Lending a hand, lifting a load: Wrexham County Borough Council supports residents through a greater sense of efficiency

In a world where digitisation is a fact of life, it’s easy to believe that automation is something impersonal, a process entirely devoid of human touch. But Wrexham County Borough Council’s Customer Services team — the second of our two UK winners of the Operational Excellence category at this year’s Granicus Digital Government Awards — demonstrates otherwise.

As we’ll explore, their collaboration with Granicus shows how automation not only helped the council to simplify the processing of Blue Badge applications, but how it ultimately allowed Wrexham to undertake that most humane of acts: to extend a helping hand to those in need, ensuring that its residents receive support and assistance at exactly the right moment.

Setting an example through automation

In their entry submission for this category — which recognises efficiency within public sector organisations — Wrexham County Borough Council emphasise that their work with Granicus has resulted in tangible benefits to their organisation, particularly with respect of reducing the processing time for Blue Badge applications. They go on to say that this collaboration has not only eased an administrative backlog but reduced the volume of queries from customers seeking to verify the status of their applications. Likewise, it has also reduced the number of customer complaints received regarding overall application processing time.

Furthermore, the team at Wrexham explained, “The new system has automated large amounts of work and helped ensure that people are signposted to any additional services they would be entitled to, enhancing support and access to care. The new system has gained a lot of positive staff feedback and created significant efficiencies for Customer Services.” They add that the improvements made through this collaboration mean that “Wrexham is now one of the most efficient councils in Wales for Blue Badges,” an achievement that embodies the ethos of this award category.

Fragmentation and frustration: the catalyst for change

Prior to working with Granicus, Wrexham’s handling of Blue Badge applications was fragmented and labour-intensive, involving multiple systems and duplicated data entry.

Ultimately, this system slowed application processing and increased the risk of errors while causing customer frustration. “These inefficiencies not only delayed outcomes for applicants but also placed a significant administrative burden on staff, highlighting the urgent need for a more integrated and automated solution,” the team stated.

Implementing a single system to simplify and enhance Wrexham’s operations

By collaborating with Granicus and implementing its Service Request Management solution (govService), Wrexham fully redesigned the service it offered for the processing of Blue Badge applications. Thanks to Granicus, Wrexham was able to bring a sense of efficiency to this process by:

• Integrating application workflows with national systems via APIs.
• Introducing automated case routing, eligibility checks, and notifications.
• Enabling real-time application updates for both staff and applicants.
• Centralising processing into a single system, removing the need for Wrexham’s staff to work across multiple platforms.
• Implementing guided workflows and templates to ensure consistent decision-making within the application process.
• Embedding audit trails and reporting to support transparency and continuous improvement.

But more than simply implementing a solution, the team at Wrexham explained that Granicus went one step further in their approach to efficiency, helping the organisation “interpret that data so that it could be displayed in a human-friendly way.” As we’ll explore, this is a point that has offered all the benefits of automation while bringing a more personal touch to this corner of the council’s operations.

The ripple effect: the impact of a collaborative effort

For Wrexham, the implementation of Service Request Management has delivered many benefits to its overall handling of Blue Badge applications. Improvements include:

• A reduction of application processing time from 18 working days to 7, a 60% improvement that is well ahead of the Welsh government’s 12-week target.
• A streamlined initial assessment process for Blue Badges.
• A reduction of customer complaints regarding the application process.
• A significant decrease in the administrative burden involved in handling applications, which has resulted in an increase in staff efficiency.
• An improvement in data quality, accuracy, and consistency of application decisions.

At its heart, Wrexham’s approach demonstrates how operational efficiency and service quality can be improved while simultaneously bringing benefits to the wider community. By modernising workflows and integrating systems, the council has:

• Delivered a faster, more transparent service for its residents.
• Improved confidence and consistency in its decision-making.
• Increased resilience despite staffing constraints.
• Used automation to free up capacity and improve overall service performance.
• Embedded intelligent signposting into its operations, ensuring that applicants are automatically guided to access care and support.

“The automation and integration have transformed how we work,” the team at Wrexham explained. “We’re now delivering a fairer, faster service with confidence, making faster decisions, fewer errors, and have happier customers. It’s reduced processing time by over 60%, improved accuracy, and made the service more accessible for everyone.”

Wrexham has shown that while automation can be used to streamline processes and create efficiencies, it can also be used to bring a lighter, human touch to proceedings, supporting residents while enhancing the level of service they receive.