Capita’s ICT service has been awarded the Government Opportunities (GO) magazine National Excellence in Public Procurement Award for Best Service for its strategic partnership with Sheffield County Council.  This acknowledgement recognises the success of the first 14 months of the ambitious two year transformational programme that Capita embarked upon with the Council, in which it aims to transform the Council’s existing ICT capability into a more innovative and efficient system. Since the start of the contract, 90 per cent of the ICT transformation projects are complete and improved working practices have been embedded into ‘business as usual’ operations to continue to drive savings for the Council.

Improved customer service is a key driver in the Capita and Sheffield City Council partnership, Capita has upgraded the Council’s ICT network and telephony system to create more resilience and stability within the service.  Increased service efficiency has led to a 53 per cent improvement of first time call answering.  Furthermore, the programme recognises that communication with citizens and other stakeholders is vital and therefore an ICT communication strategy has been developed to ensure the local community, councillors and employees are appropriately engaged. Communication channels include the Council intranet and employee ICT road-shows.

In addition, one of the main aims of the programme was to reduce the Council’s carbon footprint by one million tonnes by introducing eco-friendly equipment and processes.  Under the programme power-saving systems are delivering a £90,000 energy saving per annum.

Paul Green, director of information services at Sheffield City Council, welcomes these innovations: “We are proud that our partnership with Capita has been recognised by the GO Awards. The transformed ICT service is improving the way our employees work and the services received by citizens of Sheffield. Our significant reduction in carbon emissions shows what can be achieved through greener and more sustainable ICT.”

Terry Boynes, partnership director for Capita, commented: “This award demonstrates Capita’s commitment to deliver services that are innovative and provide tangible benefits for the Council that can be passed onto the local community.  This certification recognises that Capita’s ICT service can transform a clients’ ICT from a basic capability to one that can compete with leading local authorities around the country.  Moreover, it highlights Capita’s aim to lead the way in reducing carbon emissions.”

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Notes to the Editor:
The Capita and Sheffield City Council strategic partnership
Capita has a seven year strategic partnership with Sheffield City Council to deliver ICT, revenues & benefits, financial business transactions, HR and payroll services on behalf of the Council. Capita is also working with the Council to help drive the transformation of the Council’s services for the benefit of the entire Sheffield community.

Capita is a major employer in Sheffield with other businesses such as pensions administration, property and recruitment all having a significant presence in the city. Capita is committed to supporting the local community through its extensive corporate and social responsibility activity which includes supporting local schools with volunteering programmes and introducing apprenticeship schemes.

The Capita Group Plc is the UK’s leading provider of BPO and integrated professional support service solutions. With 36,800 people at more than 250 sites, including 60 business centres across the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and India, the Group uses its expertise, infrastructure and scale benefits to transform its clients’ services, driving down costs and adding value. Capita is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (CPI.L), and is a constituent of the FTSE100 with revenues for 2009 of £2,687 million. Further information on The Capita Group Plc can be found at: www.capita.co.uk

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