If you’ve ever taken a stroll through a woodsy path, you’ve probably been over towered by some pretty time-worn trees. And if you’ve endured a heavy wind storm, you’ve probably seen some neighbors’ trees come towering down. So why is it that certain trees can weather years’ worth of wind, storms and other natural disturbances and still stand tall while other trees of the same size cannot?
To find the answer, simply trace their roots. Having to dig deep for water and other nutrients, trees of the wilderness tend to have strong, deeply embedded roots. Home-grown trees, on the other hand, might have enjoyed water from sprinkler systems or rainier climates and have not had to work as hard. Spoiled as they might be, these home-grown trees are the biggest threat to our communities as they’re the first to fall.
So when a tumultuous season storms your department, will your processes be rooted in a secure, time-tested system? Or will its surface-level depth cause your customer service to come crashing down?
What Kind of Forecast are We Talking About?
A while back, we warned you about the silver tsunamis where retiring workers are flooding years of procedural and informational know-how out of your organizations. We also explained how winter weather and comfort foods are discouraging constituents from fulfilling residential responsibilities, and the new innovations that are now allowing constituents to engage wherever they are.
But the perfect storm will inevitably hit when one or both of those contributing inefficiencies is coupled with a slammed governmental department.
As a matter of fact, this is exactly what happened to a public utility company when trying to service more than 203,000 customers by manually passing documents from desk to desk, leaving personally identifiable information exposed in broad daylight. They eventually made their way out of the squall after cultivating a more secure working environment, but they’ll tell the full story much better than we can during Velocity 2019.
So How Can I Bolster My Roots?
Let’s start with where you are.
If, like our utility company customer, you are still pushing papers around your office, you should start to seriously consider going paperless. The concept and process of “going paperless,” however, tends to be misunderstood. So much so that we penned a short eBook defining and mapping out the paperless process to help others speak our language and better understand that the concept is much more than digital storage and retrieval.
But maybe you’ve already tried branching into the paperless realm with an enterprise content management system (ECM) or document management system (DMS), but it’s no longer absorbing the new functionality and opportunity your organization needs to grow. The shallow depth of your current system is inhibiting your roots from digging deeper into automation and, because of its age, is also too complex and expensive to continue investing into. If this is where you are, it’s time to turn a new leaf and explore a modern-day ECM, DMS or other government-centric solution that will enrich your processes, nourish your staff and constituents’ needs and save you the time, money and trees you intended to preserve in the first place.
We Want to Hear From You!
Where are you currently planted – in an office inundated with paper, with a legacy system that’s keeping you shallow, or with blossoming government solution that grows with your department’s ever-changing needs?
Respond in the “comments” section below or on our Government Solutions showcase page. We read and respond – promise!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks