Barnsley Council has successfully implemented Copilot for Microsoft 365 across various departments, such as finance, human resources, and legal. This integration has streamlined workflows and improved efficiency for council workers using PowerPoint and Teams on a daily basis.
The use of Microsoft’s generative AI tool, Copilot, has been particularly beneficial for social care professionals within the council. It has allowed them to save time on administrative tasks, such as writing up calls, organizing notes, and recording minutes after meetings. Copilot acts as a personal AI assistant, providing support for social care workers’ key responsibilities.
A significant advantage of using Copilot is its ability to reorganize visit notes into accurate records, categorized for easy reference. This feature has saved social workers hours of analysis, enabling them to prioritize urgent interventions. Additionally, Copilot can quickly summarize large files, which is especially valuable when social workers are assigned new cases. It helps them to review vital information and identify major risk factors efficiently.
Barnsley Council also has plans to utilize Copilot for other purposes. This includes creating social care training materials and filtering through extensive data sets to ensure accurate and up-to-date records.
Microsoft highlights that Copilot yields the most useful results when used with appropriate prompts and parameters, which may take some time to figure out. Wendy Popplewell, executive director for core services at Barnsley Council, encourages staff to experiment and learn from any mistakes while using Copilot, as long as they adhere to council policies and guidelines.
During the trial phase, Barnsley Council has provided extensive support and training to its workforce. This involves training 180 staff members as Copilot champions, who can assist colleagues in utilizing the technology effectively. Popplewell has conducted demonstrations, workshops, and weekly meetings, and the implementation partner CPS has also conducted training sessions and guided walkthroughs.
At present, over half of the council workforce has embraced this new technology, with the uptake further boosted by positive word of mouth. Barnsley Council’s adoption of AI aligns with its long-term strategy, Barnsley 2030, which aims to harness the latest technologies for the betterment of the community.
According to Popplewell, Barnsley Council is committed to creating an environment where employees can fulfill their professional aspirations by leveraging cutting-edge technologies.