I started my journey in the council just under 2 years ago as a Project Management Apprentice within Adults Services. My apprenticeship has given me a lot of experience and skills to work in a project setting as well as a knowledge of some large legacy systems.  

This type of work was something that I was looking to find a role in as my apprenticeship came to an end and when the opportunity came to put myself forward for a role on the growing Digital Customer Portal (DCP) team as a Service Designer I decided to take the leap. 

My first month has been a great introduction to the team as well as the work that is currently being undertaken. I have learnt about the progress that has been made on the Digital Customer Portal during COVID and how we have developed and adapted ways to make experiences for our residents user friendly and accessible by transforming existing services and creating brand new services during this busy time.  

The team work in an agile way, allocating work to be completed within 2 week sprints and this was something that was completely new to me but something that I have grown to appreciate and enjoy!  

I have already created a number of forms and workflows, including our Customer Panel Sign up process and have been involved in taking the Council Tax and Business Rates forms from the old customer portal platform into the DCP.  

Working on the DCP team is going to give me a greater knowledge of many departments and teams within the council whilst playing a part in delivering the Councils priorities. Our aim as a team is to provide services that are based around the customer’s needs, improving their experiences as users and our efficiencies as a Council overall.  

The DCP team support and help each other with work and always make time for each other in the wellbeing sessions which we have every 2 weeks. We take time out to chat, play a game, laugh and simply forget about workloads during this time. This really helps us bond as a team. 

In the coming months I look forward to growing in into my role and getting a real understanding of the processes and the system and hope that I can bring the skills that I have learnt from my apprenticeship and different departments to the team. 

The road map of work we have in front of us stretches far and wide across the Council's portfolio so there is plenty to keep us busy for many months to come!!!