Overcoming Resourcing Challenges and Skill Gaps to Deliver a Seamless Financial and Operational Systems Transformation. “Change is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.” Rhys Lloyd Jones
Major changes in a workplace, whether they be modifications to management, updates to office technology, evolving regulations or global trends, can be difficult for teams to get used to and incorporate into their day-to-day lives. This sentiment rang true for Denbighshire County Council, which recognised the need for significant transformation to modernise their core ERP systems and operations. From financial management and property to supply chain and performance planning, their legacy systems were no longer fit for purpose.
The Council had identified the need for change prior to the onset of COVID-19, but internal resistance delayed the implementation of new solutions. With neighbouring councils moving ahead in their digital transformations, Denbighshire County Council was feeling the pressure. By September 2022, they made the pivotal decision to purchase TechnologyOne and set a go-live target date of April 2024. However, despite the organisation’s enthusiasm for change, they quickly realised that their internal skills gaps posed significant risks to the project’s success. They also needed to build internal expertise to avoid over-reliance on vendors. This led Denbighshire County Council to reach out and engage Lánluas as their independent TechnologyOne consulting partner to provide guidance and de-risk the transformation program.
Project Highlights
Module Configuration: Lánluas supported the council in configuring critical modules, including Financials, Property & Rating, Budgeting and Supply Chain Management, ensuring they were tailored to Denbighshire County Council’s unique needs.
Report Writing and Development: Lánluas worked closely with Denbighshire County Council to develop customised reports and dashboards, ensuring the team had the right data for informed decision-making.
User Acceptance Testing Advisory: Lánluas’ expert team guided Denbighshire County Council’s user acceptance testing, providing feedback and validation at each stage to ensure the system was functional and met the Council’s goals.
Process Improvement: Lánluas collaborated with Denbighshire County Council to streamline business processes, helping them design efficient workflows that integrated seamlessly with TechnologyOne.
Training and Education: Designing and delivering comprehensive training ensured that Denbighshire County Council’s team only used the tools when they fully understood them, empowering them to take ownership of the system post-implementation.
Data Migration: Lánluas worked alongside DataMC to ensure seamless integration and data validation.
The Challenge They Faced
Denbighshire County Council knew they needed to modernise their systems. Initially, the council had planned to go to tender with a neighbouring council, but that fell through. Observing their neighbour’s struggles with system replacement reinforced Denbighshire County Council’s determination to take a proactive approach to avoid similar pitfalls.
In September 2022, Denbighshire County Council purchased TechnologyOne as a forward-thinking decision. However, they quickly realised they faced multiple challenges. First, there was a significant five-month gap between the initial training provided by TechnologyOne and the implementation phase, leaving their team unprepared to move forward independently. This gap created a risk of losing momentum and jeopardising the go-live date. They also identified internal skill gaps that would make it difficult to manage the implementation process on their own.
The need to hit the April 2024 go-live date was particularly pertinent, as neighbouring councils who had delayed their implementation suffered operational inefficiencies, cost overruns and prolonged disruptions. Denbighshire County Council was keen to avoid these setbacks by staying on schedule. Any delay could result in cost overruns, loss of faith on the transformation initiative internally, and scrutiny from constituents in the community.
Denbighshire County Council’s leadership also recognised that their previous attempts at digital transformation had been met with resistance. To succeed, they needed a change management strategy that focused on appropriately timed training and hands-on guidance, rather than generic, one-size-fits-all training.
This is where Lánluas came in. With a focus on hands-on support, collaborative planning and an emphasis on effective change management, Lánluas became the guiding hand that Denbighshire County Council needed.
The Solution We Offered
Lánluas’ approach to supporting Denbighshire County Council was centred on education and collaboration. Our expert team of TechnologyOne consultants not only provided technical support but also advised Denbighshire County Council on the strategic implications of different implementation paths. For example, Lánluas helped Denbighshire County Council make a critical decision early on: instead of creating individual ETLs (Extract, Transform, Load processes) for each business function, they recommended developing generic integration processes. This approach simplified the system architecture and made ongoing maintenance more manageable.
Lánluas and Denbighshire County Council also collaborated closely with DataMC – Lánluas’ data migration partner – to handle the data migration. By working together, we ensured that the data transfer was seamless, accurate and validated both within and outside of the TechnologyOne environment. This ensured that Denbighshire County Council’s historical data was reliably integrated into the new system without complications.
As part of the solution, we also delivered comprehensive training to the Denbighshire County Council team, ensuring that they understood every tool before using it. This approach empowered Council staff to take full control of the system once it went live. Our team’s proactive, hands-on approach extended beyond training, covering everything from process improvement to guided user acceptance testing (UAT).
Additionally, Denbighshire County Council’s leadership decided early on to secure blocks of expert support and advice from Lánluas’ TechnologyOne consultants in advance, scheduling specific tasks that their internal team couldn’t handle due to capacity or capability limitations. This flexibility helped the project team address challenges as they arose, avoiding potential bottlenecks during the implementation phase of the project.
Lánluas’ continued guidance ensured that Denbighshire County Council was not only prepared for the April 2024 go-live date but was also equipped to manage the ongoing evolution of configuration, reporting, dashboards and analytics post-implementation.
The Final Outcome
With Lánluas’ support, Denbighshire County Council was able to successfully complete the implementation of TechnologyOne on time and within budget. The Council’s insistence on understanding the tools before using them, coupled with Lánluas’ structured change management approach, ensured a smooth transition to the new TechnologyOne ERP system. Denbighshire County Council’s internal team felt confident that every issue was fixable, significantly reducing the risks associated with such a large-scale transformation.
“Without Lánluas’ involvement, we wouldn’t have met our key deadlines. Their expert guidance and collaboration have been critical to our success. We’ve been so impressed with Lánluas’ work that we’ve since introduced them to other councils who are facing similar challenges.”
Rhys Lloyd Jones, Financial Systems Manager, Denbighshire County Council
Ready to unlock the potential of your TechnologyOne enterprise system? Contact Lánluas to discuss how we can help.
