Hutt City Council's Digital Transformation creates a connected experience for staff and residents

Customer overview

Customer: Hutt City Council serves more than 100,000 residents across Lower Hutt

Location: Lower Hutt, New Zealand

Sector: Local Government

Employees: 600+ (approx.)

Hutt City Council’s vision was simple but ambitious: to deliver a better experience for residents. Whether contacting the Council online, over the phone, or in person, residents wanted fast, transparent and consistent service.  

Challenges

Before the project, residents and staff faced the frustrations of disjointed systems and manual workflows:

• Fragmented systems: Customer requests managed across multiple, unconnected systems. Staff could not easily track an enquiry from submission to resolution.
• ‍Manual processes: Customer service teams manually logged tickets from emails, calls and forms. This was time-consuming and prone to duplication or error.
• ‍Repetition for customers: Residents often had to repeat their issues to different teams or agents, leading to frustration and inconsistent communication. ‍
• Limited visibility: Neither staff nor residents could easily see where a request was in its lifecycle or who was responsible for resolving it. ‍
• Reporting limitations: Without unified data, tracking performance or managing SLAs was difficult.

Project objectives

• Deliver a seamless customer experience for residents.
• Improve transparency and communication.
• Streamline internal case management.
• Enable integrations with other council and partner systems.

Solution

Working with the Council’s digital and customer experience teams, Theta delivered a connected platform built around three key components.  

1. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement: At the heart of the solution is a powerful CRM and case management system. It provides a single view of each customer interaction and enables automated workflows and SLA tracking. ‍
2. Te Manu Kairangi | My Hutt City: A new public-facing online portal built on Sitefinity allows residents a self-service portal to log requests, track progress, and access updates online. ‍
3. Azure Integration Services (AIS): Theta implemented an integration platform that connects Dynamics 365 with both internal and external systems, such as Wellington Water and Palmerston North City Council, for after-hours requests.

Chief Digital Officer, Lyndon Allott said,

“Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is a great system to handle service requests. Its flexibility lets us continuously enhance the experience for our customers and staff”

Outcomes

The new platform Te Manu Kairangi | My Hutt City, transformed how Hutt City Council manages customer requests, delivering measurable improvements for both staff and residents.  Allott said,

“Integrating our contact centre phone solution with CRM means the contact centre can instantly see who’s calling and their history, that’s made things much easier for our staff."  

For residents

• Transparency: Residents can log and track requests online, with real-time updates. ‍
• Confidence: Customers see progress on issues without needing to call for updates. ‍
• Convenience: Multiple contact channels feed into one system, creating a consistent experience.

For council staff

• Efficiency: Automated case creation and routing reduce manual workload. ‍
• Visibility: View all related interactions, attachments and updates in one place. ‍
• Accountability: SLA tracking and reporting help manage workload and performance.

The day-to-day improvements are obvious for Council,

“The system is simple, intuitive, and easy to use. We now have a single view of all the calls and that’s a huge improvement."

For Hutt City Council

• Integration-ready: Azure Integration Services allows easy connection with new systems. ‍
• Data-driven insight: A single source of truth supports better decision-making. ‍
• Scalable foundation: The platform supports future digital initiatives.

This is the first step in a bigger journey. Allott said,

“The CRM gives us a solid foundation, it helps us use data better, make informed decisions, and continuously improve how we serve our community. This is just the first step.”

Implementation

Theta delivered the project using an agile, collaborative approach, ensuring early value, reduced risk and alignment with Council goals.

Allott was pleased with how both organisations worked together,

“The working relationship with Theta was very good. Their project management made a huge difference with clear budgets, timelines, and communication. The collaboration between the project teams was excellent, and the support since go-live has been very good.”

Looking ahead

Hutt City Council’s partnership with Theta shows how modern technology, delivered thoughtfully, can bring a community closer to its Council, creating trust, efficiency and a genuinely customer-centric experience.

By integrating systems and automating workflows, the Council has built a transparent, connected experience for its community.

The new platform lays the foundation for continuous improvement, with support agreements in place to evolve the Te Manu Kairangi | My Hutt City portal and expand online services over time as part of Hutt City Council’s ongoing digital journey.

Technologies:  

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement
• Sitefinity
• Azure Integration Services
• Integrated with existing solutions:  ArcGIS, Genesys, Bookable

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