A city shaping the future
In Gütersloh, Germany, productivity is ingrained in the local culture. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, then-Mayor Henning Schulz recognized the need for digitalization. Improving the city’s efficiency was a top priority, requiring the city to bring its work online. In 2018, the city’s leadership team began searching for a secure digital solution to support this transition. They discovered MeisterTask, which they quickly rolled out across the organization — and not a moment too soon.
The challenge: outdated processes halting progress
Carsten Schlepphorst, Department Head of Personnel, Organization, and IT at the City of Gütersloh, explains how the status quo in 2018 was limiting productivity. Lengthy alignment processes, especially for projects requiring cross-functional collaboration, made teamwork difficult. A system of sticky notes and in-person meetings also caused tasks to fall through the cracks.
The city’s goal was to establish transparent, clearly documented workflows for more productive teamwork. They hoped an effective task management solution could simplify day-to-day work, and make it easier to organize departmental meetings, mayoral briefing sessions and complex cross-departmental projects.
Carsten knew that the success of any new tool depended on how quickly it would be adopted across the organization. As a straightforward, user-friendly tool, MeisterTask ticked all the right boxes.
With MeisterTask, there isn’t a lot of effort required to implement. You simply register and then download the app: the rest is self-explanatory.
Carsten Schlepphorst
Department Head Personnel, Organization and IT, City of Gütersloh
The solution: intuitive task management with MeisterTask
By leveraging MeisterTask, the City of Gütersloh quickly streamlined communication between departments. The team was able to build a centralized overview of task and project statuses, creating more alignment among stakeholders and reducing the need for lengthy meetings. Rather than sending updates by email with attachments, relevant task information was accessible in one central location.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel here, we’re just getting things done. MeisterTask is great. Our employees understand the tool immediately, which means we can start and manage projects quickly and easily.”
Thanks to MeisterTask’s simplicity, implementation was seamless. Teams were confident using the tool and adoption rates were high. MeisterTask quickly became a vital tool for managing key strategic initiatives across the organization.
“We count on MeisterTask’s help to implement our city management initiatives, and the majority of project planning and management now takes place in MeisterTask. We finally have all the important information in one view, which means fewer instances where tasks are forgotten.”
The outcome: less bureaucracy, more productivity
One of the most important projects the City of Gütersloh implemented with MeisterTask was building investment controlling processes. All building projects in the city, under the categories of construction, underground works and green space management, are now managed in a dedicated MeisterTask project board.
From this central hub, deviations from the set costs, project duration and quality are clearly documented. Projects are categorized as running according to plan, running under budget or exceeding planned costs. This allows the city to manage resources effectively and proactively, and to implement corrective measures quickly when necessary.
In September 2020, the City of Gütersloh was recognized for its work with digital projects and, alongside 31 other regions in Germany, was nominated for the “Model Project Smart Cities Made in Germany” development scheme. Always looking ahead, it continues to embrace digital best practices to improve services for the citizens of Gütersloh and the daily work of those who keep the city running.
