Insensitivity
Some of your residents will use your services for sensitive matters: for instance, social care, health and wellbeing. If vulnerable people are contacting your council, they should be able to expect the same level of care and sensitivity whether they are contacting you about their refuse collection or important social care concerns. Using data effectively means that you can give accurate background information on vulnerable citizens to employees across the business. Tightening up data in this way is also a valuable safeguard against people, or critical information relating to them, ‘falling through the cracks.’
Lack of control over their information
Effective data management hinges on having accurate, up-to-date data. When it comes to local council residents, part of that process will always rely partially on manual information input. The more complicated you make this process, the less likely citizens are to update their data in a timely manner. Hopping on to an online portal during a lunch break is very different from scheduling time to navigate a telephone menu and wait for an answer. With the right data management processes in place, you won’t only make it easier for your employees to access resident data: you’ll give your citizens greater control over their information and, hopefully, enjoy more up-to-date records as a result.
In our guide to citizen data – Citizen Data 101 – we looked in detail at some of the biggest issues impacting government agencies’ data strategies, finding that the root cause of many residents’ frustrations with their local or national services boiled down to information not being available in the right place, at the right time. Read our guide to find out how data can help you to connect with residents, improve efficiency and boost your social impact.
Download | Citizen Data 101
