As one of the nation’s prominent technology and research areas, Durham County, North Carolina is considered one of the nation’s top ranked places to live, work and play. And the Durham County Government is fast emerging as a public sector technology leader, committed to innovation in the public sector and up-leveling service delivery.
The Durham County Government is now embarking on its first county-wide AI initiative to integrate advanced and innovative solutions across its IT support operations. This commitment led to its strategic partnership with Moveworks with the goal of redefining the county's employee service delivery across its 30+ different departments including public health, social services, IT services and many more.
"We've won quite a few awards for being a technologically advanced county. Our CIO is always thinking of new ideas to enhance the services using technology." — Chasity Locke, Assistant Director of IT Communications and Engagement
Moveworks recently sat down with Durham County IT leaders to better understand why they chose to work with Moveworks, what results they have witnessed, and what advice they would give to other public sector leaders considering deploying AI-driven solutions.
The drive for innovation at Durham County
One of Durham County’s strategic plan objectives is “accountable, efficient and visionary government”. The county leadership believed that using AI solutions would enable the county to make meaningful changes that could streamline processes, drive data-driven decision making, reduce service costs, and help to continuously improve services and business operations.
Partnering with Moveworks, the county aimed to tackle a significant challenge: How to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of its service desk operations for county employees across 30+ diverse departments.
One of Durham County’s strategic objectives is to be an "accountable, efficient, and visionary government." County leadership saw AI solutions as a way to make meaningful improvements, streamlining processes, driving data-driven decision-making, reducing service costs, and continuously enhancing services and operations.
By partnering with Moveworks, the county set out to address a major challenge: improving the efficiency and accessibility of its service desk operations for 30+ departments in support of 2,200+ employees.
The goals of this initiative were straightforward:
- Ease the service desk workload: Automating routine IT inquiries, allowing IT staff to dedicate more time to complex issues and projects
- Enhance information and service access: Providing employees with immediate responses to its IT questions, available 24/7, helping to remove bottlenecks and improve productivity.
- Promote a culture of innovation: Introducing AI was a strategic move to lead by example in the public sector, driving a shift towards more agile and responsive service delivery.
Going from idea to implementation
This AI-driven transformation did come with some challenges, including driving user adoption, expanding the knowledge base, and enabling infrastructure integrations. The team needed to enhance its knowledge base to ensure content accuracy, recognizing that the effectiveness of any AI solution is dependent upon accurate content. "We're working on adoption—it’s ramping up, and people are beginning to use it. Has every department embraced it fully? Not yet. But we're starting to shift the culture," said Zawadi Powell, IT Project Manager.
The county is now implementing various measures to encourage this shift in established behaviors and to build trust in the new solution. As Durham County navigates these initial challenges, its collaboration with Moveworks is gaining steady momentum, and employees are beginning to see the benefits and added value of the new solution.
"Our collaboration with Moveworks was born out of a relentless pursuit of excellence, with the goal of addressing a critical challenge: Streamlining the County's service desk operations to improve efficiency and accessibility for its employees. So far we’re off to a great start, and we’re eager to see what Moveworks can tackle next. " — Greg Marrow, Chief Information Officer
Crafting the AI solution: Moveworks and Durham County's collaborative approach
Durham County deployed Moveworks Copilot for its employees, and named its Moveworks bot “DCoBot”. The DCoBot design showed a smart but approachable bot, readily available across Microsoft Teams and the County’s ITSM system, ServiceNow, to automate responses to common IT inquiries. Aimed to offload a significant volume of routine tasks for the service desk and enabling IT staff to concentrate on more complex issues.
The team undertook a comprehensive approach to ensure the bot's knowledge base was both accurate and expansive, involving continuous updates and refinements. Integration efforts focused on compatibility and seamless operation within the county's existing IT infrastructure, ensuring the bot could effectively serve as the first point of contact for IT-related queries.
"We’re getting to a point where the bot is starting to do more of the transactional work, that includes providing step-by-step instructions to common IT inquiries or serving up forms for easy access and completion. Anything that's transactional, we’re confident that the bot will be able to handle it." – Zawadi Powell, IT Project Manager
Measuring success: The impact of AI on Durham County's service delivery
The introduction of the Moveworks AI marked a significant milestone in Durham County's service delivery transformation. Employees are already impressed with DCoBot’s ability to provide instant, accurate information.
Within the first 30 days of deployment, the county witnessed the value of the bot and its capabilities, as the bot efficiently handled a substantial number of routine inquiries. This shift is not only helping to enhance employee productivity but is also enabling the service desk to begin reallocating resources towards strategic projects and complex problem-solving, aligning with the county’s strategic objectives and innovation mandates.
Buoyed by the initial success of its Moveworks partnership, Durham County is setting its sights on broader horizons. The next phase involves expanding the bot's capabilities to encompass HR inquiries, further reducing the workload on administrative staff and streamlining access to information.
"This transformation is not just about technology; it's about setting a new standard for public service in the digital age." – Chasity Locke, Assistant Director of IT Engagement and Communications
Ultimately, Durham County's journey reflects the broader implications of AI for public service—emphasizing that while certain challenges are part of the process, they pave the way for enhanced efficiency, improved service delivery, and a forward-looking approach to meeting community needs in the digital age.
Moveworks is helping to redefine what's possible in the public sector. Check out our case study with Leidos and learn how generative AI drove productivity (and a 99% reduction in MTTR!) at the federal scale.
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