Collaborative Working to Deliver IT Transformation and Business Change

1. Collaborative Working to Deliver IT Transformation and Business Change Andrew Dale – Head of IT Ian Pritchard – IT Manager

2. Who are we – unITe Solutions • Collaboration between Shropshire Housing Group (SHG) and Severnside Housing (SSH) • Delivery and Management of all IT Services to both SHG and SSH as a single team • Created from each company’s separate IT Departments • Brand created as an identity for IT and to enable long term resale of IT Services to other organisations

3. Who are we – Severnside Housing (SSH) • Based in Shrewsbury • Owns and maintains 5,400 properties across Shropshire • Employs 280 staff. • Group structure that also includes electrical contractors (A.Walters), registered charity (Shrewsbury Homes For All) and Social Enterprise (Digital Den).

4. Who are we – Shropshire Housing Group (SHG) • Based in South and North Shropshire, comprises two HA’s (South Shropshire and Meres & Mosses) • Owns and maintains 4,500 properties across Shropshire • employs 270 staff.  • Group structure that also comprises a DLO contractor (Total Response) and social enterprise (Grow Cook Learn).

5. Business Objectives for change to IT Services • Benefit from geographical location of offices and staff • Enable resource sharing for VFM and skill transfer • Enable holiday and sickness cover • Enable joint IT strategy with joint working practices and common solutions • Enable service and procurement cost sharing • Enable resale of IT services in the future

6. Challenges Faced in Meeting Objectives • Business objectives • Understanding of a joint IT service • Perception of unequal IT service • Technological deficiencies and differences • Process deficiencies and differences • Lack of IT strategy and alignment with business objectives • Team and people issues

7. Business Challenges • On-going acceptance of IT as a shared service • SHG DLO growth and SSH DLO acquisitions • SSH expansion and group structure setup • SHG and SSH expansion of staff and working locations • Digital Inclusion Initiatives • Customer Service Initiatives • Ever Increasing Internal Customer Expectations

8. Strategic Challenges • Lack of long term IT Vision and Strategy at both SHG and SSH • Lack of alignment with business objectives • Different viewpoints within SHG and SSH for future IT requirements • Incomplete and delayed projects for housing and DLO system upgrades at SHG

9. Technology Challenges • Aging and differing infrastructure for Networks, Servers, Telephony • Various Data Centre and office locations • Aging and differing systems – If systems across SHG and SSH could be different, they were different! • Keeping up to date with technology developments across diverse technologies in use

10. Process Challenges • Lack of: • IT Policies • IT Procedures • Project Management Methodologies • IT Performance Measures • Insufficient processes for monitoring and maintaining system availability

11. Team and People Challenges • Fragmented teams • Lack of customer service • Lack of willingness to work at different locations • Lack of willingness to work with different technologies • Breaching of Comfort Zone! • Occasionally, a lack of willingness to work with each other

12. Transforming IT Objectives • Delivering IT Services as a “Business Partner” • Ensuring Relevance of IT to Overall Business Strategy • Making Services Proactive, not Reactive • Ensuring IT Staff are customer service focused • Enabling standard working practices and processes • Delivering standard working solutions • Making change through “Evolution”, not “Revolution”

13. How unITe was developed • Initial appointment of joint Head of IT • Review of Stakeholders aims and requirements of IT • Review of Existing team members roles and skills • Recruitment of team members with the right future skills • Team Members training • Review of IT teams identity and brand creation • Selling and Embedding joint service offering

14. unITe Brand • Brand creation was a very interesting time…. • How to get away from…. • Shropshire Housing Information Technology • Severnside Housing Information Technology

15. How unITe has been structured • Not a separate company – yet! • Staff employed by either Shropshire Housing Group or Severnside Housing • Due to staff structure, salary costs are similar per company • unITe define and manage separate budgets per company

16. Strategy Transformation Customer Interactions Information Giving Core Systems Flexible Working Infrastructure unITe Services

17. Service Transformation • Common Policies and Procedures • Common SLA’s and KPI’s • Single Service Desk and contact numbers • Adoption of ITIL principles • Regular IT Review Meetings with key business stakeholders • Board level representation on IT Steering Group

18. Infrastructure Transformation • Review each companies: • Contracts • Availability, performance, capacity, points of Failure • Compare and contrast both companies setups • Review Business needs for continuity, remote working, office locations, etc • Devise short and long term strategy, action plans and budgets

19. Infrastructure Changes Servers Physical Telephones WAN/LAN Contracts Data Centre Wifi Servers Virtual Telephones WAN/LAN Contracts Data Centre Wifi Servers Physical MDM Telephones Contracts WAN/LAN Data Centre Wifi

20. System Transformation • Review each companies systems for: • Contracts • Functionality, Ease of Use, Fit for Current Purpose • Compare and contrast both companies setups • Review business needs for systems match against future objectives • Devise short and long term strategy, action plans and budgets

21. System Changes Housing Finance Assets Housing DLO GIS DLO Assets HR Finance Reports Email Texting Texting Apps GIS HR ASB Reports HR Email ASB Housing Email Housing Reports DLO Assets Assets Finance Finance DLO

22. Team and People Transformation • Setting up and embedding single team working • Developing Customer Service ethos • Encouraging cross site working and cross training • Monitoring role responsibilities • Ensuring training is relevant to new initiatives

23. Tangible Benefits • Cost savings on contracts through economies of scale • 15% saving on mobile contracts • 35% saving on office WAN contracts • For joint solutions (HR, ASB, Telephony) • 35% saving on system implementations • 25% saving on system annual maintenance • Savings have enabled of additional solutions to be installed

24. Tangible Benefits – IT Staff v Total Staff, Locations

25. Tangible Benefits – Availability, Continuity, Recovery

26. Tangible Benefits – Service Desk Performance

27. Tangible Benefits – Satisfaction with IT Service

28. Summary • Collaborative working was well worth setting up due to the benefits that have been realised • Creating an identity has been key to the success • What wasn’t anticipated was the level of work required to setup and promote the service, nor the level of effort required to stabilise systems and develop staff • Having a joint board level steering group has been important to strategy development and acceptance of service

29. Thankyou