Favrskov Municipality: 13 years of effective meeting preparation

Since 2011, Favrskov Municipality has used FirstAgenda Prepare as their primary tool for digital meeting material. This makes them one of the first municipalities to use the meeting tool - a meeting tool that has saved them from cumbersome workflows and has contributed to both easy and secure distribution of their meeting material.

Although it was many years ago, the time before FirstAgenda is still vividly remembered by Ulrich Zickert, Head of the Mayor's Office and HR in Favrskov Municipality. In particular, he recalls the packing and distribution of the city council meeting material as an extensive process.

"Before we got FirstAgenda, we produced agendas for the various meetings on paper. There were large piles of paper that were printed, sorted, packed and then sent by courier to the private addresses of the various meeting participants. It was a big job that could take most of a day." 

The time-consuming and manual process also created challenges if changes or additions were made to the meeting material leading up to the meeting. The starting point for introducing FirstAgenda was a clear desire to streamline workflows and digitize meeting preparation.

"We had a clear desire to both streamline and digitize meeting preparation. It was in this context that we started working with FirstAgenda, and we quickly realized that we could save some pretty heavy workflows in relation to the production and distribution of meeting materials"

- Ulrich Zickert, Head of Secretariat, Favrskov Municipality

Easy linking between ESDH and FirstAgenda

When implementing new systems and workflows in a municipality, it is crucial that the new systems work well together. This was also one of Ulrich Zickert's concerns prior to the implementation of FirstAgenda in 2011. However, these concerns were quickly replaced by satisfaction with the new solution.

"For us, it is crucial that there is an easy link between our EDRM system and FirstAgenda. It is important that the systems work well together and that there is a smooth interface between the systems we use for our agenda production. This is one of the things that has worked really well right from the start with FirstAgenda."

In addition to an easy connection to the other systems, an intuitive and user-friendly solution was also important, as it is primarily the daily users who should experience the benefits. Ulrich Zickert recalls a successful and relatively easy implementation process - but also an implementation process where many users had to get used to a new way of preparing meetings.

"I remember back to a fairly easy implementation. This applies to both the technical implementation, but also the way users received the solution. Of course, you have to get used to a new way of preparing meetings, but the solution was quickly embraced by the users, and this is largely due to the fact that it is so user-friendly."

Close collaboration - together for development

With more than 13 years of experience with FirstAgenda , Ulrich Zickert has had the opportunity to both follow and influence the development of the meeting solution along the way. Ulrich experiences a great responsiveness and attention to their use and experiences with the solution. 

"I generally experience great interest and curiosity at FirstAgenda - both on the user side, but also on the administrator side. We are often asked for feedback on new, potential additions or changes to the system, and it's great to be involved in this way." 

Ulrich Zickert has also been involved in testing new features and changes to the system on several occasions, and he generally appreciates the close collaboration.

"I think our feedback is very well received. It's a great advantage that we have the opportunity to influence something in a direction that we think is right and that fits into the workflows we have"

- Ulrich Zickert, Head of Secretariat, Favrskov Municipality

All preparation in one place

"It is my experience, but also that of the vast majority of users, that meeting preparation is easy and clear in FirstAgenda. Users have all their meeting preparation in one place, they have the opportunity to write personal notes and share comments with each other - and it's easy to navigate around large meeting material."

At the same time, Ulrich Zickert points out that with FirstAgenda they have an easy administration of both user creation and access, so you can limit and control access to, for example, confidential material.

"The ability to restrict access to confidential material to certain users and meeting forums greatly meets our requirements. The good access control contributes to the safety and security of our work."

When the need for support arises

Political meetings and tight deadlines often go hand in hand. That's why, according to Ulrich Zickert, it's also important that support is available and competent when needed.

"The support we experience at FirstAgenda is both competent and responsive. They also show a great understanding of the fact that we work with tight deadlines. I find that the support always responds promptly and works quickly to solve whatever problem there may be so that we can meet our deadline."