Improving council services through the digital front door

Creating better engagement with council services

With Martin Chalmers, director of digital, data and technology at Slough Borough Council

The idea of a digital front door is frequently used to describe how residents access council services. However, Martin Chalmers, a digital leader at Slough Borough Council, is cautious about the metaphor.

“The digital front door is something of a misnomer,” he says. “It’s not just about fixing the front door. It’s about fixing everything that happens behind it.”

Making sure that residents experience a seamless and positive experience when they come to knock on that front door is simultaneously one of the most important and most challenging responsibilities of the digital, data and technology function in local government. But what lessons can we take from advanced technology sectors in creating this essential gateway?

In this conversation, Martin shares important insights he brings from decades of private sector and consultancy experience into how to use technology to better support local communities.

Technology as an enabler, not the point

When councils talk about digital services, it is easy for the conversation to drift towards platforms, products and procurement. Martin is clear that this misses the point.

“When we talk about the development of digital services, we’re not just talking about technology,” he explains. “Technology is an enabler of a more fundamental change, which is the need to focus on the user through user-centred design.”

Local authorities occupy a unique position. Few organisations deliver such a wide range of services while remaining comparatively thin in their organisational structures.

That thinness has consequences. Outside of strategic leadership roles, most staff understandably focus on their specific part of the operation. Over time, this reinforces silos, both organisational and technical. Citizen services evolve to reflect internal structures rather than the realities of people’s lives.

“The result is that the services offered to a citizen don’t reflect the citizen’s needs,” Martin says. “They instead reflect the structure of the organisation, and these two things will not always align.”

Bringing the organisation together at the front end

At Slough, there is a deliberate effort to counteract this tendency by focusing on how the council presents itself to residents. The goal is to bring the whole organisation together at the front end, regardless of how fragmented it may be behind the scenes.

This applies just as much to physical interactions as it does to digital ones. Community hubs are designed to offer a joined-up view of council services, rather than forcing residents to navigate multiple departments. Online channels aim to do the same, presenting a coherent experience that feels consistent and connected.

Data also plays an increasingly important role. By bringing information together more effectively, the council can begin to identify when preventative or proactive support may be appropriate, rather than waiting for issues to escalate.

“That’s a relatively new way of thinking in the sector,” Martin notes. “And it’s particularly challenging, as I said, given the breadth of services we offer while remaining structurally thin.”

Yet it is precisely this shift that underpins better outcomes, both for residents and for councils under pressure to do more with less.

Understanding users before redesigning services

For Martin, any attempt to join up services must start with a deep understanding of users. Technology choices come later.

“When we’re trying to join up services, the first thing we do is make sure we actually understand the users and customers we’re dealing with,” he says. “We need to go into the community and listen.” This approach is evident in a current study on digital exclusion across Berkshire, where Martin and colleagues are developing personas that represent people most likely to face barriers when accessing digital services. The aim is to ensure that interventions are grounded in real-world evidence, not assumptions.

By anchoring service design in lived experience, councils are better placed to avoid creating digital solutions that inadvertently exclude the very people they are meant to support.

Making siloed systems feel joined up

Once user needs are understood, the next challenge is orchestration. Most councils operate a complex estate of specialised systems that support individual services. For Slough, these systems are unlikely to be replaced wholesale in the short, medium or even longer term.

“The reality is that we’re not moving away from many of these systems any time soon,” Martin says. “So, the question becomes, how do we make them appear joined up at the frontend? We need technology that supports us in joining up these dispersed systems.”

From a resident’s perspective, the experience should feel seamless, whether they are dealing with revenues and benefits or checking their bin collection. Nobody should be left wondering why parts of the same organisation appear not to talk to each other.

Processes need to be linked so that residents only have to make a request, or provide information, once for it to be acted on and resolved. This requires careful design across technology and people systems, not just new interfaces.

Reducing failure demand through better digital design

There is a strong financial case for this work. Like many councils, Slough spends significant time and resource dealing with failure demand, repeated contact caused by processes that do not meet residents’ needs first time.

“These failures often lead to people phoning us, chasing progress, making repeated calls or, in the final extreme, complaining,” Martin explains.

Improving the user experience is not just about satisfaction. It is about reducing avoidable demand and building financial resilience.

Preparing for reorganisation by getting better now

Local government reorganisation adds another dimension to these challenges. There are clear opportunities to be gained from economies of scale, particularly as unitary authorities remove some of the friction inherent in shared services across sovereign councils.

However, Martin is realistic about the pace of change. From a digital, data and technology perspective, success will depend on developing strategies that can support wider geographies and more diverse communities. Once again, understanding users is the starting point.

At Slough, the priority is not to wait for structural change, but to continue improving now.

“If we ever merge with another organisation, we want to be merging in good shape,” Martin says. “Merging things is not a panacea.”

By focusing on user-centred design, joined-up services and realistic transformation, councils can ensure they are ready for whatever structural changes lie ahead.

What work are you doing to make sure your front door as welcoming to citizens as possible?