Annual Report 2004 - Halifax Regional Municipality

Excellence in service delivery
customer service ♦ financial resources
people resources ♦ technology resources
S
HARED Services continues to refine
the internal structure that provides
administrative, operational and Client
Support Services in areas of Citizen Access,
Data and Business Information Management
and Information Technology Services. We
connect the public, HRM employees and
Council Members with the information
they need, when they need it. Our Mission
is to “provide integrated access to knowledge
and data so that HRM’s information profile
remains dynamic, current, accessible,
effective and reliable.
In 2004, Shared Services’ accomplishments
were numerous and varied, reflecting the
multifaceted structure of the Business Unit.
Shared Services’ priorities have focussed
on Citizen Access — providing seamless
access to services and information
using a variety of integrated
channels (such as web, phone and
in-person); Knowledge
Management — collecting, storing and
managing business and geographic data as a
corporate decision support tool; and Service
Delivery — providing services and systems
that effectively support HRM’s business &
corporate priorities.
A C C O M P L I S H M E N T S
Client Services: The Hansen Customer
Service Module was implemented at six
Customer Service Centres in the summer of
2004 allowing staff to more effectively track
citizen requests and service activity.
The Call Centre/Dispatch Service
continued to be integrated and saw a 10%
growth in call volume in 2004. 99.5% of the
Transit calls and 85% of other service calls
were resolved at the initial point of contact.
The new HRM “Internet Template” was
launched creating a new look and feel at
www.halifax.ca. In co-operation with
EMO, a highly-visible emergency alert
system was added to the website homepage
creating a more effective communication
tool for citizens and employees. This can be
managed remotely and was used effectively
during the November 2004 snow storm.
Information Technology Services (IT):
IT worked with Business Units and the
Integrated City Project Office to deliver
a Corporate Dashboard that provides
Executive Management reports on key
result areas.
All servers supporting enterprise
systems were replaced in a clustered
environment, an enterprise backup
solution was implemented,
a storage area network which
co-locates all HRM data sets
and facilitates future integration
projects was installed.
The Desktop/PC Automated
Inventory System was installed
in 2004 allowing for proactive
management of hardware
replacement, inventory control
and troubleshooting.
Data & Business Information
Management Services: Geographical
Information Services provided support to the
Municipal Elections Office through effective
tools to map and modify polling boundaries
and information.
The Civic Addressing Corrections
activity in the Hubbards/Tantallon
area was completed and corrections activity
in the Musquodoboit Valley/Eastern Shore
Communities was started. The development
of a Corporate Data Plan was initiated and a
gap analysis was delivered in 2004.
HRM, through its Information
Resource Management program, took
possession of a large volume of municipal
archival material, which included financial
records, photographs, architectural
drawings, Council proceedings and other
historical information and artifacts from
the Public Archives of Nova Scotia. This
material represents HRM’s corporate history
and is frequently requested by researchers.
I N I T I AT I V E S
In an effort to continue to fulfill our
mission for excellence in information
service delivery, we will focus on continued
support of the Integrated Dispatch and
Telecommunications Centre and the system
and services that support this initiative;
a Document Management system for the
Clerk’s Office and Legal Services; continue
the upgrades to the HRM Website, content
management and e-service opportunities
that play an important role in delivering
information and services to citizens through
the Web and continue to develop the
Hansen offerings through online service
requests for citizens and development of a
knowledge base for staff and residents. ■
At a Glance: Visits to the HRM Website increased from 6 million page visits a year in 2003 to 9 million page visits in 2004 • back up time on SAP system went from 8 hours to 1 hour
• Information Resource Management responded to over 200 retrieval requests • Call Centre/Dispatch Service logged over ½ million service requests with a 10% increase in Call volume
• Customer Service Centres handled over 14,000 walk in inquiries and 200,000 financial transactions Pay & Costing processes 100,000 pay entries and notices annually
29 — Halifax Regional Municipality