Mid Ulster District Council Website

To become the modern digital council we aspire to be, we need to change our mindset, the way we work, and transform our skills and capabilities. We need our permanent staff to have digital, data and technology skills to help deliver our digital transformation ambitions.

We will support our leaders to develop their digital competency and role model best practice in digital age leadership. We’ll support our staff to be confident with and welcoming of technology innovation, so that they can better understand and serve residents and have a more fulfilling working life.

Outcomes

• We are a digitally transforming organisation that can continuously evolve the way we serve our people

• Our elected members have a clear understanding of their role in setting the vision for our digital developments

• Our senior leadership role model digital thinking and empower their teams to rethink the way they deliver services

• We are proud of our in-house digital teams, they are highly respected within the sector, and have all the skills and capabilities we need

• Everyone in the organisation has the opportunity to explore how they can contribute to our digital future

• Digital leaders throughout the council are educated in the impact of digital technology, and are champions inside and outside the organisation for technology innovation

• We can develop, attract, hire and retain the digital, data and technology talent that we need

• Customer service values are embraced throughout all our work

• Our staff are happy and engaged at work and have permission to proactively implement continuous improvement within their work and throughout the organisation

• All our staff can use the appropriate technology effectively and confidently in their daily work

• As a leading digital organisation, we can manage change effectively and build resilience throughout the council

Actions

• Develop a structured set of job roles for the digital skills that we require both now and in the future

• Identify, train and support a network of digital champions across all our services

• Develop a mindset framework to support our staff in adopting new ways of thinking about their work

• Design a digital leadership programme to support our senior leaders and team managers to embrace the opportunities for service improvement and innovation

• Design a digital leadership programme to support our councillors to become digital champions

• Invest in a programme of coaching and mentoring so that all staff can achieve their potential as the organisation changes

• Run regular (at least monthly) sessions open to all staff to learn about digital ideas and good practice from outside Mid Ulster District Council

• Develop a network of communities of practice around areas of cross departmental interest and give them the time and resources to thrive

• Develop a culture of self-help, where staff take responsibility for their own personal development and supporting those around them

• Create annual values in practice (VIP) awards that celebrate and recognise staff role modelling our values

• Give explicit permission and support for our teams to continuously improve their system of work, using approaches such as retrospectives and staff suggestions schemes•    Regularly measure the engagement and happiness of our people and address the issues they raise in a transparent way

• Build relationships with our peers in other local authorities to learn and share our learning as we are building and improving our services

• Develop a programme for our staff and teams so that they understand how to use council technology and can be confident to innovate with it

• Develop an internal digital engagement resource so councillors can always see, and champion our latest digital developments

• Establish the discipline of digital service delivery to support our multi-functional teams to stay aligned and effective

• Identify the skills we need to deliver our digital strategy and plan how we will develop them

• Identify and invest in the skills and resources needed for managing change and building resilience throughout the organisation

• Ensure we are living our values of putting our customers at the heart of everything we do by ensuring all our staff understand their customers and have the knowledge and skills to deliver excellent customer service

• Ensure our internal online tools work effectively by using high quality profile pictures and opening our diaries to allow for streamlined collaboration.