Transforming Complaints Management:
IPCA uses Power Platform to streamline Investigations and Case Management
Meaningful Outcomes
A real-time complaint overview is now easily visible for a more proactive case resolution
Monitoring of case allocations and case progress can now be observed
2,000+ cases can now be recorded in the system overnight
Enabled the team to monitor and manage cases remotely
Objective
Build a complaint management system that provides a holistic view of IPCA complaints and identify trends for a more proactive case resolution
Challenge
“What was really good with working with the Magnetism team was the guidance that they gave us around trying to think outside of what we knew and how we did things. They knew that this is the job we did day in, day out, but they helped our thinking with unlocking some of the solutions that we didn’t know were there.”
IPCA, also known as Independent Police Conduct Authority, is an independent entity and the only official New Zealand Police oversight body. Their goal is to investigate police misconduct and to perform the necessary resolutions relevant on the complaints filed.
The main challenges for IPCA was to create a system that streamlined the complaint process internally and also for the complainant while also providing transparency around how the complaint was progressing. The other core challenge was to create a workflow to ensure milestones and certain criteria were met for both complaints and also the investigations of the complaint.
IPCA’s old access access database was rich in data but lacked reporting and analysis functionality, ultimately hindering them from easily accessing vital information and easily creating a comparative analysis of complaints.
They needed a system in which they could triage cases supported by relevant documents to give an overall view of complaint trends from a broader sector-wide perspective. They needed this system to ease their investigations teams workload in manually collating complaints data coming from phonecalls, emails, and their online portal. They needed a system to gather vital information from the complainants, the police, and external third-party sector services such as justice agencies. This data needed to be easily accessible by a resolution analyst for assessment. The system needed to provide a full complete view of the complaints to help in their quarterly and annual reports to their stakeholders.
Solution
IPCA engaged with Magnetism to help build a new system on the Power Platform, utilising Dynamics 365, SharePoint for file storage and Power BI for rich analysis and reporting. The new system combines all complaints data coming from various sources with complete information such as complaint details, case categorisation, incident location, police district, and other relevant information into one place to provide a 360 degree view of a specific case. The new system enables them to quickly search across all recorded cases using keyword filters and allows IPCA to easily monitor progress both on a case level and a macro level.
Their Dynamics 365 CRM has also been integrated with SharePoint to easily access relevant evidence such as documents and footage. This makes their workflow more seamless and structured since they can access information quickly by browsing folders based on case categorisations whether they are in their system or SharePoint. Security was integral to IPCA’s system and the combination of security rules, roles and restrictions in folder structure in SharePoint enabled IPCA to create a secure environment for their data. Data is restricted, but still accessible by those that are meant to see it.
Data reporting has also been made easier with the integration of Power BI into their CRM allowing them to see case categorisations and case allocations per person. They are also able to see data at a higher level such as trend analysis for their board reporting and external presentations. With Power BI dashboard, the authority can see data in a macro and micro level.
Results
IPCA and Magnetism’s partnership ensured it gave secure access to thier Case Management and investigations team while providing a system and a structure that allowed them to do thier job more efficiently and effectively. Several testing sessions were completed to avoid work disruption and to ensure the smooth migration from their old access database to their new Dynamics 365 CRM system from day one.
The overview of the complaints workflow and business process flow recorded in their system has empowered IPCA to develop proactive measures in resolving cases, which is a core objective.
2,000 + complaints accumulated in two and a half weeks can now be easily recorded in the CRM overnight. They now have better oversight over complaints inventory, better understanding of individual case allocations, and the ability to see early indications of relevant change and trends which in time , will allow faster resolutions and continue to provide this public service.
“We’re light years from where we were four years ago which is a massive improvement from the way we can work.”
The CRM system enabled them to work during COVID remotely without the restrictions of on-premises setup. They are now capable of working anywhere without being bound by location.
