a smooth, effective and fast implementation of the Blue Prism Cloud technology, which has transformed the way ESR processes are run. This builds on Episode 6 of the Agilisys podcast, which discussed the project from the perspective of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in episode 6 of the Agilisys podcast.

Topics discussed in this podcast include:

Welcome to the latest episode of the Agilisys podcast, which discusses how robotic process automation (RPA) is being used to successfully automate processes involved with maintaining the Electronic Staff Record (ESR), the essential workforce management solution for the NHS in England and Wales.

This RPA implementation is a prime example of how the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is using the technology to deliver efficiency gains, enhance service delivery and bring benefits to team members within the organisation.

To discuss the work that has taken place in more detail, we’re joined by Ivan Barber, RPA Programme Manager at NHSBSA and David Booth, Head of Systems Integration at the ESR NHS Central Team. Topics covered include:

The need to automate Electronic Staff Record processes

How NHSBSA identified robotic process automation as the right technology to use

The methods followed in order to plan and implement this project

Benefits realised so far and the impact this automation will have on people within internal teams – and to organisations across the NHS

Key learnings from this RPA project and advice for others at similar points in their automation journey, or those just starting out.

Ivan Barber, RPA Programme Manager, NHS Business Services Authority

As Programme Manager for Robotic Process Automation at the NHS Business Services Authority,  Ivan is focused on delivering organisational wide efficiencies by the introduction of process automation through an RPA cloud environment. With over 25 years’ experience in IT, Ivan has developed a broad range of technical and project management skills working in the private and public sectors.

David Booth, Head of Systems Integration at the ESR NHS Central Team

David has led the NHS ESR Interface Team since joining the ESR Programme in 2002. Having been responsible during roll out for the delivery of a GL interface to each of the 650+ NHS Organisations on ESR, the team is now responsible for the 1300+ interface implementations in use on ESR.

The latest Agilisys Podcast focuses on the use of technology to drive continuous quality improvements of the case audit management for Family Support – an organisation that gives families and children access to the help and support they need faster.

Agilisys and Family Support worked together to develop a continuous quality improvement app called Family Quest, using Microsoft Power Platform, that can be implemented within social care settings to simplify case audit procedures and evidence a really high-quality process that includes continuous learning.

In this podcast we’re joined by Cat Miller, Service Manager at Family Support, to discuss how the Family Quest app has transformed ways of working for the organisation.

Topics discussed include:

The work of Family Support

The need for the Family Quest App

How it was developed in partnership

The problems Family Quest overcomes and how it supports the delivery of services on the frontline

The App’s ability to increase efficiency, reduce cost and staff time, and streamline audit processes

How Family Quest helped the organisations deal with the pressures and restrictions of Covid-19

Tips and tricks learnt from the rollout of the App

How organisations in a similar position to Family Support can utilise Family Quest.

Further information on Family Quest can be found in a detailed case study. Click here to download.