With an end-of-life system during a global health crisis, Clay County made it a priority to continue delivering critical information and services as part of its core website experience, powered by govAccess. In just three weeks, the County launched Granicus govService, which not only maintained online services but provided residents and staff a better user experience. Shortly thereafter, the team introduced multichannel digital communications to reach residents in their preferred communications channels with govDelivery.

Clay County, Florida

How the County Launched a Civic Engagement Platform, Starting with Modernization of Its Web Experience

Overview

Forms

60+

Staff Hours

Staff can quickly build DIY services with minimal vendor help.

43%

More Cases Completed

A simple UI encourages the completion of more cases.

Engagement Rate

govDelivery uses email, social, and text to accelerate engagement.

The County plans to convert 60+ PDF forms into online services.

83%

Must-have Granicus solutions

Want to learn about additional benefits? Sign up to see our Civic Engagement Platform in action.

Clay County staff were given less than a month’s notice that their public records management and citizen request management (CRM) systems would no longer be supported by their previous vendor. With an end-of-life system during a global health crisis, continuity of critical services online was imperative. As the County began the process of revamping their digital presence, citizen experience was at the forefront. “We wanted to ensure that our technology is user friendly, accessible for all residents, and helps residents get the information they need without jumping through a lot of hoops,” said Samantha Radomski, Administrative and Web Content Specialist. The previous systems required significant effort for both residents and staff. Residents would submit requests by clicking on a link in the service hub, which took them to the appropriate PDF form. Some forms were fillable, but others needed to be printed out, completed, and returned. For staff, the system required a lot of clicking around, switching between multiple screens to complete a task. When it came to communications, Clay County relied heavily on its website and social media pages, requiring residents to seek out key information on their own.

End-Of-Life Technology

govService

Clay County and the Granicus implementation team quickly switched priorities to prevent service interruption. Within three weeks, Granicus trained Radomski on Granicus govService and helped her build the first two services: Public Records Request and ReportIt, which is a 311-type service where citizens can report a pothole, a downed tree, a lost animal, missed garbage collection, and more. These services went live before the old platform’s service ended. The team also initiated implementation of govDelivery, a critical solution for communicating important public health information to residents during the pandemic via email, SMS, and social media messages. With govDelivery, Clay County had an easy-to-use resource that enabled the team to connect with residents in their preferred channels, connected employees internally, and ensured that residents received important updates about the pandemic and, later, vaccination.

Built & Launched in Three Weeks

One month after Go Live, Clay County had received 886 cases through the two live services, with County staff closing 688 of the cases opened. Previously, the County averaged 480 online cases per month. While Radomski jokes that more people are reporting potholes as COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, she adds that closing cases is easier for staff in govService. “Staff members didn’t like all the steps required in the old system,” said Radomski. “Now, they’re very excited about the fact that everything is right there. They can work, and have all the questions, along with everything they have to do, in front of them.” After the first two services went live, Radomski built a new service on her own using govService DIY Service Designer. The new service allows residents to request ambulance billing and EMS records based on patient information or ambulance information. It took Radomski just eight hours of work to build and launch the service. Residents can access these services, as well as new services that are introduced in the future, easily through the County’s website. With integrated digital communications, Clay County has increased its subscriber base, deepening its relationship with its residents.

Do It Yourself in 8 Hours

How wrexham county council improved citizen experience through integrated communications & service delivery

Overview

The county council knew the first step to improve the citizen experience was to modernise the way they communicated bin removal services. To ensure citizens received relevant, timely and automated communications, Wrexham implemented Granicus’s govDelivery email, mobile message, and social media platform. Now, they have the sophisticated marketing automation and audience segmentation required to deliver personalised waste and recycling bin collection reminders to over 12,000 residents. Targeted email messages from the county empower residents to take the correct action at the right moment. These reminders — delivered alongside educational messages about what can and can’t be recycled — are positively impacting local recycling rates. For example, more customers know what can and can’t be recycled; the number of bins not being collected due to contamination has decreased by 27% since implementing govDelivery.

With Firmstep, the county’s digital customer services solution, integrated with govDelivery, their communication platform, the customer experience is seamless. How does it work? When a customer visits the Wrexham website and enters their address in a form, Firmstep automatically looks up the customer’s collection day and calendar, then sends the information into GovDelivery, which automatically signs the customer up for their bin reminder emails. After that, the customer receives relevant, timely, and automated information about their bin collections. This combination has improved sign-up rates and ensured Wrexham reaches more citizens.

