For over 11 years, Gympie Regional Council relied on a word-based platform to create and host council meetings. However, as community needs evolved, the system failed to keep pace, and the team needed a more modern, user-friendly solution to ease the burden on meeting administrators, report writers, and councillors. We spoke to the team about their Resolve journey and how they implemented the solution within a record three weeks. 

   

The Search for a Solution: Understanding Requirements and Choosing Innovation  

Once Gympie decided to search for a new meeting management platform, they identified mandatory requirements. For the team, transitioning to a fully cloud-based SaaS solution that aligned with their goals was an essential aspect of their future vision. 

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“We needed something easier, and our current system lacked functionality. Working out of a word-based platform meant that so much important information was either hidden or locked away, and we would have to switch to various locations to simply run a meeting. While the demands of our community and council had changed over the years, the platform hadn’t,” they explained.  

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“While the demands of our community and council had changed over the years, (our existing) platform hadn’t."

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They further explained the importance of selecting a SaaS solution as many staff were now working remotely and required the flexibility to join from wherever and execute with ease. 

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“Council was also transitioning to cloud-based operations, so accessibility was key. What we were using just couldn't keep up with many of us working remotely. We would regularly experience corrupted files and complications when trying to make quick edits - we needed a seamless experience.” 

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The team also elaborated on council’s key requirements, stating that the Online Councillor Portal was a huge deciding factor in choosing Resolve. 

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“Resolve stood out to us upon discovering their Online Councillor Portal and Live Streaming capabilities. We were previously sharing files via Dropbox and emails, and it was becoming difficult for administrators and councillors; we knew the Councillor Portal alone would streamline so much for us - it centralised all documents in one place and would allow us to be so much more efficient.”  

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“Resolve stood out to us upon discovering their Online Councillor Portal and Live Streaming capabilities. We knew the Councillor Portal alone would streamline so much for us."

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With community access a high priority for any new system, Resolve’s Live Streaming and Bookmarking components impressed the team.

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“The fact that Resolve provided us with Live Streaming and Bookmarked videos in a package with the Agenda and Minutes meant the system offered us a complete ecosystem, which was exactly what we were looking for.”​

 

Rapid Implementation and Seamless Training: Gympie's Three-Week Transition to Resolve 

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With a new council incoming, the team at Gympie were eager to train all users on Resolve rather than the previous system. However, this meant implementation at record speed. The team explained how the partnership with Redman Solutions and well-prepared documentation were crucial to success. 

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“It just made sense for us to train users on Resolve, but we had to move fast. We ensured all documentation was prepared before implementation and essentially locked ourselves in a room with Team Redman for one week to become subject matter experts. We were (and are) so grateful for the support provided by Redman Solutions. We were partners from the start, and it really felt like a team effort throughout the entire process.”

 

“We were (and are) so grateful for the support provided by Redman Solutions. We were partners from the start, and it really felt like a team effort throughout the entire process.”

 

They also explained that while they were concerned about the quick training rollout, these concerns were alleviated once everyone saw how easy and user-friendly Resolve was. 

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“Initially, we were a little concerned about training for the Report Writers because this system is so different from what they were used to, but the intuitive nature of the platform meant everyone picked it up quickly. While creating reports is different, the preview function and ease of making changes has made them so comfortable with the system.” 

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Regarding councillor adaption, they were pleasantly surprised at how smooth the transition was for all involved. 

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“We had some councillors who hadn't used a computer in years - but following a 90-minute training session, they were easily navigating Resolve. We really didn’t get a chance to give people much of a warning about the change, but everyone adapted so well, and the feedback was great. It just shows how user-friendly the system is.” ​

 

“We’re just getting started…” 

With all essential requirements met and a three-week implementation, Gympie Regional Council team are impressed with their success and the endless benefits throughout the organisation. It’s evident that stakeholders are experiencing significant improvements in day-to-day activities, meaning they can spend more time on other tasks. 

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“Our meetings are simply much smoother. There’s less time going back and forth, and it’s just made us all so much more efficient. We also now use Resolve across a variety of meetings because the flexibility of copying a report across meeting types is just so easy. Resolve has enabled teams and executives to make better decisions faster, and at the end of the day, those decisions contribute to a better community.”  

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“Resolve has enabled teams and executives to make better decisions faster, and at the end of the day, those decisions contribute to a better community.”  

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Looking ahead, the team is excited by Resolve's possibilities and feels like they are just getting started. The innovative team looks forward to leveraging its full capabilities and envisions a future utilising them across the entire organisation. 

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“We’re so excited by the possibilities. We are currently bedding down our three main meeting types, but our aim is to keep expanding the use of this platform through the organisation.”

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“There is so much more we can do, and we have big plans.  We are slowly using more and more functionality, and we aim to take over the entire organisation, so all executive and council meetings are run entirely through Resolve."

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Gympie Regional Council's Top Tips and Advice for the Successful Implementation of Resolve

 

“We had a strong interest in implementing a new solution and really wanted to change how we managed our meetings, which we think helped. We would also encourage councils to understand the pain points of their teams so they know what to look for. Building strong relationships with meeting administrators and understanding their challenges can significantly motivate change.” 

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“Council Officers can sometimes get wedded to an old system, not understanding that there are more progressive systems out there that can better meet both organisational and community needs. Possibly a bit of ‘you don’t know, what you don’t know’. One tip would be to encourage all meeting administrators to communicate with your ICT team: explain to them the problems you are having and your vision of system requirements. It was through these discussions that we found out we were on the same page and could finally get a progressive system that met our needs.”    ​

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