Challenge

Whilst the Council’s previous system enabled limited reporting of risks and performance, it was difficult to use and did not provide up-to-date insights or an effective approach to project reporting. External pressures at the time continued to grow, including the Localism Act 2011 that aimed to shift power towards individuals, communities and councils, and set new expectations for residents to receive clear performance information. The optimum solution would deliver the required focus on performance and improve governance with less time and effort required, essential given lower budgets and reduced capacity.

When Bob Thomas was introduced to Execview, he immediately saw its potential: “It’s one of those products you rarely encounter, where you can say ‘that’s going to make a huge difference’. Nothing else on the market could do the same things at a similar price. The cloud deployment model, including monthly payment options, makes this more affordable. Once you divide it across 24 business units, the monthly or annual spend required to support your workload and projects, and report performance, isn’t particularly costly.” Execview also required no changes to existing systems and no complex IT integration work.

‘Best practice’ solution

Datalytyx provided consulting on the setup, engaged with senior managers, supported deployment and provided training, with existing data brought into the solution. With Execview already deployed successfully in organisations including the BBC, ITV, Essex County Council and Unisys, MVDC’s Policy and Performance Manager Paul Anderson was keen to see how it worked in local government: “We provided various documents, then received a detailed outline for the system within a month that directly related to our corporate plan, performance indicators, projects, risks and so on. The system came back 80-90% set-up and just required some finessing.” Execview proved its versatility when it had to be adapted immediately to accommodate a major management restructuring.

Information required is automatically sent to or taken by Execview for processing and reporting; data can also be bulk loaded from spreadsheets. Importantly, Execview provides a best practice model based on Prince2, Managing Successful Programmes, ITIL and EFQM principles, via templates, workflows and reports. This means staff with little training can participate in best-practice delivery.

Benefits

Thomas says, “Information is entered once then re-purposed for multiple uses. Before, we had to re-engineer numbers and views for different purposes up the strategic chain. Now, it’s easy to provide different views at different levels for different stakeholders. And information is available immediately. Importantly, the system clarifies for all officers – including front-line staff delivering services – where they fit into the organisation’s strategic aims and objectives, and the part they’re playing in achieving them. It’s powerful stuff. We can focus on ways to improve performance measures rather than just getting data in: measuring the right things rather than just measuring things.”

Paul Anderson adds, “Execview enables us to provide performance data and show we are delivering value for money. It makes life easier: for people to manage whatever they’re doing, and to report to senior management, Councillors and the community. And it’s made it easy for them, capitalising on the work we’ve done over the last few years to embed a performance culture and make managers more accountable. This is about openness, and Execview removes barriers between managers, teams and individuals while also providing immediacy. It’s a tool that helps you to do your job.”

Bob Thomas adds, “It actually focuses people and cuts down on unnecessary discussions. You can concentrate on areas that need additional resource and take corrective action before they become serious issues.”