The past few years have put an unprecedented strain on public sector organisations. They have led the way during these difficult times and so have to prioritise accountability and reliability. That’s why we’re so proud of how many have chosen Convene to support their administrative process.

We’ve talked to our clients and put together a few reasons they’ve decided to meet with Convene:

Convene Facilitates Digital Transformation

For public sector organisations, it’s essential to focus on the future. Many of our clients in this sector want to transform their digital infrastructure and Convene is the perfect paperless solution.

This was a factor mentioned by Nadia Kühn and James Mansfield-Sturgess at Buckinghamshire Council: ‘As part of our future shape program and corporate priorities, our aim was to become more digital and commercially minded.’

Convene is meant for professional governance which means public sector organisations can trust the software they use. The fully GDPR-compliant solution guarantees improved compliance and internal processes.

Nadia and James continued: ‘Before Convene, we were storing documents on our shared folders in our internal network in addition to traditional folders and files. It was the consensus that if we were going to move away from the old way of doing things that we would need a proper, managed, secure solution.’

Convene Streamlines Meeting Preparation

With Convene, administrators are able to compose the meeting pack with a simple drag-and-drop. The intuitive Agenda Builder means they no longer have to waste hours in preparation. Many of our clients cited tangible improvements in their internal processes.

In the words of Elizabeth Morrison at Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service: ‘Going back to the old way of doing things would be much slower. We worked out the average board pack was 100 sheets, so with 13 board members that’s 1,300 pieces of paper. It took us up to a whole day to produce meeting packs for one meeting. Whereas with Convene is takes maybe half an hour, if that.’

Convene Meets High Security Standards

Digital solutions are more secure than paper documents, which can be picked up and read by anyone. Unfortunately, as technology evolves, threats to cybersecurity are becoming more advanced. Public sector organisations cannot afford to take risks with their data and require a professional solution.

For Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service, this was one of the main factors in their decision to use Convene: ‘Convene’s security and encryption was a key factor too because our documents can contain highly sensitive information so it’s important our data is secure.’

With AES 256-bit encryption and CMMI Level 5 accreditation, Convene allows Housing Associations to rest assured that their data is secure. The system offers 24/7 protection and support, as well as granular access controls.

Convene Adapts To Organisational Needs

At Convene, we recognise that the demands of every organisation are different. Public sector organisations need to develop more flexible ways of working to succeed. That’s why our software is designed to make Board meetings more adaptable.

This was a benefit for Buckinghamshire Council; ‘Using Convene has enabled us to drive innovation, not only in terms of the print savings but also in the style and culture of our Board meetings. The iPad app means we can have instant access to both current and past papers wherever we are, which fits perfectly with the agile ways of working that we are developing.’

Convene is available on different devices including Android. The software is now available as an integration with Microsoft Teams, which allows users to switch seamlessly between the safety of a Board Portal and the flexibility of online collaborative tools.

Convene Balances Cost and Functionality

As budgets grow tighter, public sector organisations need to balance cost with functionality. Convene’s wide range of features allows them to streamline communication and get the most from their Board meetings.

Elizabeth Morrison at Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service talked to us about the savings they have made with Convene: ‘We’re always looking to be innovative and do more for less money. We looked at the average size of the board pack, the printing costs, how long it took to put the packs together, and the cost of postage. Then we worked out that we'd make savings by going digital.’

Convene Provides 24/7 Customer Support

Public sector organisations need to know they can rely on any software they can use. Though our clients have few issues, it’s always important to know that help is easy to access.

The service provided by our support staff was picked up on by Buckinghamshire Council: ‘We appreciated the customer and support calls with Convene. Nothing was ever too much for Convene staff, from actually getting the product in, extending the trial period, to the crossover from the file to the live environment. We always had useful, clear, and very productive phone calls with our account manager.’

Convene offers 24/7 dedicated assistance for any and all questions. Though our intuitive software means there are few issues, we understand how important it is for healthcare organisations to get support at the moment they need it.

How Can Convene Support Your Public Sector Organisation?

Convene is an award-winning Board Portal designed to digitise and streamline your meeting processes from start-to-finish. Our comprehensive features include:

• A Document Library with role-based access to ensure your sensitive documents are protected.
• A built-in Audit Trail, so you can be sure you are compliant with all regulations.
• Integrated Video Conferencing, so you can make the switch from remote to hybrid working seamlessly, whilst still viewing your Board Pack all on one screen.
• Surveys, with the option for anonymity, so you can be sure you are aware of your employees' opinions.
• Accessibility Features, including text-to-voice, which makes us the leading accessible Board Portal.

The software now also comes as an integration with Microsoft Teams, which provides the benefits of both Teams and a Board Portal. 

If you’d like to learn more about how Convene can help your organisation achieve better governance, please do not hesitate to book a demo today!