Noosa Shire Council appoints first Change Champion to uplift tech
Noosa Shire Council has appointed its first Change Champion, Mark Bentley, to enhance its internal digital culture and support the adoption of modern technological capabilities among its 500-strong workforce.
This move comes after the council recently implemented TechnologyOne's Field App, which allows the outdoor workforce to manage tasks from any device in any environment, regardless of network connectivity. While the app has improved efficiencies among early adopters, it has also met with resistance from some employees who are uneasy about the rapid pace of digital change.
In his new role, Bentley has been pivotal in the successful adoption of new initiatives, beginning with the implementation of TechnologyOne's Project Lifecycle Management (PLM) software. The PLM software aids the council in better identifying, controlling, managing, tracking, reporting, and analysing the performance of various programs, portfolios, and projects.
The council has reported significant time and resource savings thanks to enhanced transparency and automation provided by PLM. Manual tasks, such as project approvals based on the human resources structure and the generation of real-time reports, have been automated. Additionally, emails sent to and from project leads via the system create an auditable trail, consolidating all documentation in one place.
Devon Wilson, Coordinator of Asset Systems at Noosa Shire Council, noted the challenges inherent in change management. "The biggest issue we face when bringing in a new solution is change management. It doesn't matter how intuitive the new technology is; doing something different will always be perceived as harder than sticking with the original process. This reluctance is not unique to our industry; digital transformation is inherently complex," he stated.
Wilson emphasised Bentley's crucial role in securing workforce-wide acceptance of the PLM implementation. "Mark's newly created role has been essential in ensuring everyone feels supported in the creation and processing of projects. Partnering with TechnologyOne has long provided us with seamless technological rollouts and future-proof capabilities, but only by prioritising the digital culture among our team can the significant benefits available truly be realised," he added.
Loretta Libke, a local government expert at TechnologyOne, also commented on the initiative. "Noosa's ability to respond to its workforce's needs with an extra layer of guidance and support has paid dividends, reinforcing its commitment to delivering vital services as efficiently as possible. Only by using solutions properly will councils be able to perform at their optimum level for the benefit of the whole community, and the team's buy-in is critical to that success," she said.
The local government expert further explained TechnologyOne's approach. "Our Power of One philosophy sees us build, market, sell, implement, support, and run our SaaS ERP. As opposed to relying on third-party integrators, we work directly with customers because while we bring the technology and industry expertise, we know people like Mark know the council inside out. This direct relationship with the customer also creates a significant IP engine; our consulting teams then feed back into our R&D team to continuously improve our products and processes, and that's incredibly powerful for customers," Libke concluded.
