Pace, accuracy and value for money are the ever present drivers that influence decision making in government. Huddle was being used elsewhere in the Department and colleagues who had utilized it were enormously quick to point out the merits of the system.

1. Letting the customer do the talking
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The case for platform adoption: Getting users on board.
About Sean
Sean Baker works for the Department of Business Innovations and Skills.
He was a Legal Accountant in the private sector before joining the Civil
Service as Assistant Business Manager working within the Priority Projects
Directorate. He is responsible for all financial planning, HR and training
issues, communications and risk management within a team managing the
Departments flexible resources working on priority areas of policy.
Given the sheer volume and variety of methods which assist us in our ability to communicate with one
another, it is unsurprising that the questions raised at the prospect of introducing yet another platform “Pace, accuracy and value for money are
were: Why? Why do we need something else? Why do we need another password? Why can we not the ever present drivers that influence
use the existing facilities? Why, oh God why…..!? decision making in government. Huddle
was being used elsewhere in the
There is an element of legitimacy to such reservations. As someone who has been involved in Department and colleagues who had
launching software platforms to unsuspecting and ever so slightly sceptical colleagues in the past, I utilized it were enormously quick to point
am somewhat reluctant to listen to company representatives preach the wonders of their product. out the merits of the system.”
But listen I did. - Sean Baker, Assistant Business Manager
It is fair to say that imagining life today, in both its private and work capacities, devoid of electronic
communication is very difficult. Needless to say, this phenomenon has not bypassed the Civil Service.
I am, in fact, reliably informed by several of my more ‘experienced’ colleagues that, despite several
teething problems, contemporary methods of communication and file sharing have succeeded in
revolutionising service delivery. It is incredibly encouraging to learn this, but still begs the perfectly
reasonable question of: Why the need for another platform?
Before I answer this, let me give you some background on The Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
Pool. It is a flexible resource consisting of around one hundred people with a wealth of project and
programme management expertise. These people are deployed to work on the Department’s priority
areas of policy. The structure and management of the Pool is such that its members are not only part
of the Policy Group they are assigned to, but also part of their individual branch and wider Pool
groups. Quite often a Pool member is involved in up to twenty or so different Communities of
Practice, Committees or Boards together with many other internal networking groups. In conclusion,
one individual needs to receive, send or maintain information from countless sources about a variety
of topics, much of which is channelled through the Management Team, which I am part of.
Coordinating and managing such administration during a period when the Department, its workload
and the Pool itself experienced rapid development, became a challenge. A more centralised
approach was required.
Pace, accuracy and value for money are the ever present drivers that influence decision making in
government. Huddle was being used elsewhere in the Department and, in fact, colleagues who had
utilised it were enormously quick to point out the merits of the system.
We needed something that everyone could access and, if necessary, at the same time. Something
which contains up to date messages and provides the reader with the opportunity to reply. Some-
thing which actually links documents and diaries. It was felt that Huddle provided the best bits of
these variables. A platform to share and comment on information, undoubtedly. Somewhere to
www.huddle.com UK & EU: +44 08709 772 212 USA: +1 (415) 376 0870 sales@huddle.com

2. store, view and edit documents, certainly. Something that is easily accessible and agreeable to use,
without question.
Yes, I appreciate I am preaching to the converted but I think that it answers the question ‘why’?
www.huddle.com UK & EU: +44 08709 772 212 USA: +1 (415) 376 0870 sales@huddle.com