This unique agency is an example of multiple departments collectively sharing the expense of administrative software and other technology-based solutions. They are located in a suburban California city which serves approximately 40,000 residents , and acquired Schedule Express to be purposed for their communications center, fire department, and law enforcement agency.
Prior to transitioning to an automated solution, scheduling claimed approximately 63 hours per week, or the equivalent of 1.5 full-time employees. This meant on an annual basis, more than 3,000 labor hours were being diverted to scheduling rather than remaining available and accessible for agency use.
Because it can be difficult for many agencies to acquire the budget to purchase a new product or service – even one that is proven to return significantly on the investment – it’s an excellent strategy to consider how the expense can be shared by multiple departments, effectively reducing budgetary strain on the initial acquisition, recovering time and budget for all involved departments, and ultimately maximizing impact for the community.
In this agency's case, this enabled them to purchase and implement the software, generating a significant return on investment. Weekly hours spent on scheduling tasks were reduced from the initial 63 hours to only five hours – a recovery of 92.1% on previously lost time. In turn, that time was able to be returned for the agency, essentially providing them with more than one additional full-time employee. With that, the expense is able to be shared between all three departments and return a value of $150,000 between all three operations.