South Staffordshire Council

South Staffordshire Council are looking to transform the way it works by doing things differently and working smarter. Most service teams are heavily reliant on paper files which is making the transition to agile working slower. We recognise that to make our workforce more agile and responsive to customer demand, the way that we all work needs to change.

Investing in an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) in particular for Planning, Environmental Health, Planning Enforcement and Local Plans will enable officers to work in an agile way without being loaded down with paper files.   Access to reports, plans etc in an electronic format will enable officers instant access to all required documents to carry out their roles in a more efficient manner, speeding up the processing time so that customers receive a quicker service.

We would need to ensure all old files are ‘back scanned ‘onto the new EDMS system so that all relevant staff can access the files required to enable them to complete their work whilst working in an agile way in the community.  This would require considerable investment in time and staff resource, but the rewards going forward would benefit all staff accessing the systems whilst out in the field and free up office space for potential rental income for the Council.