It’s impossible to watch television today and not be inundated with news about the transition from President Obama to President Trump. While the presidential transition is monopolizing the headlines – every January marks the changing of the guard in elected offices all across the United States.
There are challenges to any transition – often times the person leaving office has extensive industry knowledge that the new person doesn’t possess, they know how the office operates inside and out, and know the people to go to in order to get things done. However, what newly elected officials possess is a desire to learn about the office, figure out ways to improve upon what their predecessor did, and often times in today’s world that means implementing technology.
Last December I talked about how the courts are trying to keep pace with the rapidly changing technology. It’s hard enough to understand if you’ve been in office for 30 years, but imagine you are coming into office “cold”. Then what do you do? Here are some tips:
- Rely on the administrative staff to explain current processes. Most government offices I go into today have many loyal long-term employees that can explain how, and why, things were done a certain way. Understanding any pain points employees have with current processes will help the newly elected official determine future improvement plans.
- Reach out to a neighboring county’s elected official and schedule a meeting. Seeing what is happening in a different office can generate many ideas for your office.
- Join the state’s association. You’ll likely have to wait a few months for the first conference, but beginning the dialogue early is helpful.
- Talk to your current vendors. It is important to understand your current solutions, and their product roadmap for the future.
- Talk to your customers. Similar to talking to employees, getting feedback from customers is critical to making improvements.
- Look at New technology.
I’ve talked with a number of new Register of Deeds, County Recorders and Clerks of Courts since the start of the year. Some of those people are just curious and want to learn, but the vast majority of the new officials I interact with want to figure out a way to provide greater service to their customers while lessening burdens on their staff.
One of the key ways to accomplish both of these objectives is to make documents available online. By making documents available online you dramatically reduce walk-up traffic and time spent locating, copying and redacting documents manually at the counter. Thus enabling your staff to focus on other activities that are more important for your office. No longer just something large offices want to implement, smaller population and large geographic, counties can benefit as well.
If you are interested in learning how Extract Systems’ Platform can reduce manual data entry to make document available online sooner or by securing sensitive information in those documents, please contact me at troy_burke@extractsystems.com or 608-821-6534.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Troy Burke
With 30 years of experience providing clients with stellar service and strategic solutions for growth and development, Troy is committed to ensuring his customers receive the highest quality solution, training and support with every implementation. He frequently speaks on the topic of redaction and is actively involved with National Association of Court Management, Property Records Industry Association and several other government organizations.