This case study examines how Dorset Council's housing team through Local Government Reorganisation were able to utilise digital technology and design skills which became available to them to transform reactive complaint handling to proactive service delivery.
The challenge
Following the formation of Dorset Council as a unitary authority in 2019, the housing team faced the complex task of merging four different district council operations, whilst managing growing workloads.
The newly formed team was predominantly focused on reactive service request handling, with limited capacity for proactive work. This created significant challenges when new government regulations required intervention with over 800 properties that failed to meet minimum energy efficiency standards. Additionally, hundreds of campsites required safety oversight, with one area needing targeted landlord engagement as an alternative to controversial selective licensing proposals.
The team initially lacked confidence in digital ways of working. The team risked falling into a pattern of ‘just getting by’ rather than embracing the opportunities that unitary status provided to think differently. The service needed to find ways to proactively engage with landlords, property owners, and campsite operators at scale, but traditional approaches would have required resources far beyond their capacity.
The response
As part of Local Government Reorganisation, Dorset Council made a strategic decision to embrace digital innovation as a solution to meeting increasing demand. Rather than accepting the limitations of reactive service delivery, the housing standards team partnered with the council's digital and technology specialists to develop online services that could enable proactive engagement at scale.
The approach focused on creating user-friendly digital ways of working that would serve as ‘force multipliers’, enabling a small team to achieve impact that would traditionally require much larger resources. Each solution was designed with extensive attention to plain English and user experience. The council established a collaborative development model that brought together housing expertise with digital and technology capabilities, ensuring solutions addressed genuine service needs while leveraging technical possibilities.
The approach
The housing standards team embraced iterative ways of working where user needs were translated into technical solutions. This collaborative approach generated ideas that individual teams hadn’t developed independently.
User experience became a critical priority, with each online service undergoing extensive testing to ensure maximum engagement. The team recognised that complex systems would drive users away, investing significant effort in creating simple, engaging interfaces that encouraged completion.
Rather than working in silos, the Housing service created project groups that pulled staff from different area teams to work on specific initiatives. This cross-functional approach spread knowledge across the organisation and created more dynamic working relationships. The team adopted an experimental mindset, embracing a culture of innovation and being willing to test new approaches.
The digital solutions were deliberately designed to help property owners improve rather than simply identify problems, focusing on positive engagement that would generate better response rates and more sustainable outcomes. Each successful project was also conceived as a template for addressing similar challenges, creating reusable digital assets that maximised return on investment.
The benefits
The three digital initiatives delivered significant outcomes. The MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Regulation) project addressed minimum energy efficiency standards through two innovative tools: an online service that guided landlords through compliance requirements, and an Energy Efficiency Checker that enabled property owners to explore improvement options for any UK property. Within one year, the team contacted all 800 landlords with non-compliant properties, resulting in hundreds of improvements. This represented a significant increase from approximately 100 properties the team would typically improve annually through complaint handling.
The Safer Renting initiative, developed as an alternative to selective licensing, proactively engaged 200 landlords in one area through online self-help. Approximately 80-90 per cent of engaged landlords had never previously had contact with the council. The system automatically provides targeted advice based on responses, generating universally positive feedback. The service has attracted users from beyond Dorset, including landlords searching for guidance online, demonstrating its wider value.
The recently launched Campsite Checklist project addresses safety by adapting proven digital approaches for hundreds of licensed sites. This initiative enables systematic safety engagement across all campsites, moving from purely reactive complaint handling to proactive safety oversight, addressing longstanding concerns about potential accidents.
Beyond specific project outcomes, the transformation significantly enhanced staff engagement and service reputation. The shift from reactive to proactive work improved team morale and job satisfaction, leading to better staff retention and the ability to attract new talent. The team gained recognition for innovative service delivery, including award acknowledgement, which further raised their profile within the sector.
The digital approach created scalable capabilities, with each successful project becoming a reusable digital asset that could be adapted for new challenges. This maximised return on digital investment and created a foundation for continuous service improvement. Most importantly, the approach enabled a small team to achieve impact that would traditionally require significantly larger resources, demonstrating how technology can address capacity constraints while improving service quality.
Key takeaways
Prioritise user experience through iteration: High engagement rates depend on making digital services genuinely simple and accessible, requiring significant investment in plain English communication and user testing.
Challenge assumptions about service capacity: Moving beyond reactive approaches requires actively questioning traditional limitations and experimenting with innovative methods.
Design for positive engagement: Digital tools that help people improve generate better response rates and more sustainable outcomes than purely regulatory approaches.
Build reusable capabilities: Successful digital projects should be designed as templates for addressing similar challenges, maximising return on investment and enabling continuous improvement.
Dorset Council's digital approach to housing standards demonstrates how use of technology can fundamentally shift service delivery from reactive constraints to proactive impact. Their experience provides valuable insights for other councils seeking to enhance service effectiveness through digital innovation.