If you ask any municipal clerk what their number-one challenge is, they are likely to tell you that it's simply a heavy workload. In fact, an iCompass survey, now Community by Diligent, of government workers showed that workload was the top concern for all departments within their municipalities. Community by Diligent offers the next generation agenda and meeting management solution for municipalities to remedy their concerns over heavy workloads. The solution is designed to tackle the most common problems with board agendas.
The agenda is a standard board management tool that has been in use for many decades. The agenda is a useful tool, and agenda software solutions have only made it more valuable. When we compare the problem issues with how agenda software solutions promote efficiency and effectiveness, it's easy to see how agenda management solutions allow government workers to work smarter, not harder.
The top five features that agenda management software solutions offer are a game changer for municipal clerks. Fully featured programs and integrated solutions go even further to reduce the workload of government workers.
If late-breaking news requires even a small change to the agenda, the clerk must scramble to make the change and reprint the entire agenda packet all over again. It's impossible to add or reorder things without reprinting the entire meeting packet. The costs of paper, ink, ink cartridges and labor mount with every agenda change.
Typical word processing programs aren't functional for designing meeting agendas, which causes formatting difficulties and makes them difficult to set up and to use efficiently. Agendas typed on paper don't integrate easily with other meeting software solutions, and they're not mobile-friendly.
The agenda is a standard board management tool that has been in use for many decades. The agenda is a useful tool, and agenda software solutions have only made it more valuable. When we compare the problem issues with how agenda software solutions promote efficiency and effectiveness, it's easy to see how agenda management solutions allow government workers to work smarter, not harder.
The top five features that agenda management software solutions offer are a game changer for municipal clerks. Fully featured programs and integrated solutions go even further to reduce the workload of government workers.
Agenda Preparation Issues That Add to Municipal Government Workloads
The reality is that manual processes for agenda preparation are costly and time-consuming. It takes hours, or even days, to put together an agenda and all of the relevant reports.If late-breaking news requires even a small change to the agenda, the clerk must scramble to make the change and reprint the entire agenda packet all over again. It's impossible to add or reorder things without reprinting the entire meeting packet. The costs of paper, ink, ink cartridges and labor mount with every agenda change.
Typical word processing programs aren't functional for designing meeting agendas, which causes formatting difficulties and makes them difficult to set up and to use efficiently. Agendas typed on paper don't integrate easily with other meeting software solutions, and they're not mobile-friendly.
The Top Five Most Useful Features of an Agenda Management Solution
It's important for agenda preparers to be able to format the agenda quickly and to use it as a base for writing meeting minutes to serve as the official record. The top five most useful features of an agenda management solution are as follows:- Updating the agenda in real time. Agenda management software updates the agenda; and when the user publishes it, the updated information is available to all users in real time. There's no need to recopy dozens of copies of agendas and meeting packets at the last minute so that the meeting packets are accurate.
- Sending copies of the meeting packet electronically. This feature allows agenda preparers to send out copies of the meeting packet electronically without having to use third-party file-sharing programs. Recipients receive their documents immediately and in the right format.
- Including reports and attachments. Having the ability to attach reports and other materials saves money on copy and courier expenses. Electronic files also allow meeting participants to pull up important materials for review during the meeting.
- Easy transition from agenda to meeting minutes. Community by Diligent makes it ultra-easy to transform the agenda into a polished copy of the meeting minutes. This feature promotes efficiency.
- Mobile access to documents. Government workers and board members like to work on business matters on the go as much as anyone. Having iPad apps such as the one that Community by Diligent offers makes it easy for meeting participants to review meeting agendas and other documents, as well as to make annotations or use drawing or highlighting tools.
Community by Diligent: Agenda Management Software Solution
The iCompass survey referenced earlier showed that implementing technology over the next 12'18 months was high on the priority list for most municipalities. Creating agendas is one of the most time-consuming tasks for city clerks, so investing in agenda software is a good place to start. With the agenda-creation process under control, councils will be able to reinvest their time savings in other work projects. Community by Diligent puts the power back in the hands of local government leaders to better serve citizens.
