Our waste and recycling contract changed on 25 March, meaning different ways of working for the collections crews. This has resulted in delays and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you. For the most up-to-date information on when your collection will be carried out please check our update page.
Workstream 2: Giving our people the tools they need to do their jobs
We have worked hard on giving our people – members and staff – the kit, IT systems and processes they need to work effectively from anywhere. We now want to build on our successes by getting systems to connect where required, building tools for storage, collaboration and business intelligence through the roll-out of Microsoft 365, as well as ensuring that our people have the right devices for their jobs. We also want to ensure that our technology infrastructure supports our zero carbon ambitions.
Much of what is planned is covered in the ICT Strategy 2019-2024, which sets out how Mid-Kent ICT can support all partner authorities, including Maidstone, to deliver their digital ambitions.
The intended outcomes for this workstream are:
Our people can work effectively from anywhere, having the systems and secure access they need to do their jobs
Our people have the appropriate devices to perform their roles effectively.
Colleagues can collaborate and co-author documents, avoiding duplication and delays associated with multiple copies of the same document.
Our people can get the information they need about the Council and will interact with digitally with us and with each other
Data is organised so that it can be used easily to enhance corporate and team knowledge of service performance
Our systems integrate and are enablers of process change that removes unnecessary manual intervention
Our cloud-hosting services use renewable energy to support our zero carbon ambitions
To achieve this we will:
Move away from personal home drives and shared document folders, instead using Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint to create, manage, share and secure data and documents
Simplify remote access to applications and data that remains in our on-site data centre.
Implement a mobile working platform to support effective field working for all teams that need this.
Review applications, roles and processes to pick the right device for the job and the person.
Replace the remote access system with a new version that presents Windows 10 on any device from any location.
Review the use of the intranet alongside enterprise social tools like Yammer, looking at how best to store and disseminate information about the Council and seeking opportunities to engage better with our people, and for them to engage better with each other
Utilise methods like a data warehouse to organise and store data in a way that is easily accessible to business intelligence tools.
Identify opportunities for and pilot the use of automation and artificial intelligence. We'll learn lessons during these initial projects and rolling this out further if successful
Use application programming interfaces (APIs) and automation tools to join process steps from customer contact through to the back office and field workers on mobile devices.
Move documents into Microsoft 365: the Microsoft cloud will be using 100% renewable energy from 2025.
Assess the green credentials of our current suppliers’ cloud arrangements and introduce a cloud first approach to procurement so that Software as a Service (SaaS) options are evaluated with zero-carbon in mind rather than just cost
Ensure members can easily access email and documents securely from their devices by rolling out Microsoft Outlook and Teams and providing guidance on how best to use these applications