Our Show and Tell events give local authorities a unique chance to see ScanStation in person, speak with the Kirklees team who work with it on a daily basis, and to find out more about the development of the product itself. Our latest event, which took place on Friday the 20th October, was another success. Taking place in the impressive Reception room at Kirklees Town Hall, over 20 delegates from the public and private sector came together to find out more about ScanStation.

Outlining the Vision

Steve Langrick, Kirklees Council’s Head of Online, Channel Strategy & Development, kicked off the day. As one of the key figures in Kirklees’ wider digital transformation, Steve began by outlining his vision for digital transformation at Kirklees, of which ScanStation is an integral part. “We’re about getting people to do more for themselves and for each other”, said Steve, and this approach has defined Kirklees’ strides across council services. Kirklees want to improve efficiency, make savings in the face of budget cuts, while ensuring they “provide a safety net for the most vulnerable in society.”

At Kirklees, this transformation looks like a shift to online and telephone services, custom leaflet printing in the contact centre, self-serve benefit assessments, and more. ScanStation is a key aspect of this approach, embodying the embrace of technology that a digital, self-serve, efficient and effective council requires.

The thought behind ScanStation

Andrew Jackson, LookingLocal’s New Business Manager, took over from Steve to give a nuts and bolts demonstration of ScanStation. He delved into the range of possibilities it presents for councils aiming to tackle high footfall, long queues and low customer satisfaction, particularly emphasizing how ScanStation can be used across departments, to process anything from housing benefit applications to license renewals.

There was expectations among the delegates that some people might struggle to use the tablets, but Andrew pointed out that similar technology is already pervasive throughout our lives – we self scan our shopping, and we have to go out of our way to be served by an actual person in Argos or McDonald’s.

Transforming Frontline Services

Following a much awaited buffet lunch, Diane Chapman, Kirklees’ Customer Contact Centre Manager, took over to give a first hand account of how ScanStation had affected their front line services. She told the audience that prior to implementing ScanStation, she shared some of the same concerns that they were articulating at the Show and Tell: She worried about ID verification and authenticity of documents, she was concerned that customers might not be capable of using the devices, and that back office work was going to be more difficult, with poor quality documents and difficulty indexing against a customer’s file.

Ultimately, these concerns amounted to nothing. Queues in Kirklees’ contact centre are entirely eradicated – people sing praise for ScanStation, Diane says. They love being able to quickly pop in, scan what they need to scan and leave, in shorter times than ever would have been possible using the old system. She says they’ve channel shifted nearly 100% of their customers to ScanStation, and experienced no issues with back end systems. The result has been a higher standard of care for vulnerable customers who need extra attention, and a much more pleasant contact centre environment.

Demonstrating ScanStation

The day concluded with a tour of Kirklees’ customer contact centre, with a hands-on demonstration delivered by staff in the council building. Seeing customers using the self-scanners was the perfect illustration – visitors saw first hand the public using the technology naturally, and the concern that some people might not use it was debunked. Delegates also had an opportunity to discuss at length with the frontline staff, who lauded ScanStation as the technology that allowed them to work with those vulnerable customers who really need their support.

If you are interested in attending any of our future events or would like to book a demonstration of ScanStation, please use the form below.