Shape Croydon
Declining government grants and increasing demand for services meant Croydon—London’s largest government authority—needed to reduce £100M (30%) from its operational budget over three years.
The borough needed to innovate—and engage its employees in the process.
Putting mission first
£100M could be saved by eliminating 500 roles: An untenable level of job loss that would leave the borough unable to deliver on its mission to improve the lives, employment opportunities and wellbeing of Croydon’s 350,000 residents.
Program strategy
Shape Croydon was developed as a holistic employee empowerment program: multi-platform engagement put the future of the borough in its 12,500 employees’ hands.
Innovation portal
The Shape Croydon portal, available as a desktop site or mobile app, let employees submit money saving or revenue generating ideas.
Social engagement
Social features allowed users to comment, like and follow ideas. Employees would up-vote specific ideas, the most successful of which were passed over to an incubation team for review.
Feedback loop
Digital signage across the organization’s real estate shared project updates, celebrated employees and provided a digital timeline, demonstrating the borough’s progress toward the fiscal goal.
Program results
12% of employees registered within the first month
450 money saving ideas submitted in first quarter
£6M in potential savings identified in first six months
44% increase in employee satisfaction