5 Factors to Consider When Local Government Software Shopping
So you’re on the hunt for local government software? Good for you! Software has the potential to improve your communication with residents, make case management more efficient, and provide greater visibility on the issues to all involved.
Like any major purchasing decision, there are a lot of factors to consider when shopping for local government software. Here’s a look at five things to keep top-of-mind when conducting your product research.
Automations
“Workflow automations” is a phrase that comes up a lot in the software world. “Workflow” simply refers to the series of tasks needed to accomplish a process. In local government, workflows can be long and involve a number of departments and steps. When a concern or complaint comes in, it must first be routed to the appropriate department and assigned to a staff member. From there, a case will be created and inspections will be scheduled and conducted. Along the way, the staff member in charge needs to keep all parties, both internal and external, in the loop through email communication. And finally, there is the action needed to resolve and close out the issue.
Automation involves setting up rules and logic within a program so that taking one action triggers another to be done automatically. For example, when a concerned citizen files a complaint, you might have an automation in place that automatically routes a concern to the correct department and assigns it to a staff member based on the category of complaint the citizen selects from a dropdown on their form submission. Other examples of automation include sending an email to internal and external parties updating them when the status on the case changes or using GIS to auto-populate address data.
Selecting a software solution with workflow automations makes information move more smoothly through local government. Automations remove the time and energy needed to conduct manual processes, which in turn creates efficiency. They can also help to break down information silos that can arise when cross-agency coordination is needed.
Integrations
Your municipality likely already uses software for a variety of other purposes such as secure sign-in for employees, GIS, email services or even call center capabilities. As you peruse new software options, you’ll want to consider how a new product might integrate with your current offerings. Whatever you choose should be able to seamlessly integrate with your existing software so that data can flow uninterrupted, creating one unified system. Most software companies have a list of integrations publicly available on their website. The list isn’t always exhaustive though, so if you are interested in integration not listed, just ask the company during your research and interviewing process.
Ease of Use
One of the biggest questions to consider when software shopping is “how easy is this software to use?” Success of your new product starts with how willing and capable both staff and residents are to adopt and regularly use the software. If a product is confusing or difficult to access, residents are going to defer to their old standbys for getting in touch with you. Likewise, if the interface is complicated for staff, some might drag their feet on using it – resulting in a potential loss of some of the efficiency you are hoping to gain by switching away from pen and paper processes. Look for software solutions that have an intuitive interface to increase ease of adoption by staff. Having a product that works just as well on mobile as it does on desktop can also benefit everyone as it allows residents to submit forms on their mobile devices and allows staff to do their job from phones or iPads while in the field.
Support
The real world is full of imperfections. Even if you find a software product that looks perfect on paper, once implemented and in use, you are likely to encounter certain situations in which you need support from the company to troubleshoot issues. Software support can take many forms, from on-site training for staff to a centralized knowledge base for troubleshooting quick problems to a dedicated account person who you can contact for larger issues. As you research and interview companies, look into the levels of support they offer their customers.
Pricing
Fiscal responsibility is everything in local government. Every dollar spent represents taxpayer money, so you want to be sure you’re spending that money on a product that truly serves your citizens. While a software product that makes communicating with residents easier or case management more efficient is a worthwhile use of budget, software comes in a wide variety of price points and not every company operates on the same model. Depending on your situation, you may prefer per-seat licensing or population-based pricing.
As you consider pricing and budget, you’ll want to take a few other factors into consideration. First, most software products require a one-time implementation fee, meaning you may need to allocate extra budget for that first year. Second, as you review your agency’s needs, look into if the software provider has add-ons for other services that you need, as well as upcharges for things like integrations, data migrations, or file storage past a certain limit. Most companies have a “base package” of standard services, with each additional feature an upcharge. Some may be a one-time fee while others may be added on to yearly contracts. This allows your municipality to truly customize a product to your needs, but means you will need to budget accordingly.
Comcate for Your Local Government Software Needs
At Comcate, we believe in better government for all and the power of software in getting us there collectively. We aim for well-run agencies with the data to prove it. To that end, our solutions combine the power and usability of private-sector products with a deep understanding of government needs. We understand your problems – and believe that we have a solution to help your agency tackle them.
Ready to take the next step in your search? Contact us today to set up a demo and check out first-hand what our software can do for your municipality.
At Comcate, we believe in better government for all. To that end, we strive to provide products that support well-run government agencies.
Schedule a Meeting with Comcate Today!
Learn how Comcate can help make government delivery simple, and offer a modern digital experience to help you increase transparency, efficiency, and performance across your departments. If you have any questions about implementing our software, please fill out the form below or call us directly at (415) 632-1248.
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