Working smarter in these tough times
I write this on the morning of the new Government’s first budget and, like any business owner, await further details of the cuts and benefits that we will be subject to. With HM Treasury as a major client, I also have a professional interest in their web presence during the announcement, but that is another story.
With both central and local government clients, Redweb as an agency is heavily involved in public sector work and we, like others, will need to share responsibility for enabling this Government to reduce the UK’s borrowing.
However, as CEO, I am not running for the hills. Nor am I just casting public sector aside for a perceived healthier private client base. I believe, that as an agency, this is an opportunity for us to work more closely with the public sector to help them with the difficult task ahead.
I am sure that, through our business acumen and ongoing improvement, we can provide an exemplary service at a lower cost that benefits both client and agency. I hope that this is our chance to demonstrate the benefits of having a lower cost base, greater agility and breadth of our staff’s ability in delivering cost effective quality solutions to the sector.
So what gives me the confidence that we can do this? We have always run the finances of the agency in a prudent way. This means our costs are low and our expenditure is in line with clients’ expectations. Being based outside of London is a major benefit. We have adapted quickly and retain a full spectrum of staff able to meet the variety of tasks required for today’s digital requirements. To me, the real benefit of being a full service agency, is that our clients receive the range of expertise not available to smaller agencies without getting charged for every interaction.
On a delivery front we have spent considerable time developing frameworks, code libraries and honing our processes. This allows us to provide common functionality and address public sector requirements efficiently and with ease. Continuous exposure to similar projects and issues allow us to reduce cost through experience, knowledge and improved techniques without effecting quality and design. In fact it improves results and allows time for the value add.
Also, we don’t outsource development. We keep it all in-house which helps communication, quality and improves our credentials for public sector scrutiny.
Our growth and the relationships we have developed with suppliers means we are able to leverage price, and in doing so, pass savings on to clients. For instance, we implement a number of CMS’s enabling us to provide insight and negotiation across suitable vendors for potential customers.
Finally, Redweb has always understood the need to demonstrate ROI. We have always been pragmatic and not bowled over by the latest trend or fashion. Our core business is utility and we preach friction free user centric design. We can’t understand why, in good or bad times, we should deliver work that isn’t effective or justifiable. We will continue to be stringent and self-critical about our value and results.
So yes, hard times are ahead and public sector organisations will need strong justification to exercise any expenditure. However, the web still offers the greatest opportunities for public bodies to directly interact with citizens. For suppliers who actively evolve and quickly align themselves to deliver better and accountable value in a smarter fashion, opportunities will exist.
I am passionate about Redweb and its service and how we can make a difference. Our customers and hopefully potential customers can rest assured that we are not complacent and doing our part to work with them to provide answers and solutions to make these difficult times easier.
