The sun was shining, the drinks flowing and the BBQ sizzling as we all came together for Govtech’s annual summer get-together; even more special this year as we reflect on and celebrate our 20-year history. Joined by some of our Netcall colleagues, we returned to Ingleside House in Cirencester to mark the monumental occasion, toasting to the incredible success, growth and long-standing customer partnerships we’ve formed over the years – and there’s been quite a few!
Who’d have thought that what started out as a physical paper capture and verification service for Benefits, would evolve into the end-to-end digital process automation service we now provide for over 50 customers, covering both Revenues and Benefits. It’s been a remarkable journey and one that we are proud of.
From four directors to a large enterprise
It’s coming up to a year since Govtech became a part of the Netcall group, a decision that wasn’t taken lightly, but was essential to position Govtech for future growth and development with Govtech having already almost doubled in size in the last 3 years. We’ve always worked like a close-knit family and it was important that, with so significant a change and such rapid growth, we didn’t lose that culture. The alignment of values is critical and, if you ask our customers, they’ll all say that our practices, partnerships and the way we do business are unchanged. We’re a trusted and reliable partner, treated as an extension to our customers’ teams, helping them to maximise the benefits from automation – which is exactly what we set out to be.
Taking time to reflect on the last 20-years and in particular the last 12-months, Andrew Melvin expressed his gratitude, on behalf of all the directors, to the team for their support, dedication and hard work during the transition. There was a huge round of applause as it was confirmed that all our web forms have now been released on Netcall’s Liberty Create Platform – no easy feat when you take into account the number of Revenues and Benefits forms we have in our portfolio, including the number of different processes and scenarios each form can handle – and as almost all team members have been involved in this project in one way or another, it was a raise your glass moment.
“The last 12 months have been perhaps the busiest in Govtech’s 20-year history. New customers on-boarded mean the Govtech community has grown by 25%; the Govtech team has increased from 39 to 47; online transactions are up by over a third and the entire Revenues & Benefits web form suite has been recreated in the Netcall Liberty platform. Most importantly, this has all happened without customers noticing. That is entirely due to the commitment, dedication and teamwork of Govtech’s staff, and the support from colleagues in Netcall, which has been incredible.”
Andrew Melvin, Commercial Director and Founder, Govtech Solutions – A Netcall Company
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Reflecting on our past
It’s remarkable that some of our team members, directors aside, have been with the company since the beginning and have seen first-hand the evolution of Govtech. There’s a large proportion of the team who have been with Govtech for over a decade, and if you ask one of our founding members what is the secret to our success? Well just ask Viv, a Govtech employee for 16-years, she’s very much a part of the family and, having worked in various departments, she has both wisdom and insight into what makes Govtech successful.
“I realised that integrity and honesty play a major part in the Govtech work ethos and, from the very start of my Govtech journey, I realised the importance of building mutually rewarding relationships with colleagues and customers alike, always treating others in the way you yourself want to be treated.”
Viv Smith, Govtech Solutions – A Netcall Company
More of Viv’s insight and Govtech experience can be found in her 2022 published blog post here.
And the winner is…
Sharing stories and hearing tokens of experiences was another highlight of the day, as was the infamous Govtech quiz – although this time another Quiz Master stepped up to the plate, and hats off to Tim Friery, Head of Programmes and Service Implementation at Govtech, for making it a showstopper.
Kicking-off with bartering cards, to guess your colleagues’ favourite desert island album, to some of the trickiest general knowledge questions going, he made sure we all had our thinking caps on and, through teamwork and collaboration, Team 1 took victory – well done!
Looking ahead to the future
A lot has happened over the years, especially in the last 12-months as mentioned, so it’s important that we get together regularly to recognise team efforts, prioritise wellbeing and celebrate our successes. The Summer BBQ was a great celebration and, as many of our colleagues jet off for their Summer holidays, we wish them a restful and enjoyable time. When they get back, there’s a lot to come from Govtech for the remainder of the year, as we welcome more new customers and begin to roll-out smart new technology to support automation in Revenues and Benefits..
