FACS (now Department of Communities and Justice) is a NSW Government agency which enables families and people with disabilities to live independently as well as protecting vulnerable people from harm and provide ongoing support.
Enabling a flexible way of working for a remote and disparate team
Enabling a flexible way of working for a remote and disparate team that provides much-needed community support at a government agency.
About the Client
Business Opportunity
With the introduction of Flexible Working across NSW Government agencies, and the understanding that more flexible work practices are needed to support a healthy workforce, FACS was driven to improve the flexibility of working options for its people. To make flexible work a reality, FACS needed to update their technologies and review end of life/licences for some core office technologies.
FACS have a large and disparate workforce spread across the state, including some field-based staff in some very remote locations. They also need to manage critical requirements such as providing a 24/7 online presence due to the nature of the services they provide. Many FACS field staff make client visits, make notes on the visit, then transpose notes as soon as possible.
All of these unique employee requirements were considerations in the design of flexible work for FACS, the project delivery and the change approach.
To enable a remote and flexible workforce, new devices with a new operating system (Microsoft Windows 10) needed to be rolled out.
Atturra Solution
The project started with a pilot group of affected users where hubs were set up in select office locations. Users were invited to an individual timeslot to pick up their device, test it and get immediate support if they needed it. Atturra was engaged to contribute to the pilot design and execute on the change management aspects of the roll out. The objective was simple: support employees as they transition to the new Windows 10 platform, with minimal interruption to normal working.
The Atturra team consisted of a Governance Lead supported by Change Analysts, who worked closely with the IT department and IT projects to develop the pilot approach. The team supported employees through the change with communications and support materials, delivery of rollout sessions including coaching on Windows 10, ongoing support and training for users and as well as providing online help desk.
Atturra was engaged for the pilot phase of this project from January – June 2019. The full project roll out was delayed due to Government restructures.
Key Outcomes
The pilot successfully delivered new devices to 160 employees in a short period of time. Employees received one-on-one coaching and access to support materials at the hub when they picked up their device. This resulted in minimal requests for additional support. The pilot change approach was deemed a success and to be replicated in the rollout.
Atturra Advantage
The client practices a considerable degree of caution to change management in projects. Changes to scope and resource requirements meant Atturra had to change its plans and approaches at short notice. This flexibility and responsiveness to the new challenges in the project has led to Atturra being involved in future projects with FACS.
