Up until mid-2023, Gunnedah Shire Council faced numerous challenges in managing council meetings efficiently, utilising processes that impeded productivity, with a single individual managing the entire process. Council recognised the need for change and knew there had to be a better way. And as you’ll see, the decision to implement Resolve Meeting Management has proved to be a transformative step in enhancing Gunnedah’s council meetings.

 

The Catalyst for Change: Reducing Manual Handling and Increase Efficiencies 

Manual handling can cause frustration at the best of times. Combine that with key person risk and onerous processes, and you’ve got yourself a catalyst for change.

 

Having managed council meetings for Gunnedah for several years, Alice McLean, Manager Governance & Legal, explains the driving factor behind a more efficient way to manage their meetings.

 

“There was a lot of frustration that stemmed from running our council meetings using Word,” she expressed. In some cases, we were triple-handling, and if we ever needed to make changes or edits, it would throw everything out of whack. The manual handling and risk associated with a single person managing the process for 35 years became evident when they went on long service leave. It made us realise that we needed another way to do this.”

 

After recognising the need for change, the team at Gunnedah began exploring various software solutions, ultimately finding Resolve to be the ideal fit for their needs. Alice explains how they were immediately impressed after the initial demonstration.  

 

“Our team had looked at many Business Paper Software Solutions in the past, but found that nothing quite compared to Resolve in terms of technology and speed. The functionality just blew us out of the water, it was exactly what we needed.”

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"​Our team had looked at many Business Paper Software

Solutions in the past, but found that nothing quite compared to Resolve in terms of technology and speed. The functionality just
blew us out of the water, it was exactly what we needed."

 

Eliminating the need to ‘reinvent the wheel’ for each meeting.

Once the decision was made to implement Resolve, Gunnedah Council experienced immediate benefits that streamlined their entire process. From report preparation to document storage and retrieval, it was clear that the team had found the right meeting management solution to support their needs.

 

“We were instantly impressed with the speed and efficiency that Resolve provided us,” explained Alice. “Our report preparation process is now so streamlined. We can edit items easily during meetings, and we now have a one-stop shop for storing and accessing business papers - it makes it so easy for everyone to access information from previous meetings. The ability to easily navigate agendas and include strategic links has also been a huge benefit for us, it’s eliminated the need to reinvent the wheel for each meeting.”

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"We were instantly impressed with the speed and efficiency that Resolve provided us. Our report preparation process is now so streamlined. We can edit items easily during meetings, and

we now have a one-stop shop for storing and accessing

business papers."

 

With Meeting Administrators now experiencing a much more streamlined and efficient meeting management process, they were excited to realise that Resolve's advantages extended beyond their immediate team. The inclusion of the Live Streaming feature and Councillor Portal improved access to meeting recordings and information, therefore fostering transparency. 

 

“Resolve has also enhanced accessibility for our community by enabling the live streaming of our meetings and combined recordings in a public portal. Our councillors have information at their fingertips and are enjoying the intuitive nature of the Councillor Portal,” described Alice. 

 

Seamless Synergy and Partnering for Success

With Gunnedah using Resolve across many departments, it’s always been important that they partner with a solution provider that understands their needs and works with them for ultimate success. Alice explained how she immediately felt reassured by Team Redman’s attention to detail and how the support they receive continues to impress them.

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“Team Redman was great in getting everyone on board and excited about the implementation,” she said. I cannot fault them in terms of their organisation and assistance, and I was astounded at how great they were in preparing us for the change.”

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"Team Redman was great in getting everyone on board

and excited about the implementation. I cannot fault them

in terms of their organisation and assistance, and I

was astounded at how great they were in preparing

us for the change."

​

In terms of regular support, Gunnedah has had nothing but exceptional interactions with team Redman. “Their responsiveness and quick turnaround time, even for more complex queries, have always been impressive.” 

 

Alice’s Top Tip for Implementation Success

“Preparation is key. Make sure you work with team Redman to clearly communicate what you want to achieve and ensure they understand the outcomes. It’s quite a big change, so it’s important to get everyone excited about the possibilities, prepare for the change and come along for the journey.”