An innovative partnership between Gestisoft and the City of Laval

City of Laval: Modernizing Citizen Request Management with Microsoft Dynamics 365

About the City of Laval

The City of Laval is the third-largest city in Quebec, with over 450,000 residents. Always focused on innovation, the city continually seeks to improve the efficiency of its municipal services to provide citizens with a more streamlined and responsive experience.

In 2017, Laval partnered with Gestisoft, a technology partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions, to transform its citizen request management. The goal was to modernize municipal processes by implementing a centralized and automated solution capable of meeting evolving citizen needs while facilitating the work of municipal teams.

Challenges

Before implementing the new solution, Laval faced several major challenges in managing citizen requests:

• Lack of centralized data: Information on requests was scattered, making management complex.
• Manual process management: The absence of automation led to slower response times.
• Difficult request tracking: Teams struggled to maintain continuous and transparent follow-ups on citizen demands.
• Inefficient communication: Citizens did not have easy access to track the progress of their requests.
• Fragmented communication channels: Requests coming through various channels (phone, email, social media) were challenging to manage efficiently.

To address these challenges, the City of Laval turned to Gestisoft to design and implement a robust technology solution based on Microsoft Dynamics 365, capable of centralizing and optimizing citizen request management.

Solutions Implemented

To tackle these challenges, Gestisoft worked closely with the City of Laval to develop a tailored solution, integrating best practices in municipal management.

A collaborative approach

The success of this project was based on a strategic partnership between the City of Laval and Gestisoft:

City of Laval’s role:

• Providing strategic consulting services, leveraging its expertise in municipal management.
• Ensuring user training to facilitate quick adoption of the solution.
• Defining business processes and rules for routing requests.
• Playing a crucial role in project management to ensure the solution meets citizen expectations.

Gestisoft’s role:

• Delivering advanced software solutions expertise, including the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365.
• Customizing the platform to meet the specific needs of municipal management.
• Integrating existing systems and providing ongoing technical support.
• Managing Microsoft Dynamics 365 licenses to ensure secure and complete access.

Key solution features

1. 360° citizen profile: A comprehensive view to personalize interactions and improve satisfaction.
2. Request management: End-to-end tracking from receipt to resolution for efficient management.
3. Automated routing: Directing requests to the appropriate teams or individuals.
4. Citizen and elected official portal: Direct access to track and manage requests.
5. Multichannel communication: Phone, email, social media, SMS, bots, and Microsoft Teams for seamless interactions.
6. Reporting and Business Intelligence (BI): Performance analysis for informed decision-making.
7. Customization with PowerApps and Power Automate: Automating processes to boost efficiency.
8. Proactive assistance with Microsoft Copilot AI: Intelligent management of citizen interactions.

Benefits

The implementation of this solution resulted in significant improvements for the City of Laval:

• Increased centralization and visibility of information through a 360° citizen profile.
• Improved operational efficiency with automated management of requests and routing.
• Enhanced communication with citizens, facilitated by an online portal and multichannel interactions.
• Optimized decision-making with integrated reporting and analytics tools.
• Proactive interaction management with Microsoft Copilot AI, anticipating citizen needs.
• Strengthened data security, meeting public information management standards.

Conclusion

The partnership between Gestisoft and the City of Laval is a model of successful digital transformation for municipal service management. Thanks to the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365, Laval has become a leader in modern and responsive citizen service management.

This success story has also inspired other Quebec municipalities, such as Lévis, Terrebonne, and Candiac, which have adopted the same solution to improve their own request management processes.

Looking to modernize your citizen services and enhance your residents’ experience? Contact Gestisoft today to discover how our solutions can transform your municipal management.