Problem background
The reputation of the public sector is often negative among citizens, who expect the government to be more attentive and responsible to the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society. By using OpenText Documentum, the Department of Social Development is able to improve the speed and accuracy of processing appeals for social grant applications, reducing suffering for those who need assistance and lowering litigation costs.
Problem Statement
A government social development agency was falling short of its goal of concluding appeals within 90 days in more than half of cases, which had negative consequences for those who rely on their services. The department aimed to improve and meet its objectives of providing efficient, effective, and accessible social assistance appeals services to the public.
The social development department was in need of a more efficient and accountable method for capturing and accessing documentation, as the large number of appeals filed by individuals resulted in a significant amount of paperwork. The paper-based records management system made it difficult for the department to validate documents in a timely manner, causing a backlog of cases, high litigation rates, and costs of nearly USD 1 million per year.
Solution Assessment
The general public expects seamless and efficient services from their state and local government without interruption. But the use of paper-based methods and a dependency on physical locations makes it difficult for agencies to keep up with modern demands and ensure their operations are ready for the future. These outdated practices fail to meet the needs of both employees and citizens. To achieve their objectives, government agencies must equip their employees with the necessary tools to provide quick, precise, and efficient services from any location.
Transforming government agency operations not only improves efficiency but also immediately enhances citizen and employee engagement. A GovTech report states that government is the industry with the lowest customer experience rating. Today's digital-savvy citizens expect two-way communication, personalized experiences, and 24/7 availability, rather than frustrating practices such as paper forms, long lines, and busy signals.
Solution
Coforge offers digital-first content management solutions that cater to the needs of 21st-century government agencies. Its modern content services platform, supported by online tools, intelligent automation, and straight-through processing, helps remove obstacles and accelerate decision-making. This enables government agency workers to achieve greater efficiency, transparency, and public trust. The document management solutions offered by Coforge are designed to provide an integrated and customizable suite of content-related services, microservices, and digital tools that support various use cases across departments or agencies.
The OpenText Documentum solution was implemented to improve the efficiency and accountability of capturing and accessing documentation for the social development department. This solution captures all documentation, regardless of the channel it was received from and is able to manage cases from registration to completion. It provides automated alerts, comprehensive reporting, and complies with all compliance needs and security standards. The solution also sends notifications to stakeholders about progress or actions required and allows case workers to escalate cases that are at risk of breaching service levels while maintaining 100% compliance with legislative framework.
Technical Features
- The ability to electronically capture and access documents from any location, whether staff are in the office, working remotely, or in the field.
- A central platform to manage all content online, allowing employees to access information from anywhere and on any device.
- The capability to transform processes without the need to replace existing infrastructure or experience prolonged downtime.
- The ability to adapt and configure functionality to meet the specific needs of government agencies, both now and in the future.
- Secure and scalable access to critical information for employees by migrating content to the cloud, as and when they need it.
Conclusion
The implementation of OpenText Documentum solution has greatly improved the department's performance. During the last six months of the 2019/2020 financial year, the team was able to adjudicate and provide outcomes within 90 days in 98.2% of cases. Furthermore, over the last four years, the department has saved approximately USD 2.5 million on litigation costs.