How the Firmstep + GovDelivery integration streamlines service

Satisfaction Rate

Citizens love the online experience they are receiving

93%

Increasing by 500 new accounts per month

18K

Self-Service Accounts

Bin Reminders

12K

Increasing by 800 subscribers per month

The result of targeted, proactive communications

Reduction in Calls

48%

Must-have Granicus product

Could your citizens benefit from seamless and integrated digital experiences? Get in touch with us today to learn more about how Granicus can help!

See It Live

Situation

Solution

Results

Background

Like many local governments in California, the team at the Napa County Election Division has many critical duties in support of local, state, and federal elections. They also must help ensure all required government officials disclose their financial interests. Designated filing officers must accurately track, manage, and deliver documents related to the disclosure of government employee and elected official Statement of Economic Interest, known as Form 700 in California. The process is regulated by the State of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). Staff at the Election Division have their own goals to increase efficiency and make sure officials file on time. Napa County’s recently updated strategic plan has a priority goal of making government more transparent.

A Mandate for Transparency & Efficiency

Situation

Solution

The DisclosureDocs implementation team worked closely with Napa County staff to meet their tight deadline. After their kickoff meeting in January 2019, they migrated files, trained staff, and then deployed. In the end, they were able to implement DisclosureDocs by their deadline of April 2.

From Manual to Automatic

See It Live

Results

Powered by Self, MyDurham is the self-service portal which is transforming the way Durham County Council interacts with its citizens. Every week more than 300 people sign up for a MyDurham account and thousands of citizens every day log in to access informationand carry out tasks, such paying a Council Tax bill or requesting a service. With more people self-serving, the number of telephone and face-to-face contacts has fallen dramatically, enabling staff to focus their time supporting citizens with the greatest needs. Rich Data At least 40 citizens every day share their feedback on council services with the organisation. Those views together with the extensive citizen data gathered through the Platform are shared widely across the Council via the easy-to-use reporting dashboard. Thanks to govService, Durham County Council staff now have the insights they need to make evidence-based decisions and policy. Spotlight on the Missed Bin Process Bin collections are an essential part of any council's service to its citizens. When bins are missed by refuse staff, people contact their council for information about what has happened and how the council will remedy the issue. Although Durham County Council's missed bin process was fully integrated to get live updates from their in-cab system, the Council were determined to go a step further and make life easier for their citizens by removing the need for them to contact the Council. In the new process refuse staff experiencing a problem, such as a road block or traffic delay, can carry out a postcode search and send SMS alerts to all citizens in that area, letting them know that their bins haven't been collected and what will happen next. This new process is only possible because of govService's in-built Integration Manager. This unique capability enables the easy integration of internal and external back-office systems, in this case postcode databases, details of contact preferences and alert providers. With govService, Durham County Council is able to deliver outstanding customer service, streamline their processes and drive down costs. They are reaping the rewards associated with channel shift and achieving the aims set out in Altogether Better Durham.

Over 100,000 People Use MyDurham

– Samantha Radomski, Administrative and Web Content Specialist

Granicus helps us centralize our communications with residents through a user-friendly website and digital communications. Residents can find key information and interact with the county, and it helps us ensure that we are providing the information that they need to do business with us."

“With Granicus, we could tie our service platform, our website, and our digital communications all together. If you have a question or issue, you only need to call one person.” – Samantha Radomski, Administrative and Web Content Specialist

The County had already selected Granicus as a partner for its website. When the news came that a prior vendor would no longer support the County’s legacy service platform, adding digital services and communications solutions from the same vendor made sense.

“I would not have been able to be as successful as I was with govService if it wasn't for the implementation team. They go above and beyond to make the product work for you, not make you work for the product.”

govDelivery has been reliable in our everyday operations, but also in crisis. Our citizens love that they can hear from us via text.

- Meadow Bailey, Communications Director

“For us, govDelivery makes it easy to push messages out and quickly. The text message component is also important because sometimes people aren’t looking at their email. With text, people are alerted, and they can check email or go find more information.”

The County had already selected Granicus as a partner for their website and digital communications software — the addition of a digital customer service platform from the same vendor made sense.

“With Granicus, we could tie our service platform, our website, and our digital communications all together. If you have a question, you can ask one vendor your question instead of asking three vendors the same question.” – Samantha Radomski, Administrative and Web Content Specialist

“Our residents aged 65+ weren't responding to our comms via the social channels we were counting on. We built a portal and subscription service and saw an 83% click rate with our digital communications. We were able to educate and engage all of our residents through the channels that worked best for them.” – Samantha Radomski, Administrative and Web Content Specialist

“With Granicus, we could tie our service platform, our website, and our digital communications all together. With one vendor, we could ask a single question with one point of contact instead of asking three vendors the same question.” – Samantha Radomski, Administrative and Web Content Specialist

govDelivery

govAccess