Service Manager for Digital Strategy and Design Lisa Trickey began her career journey at Dorset Council as a young apprentice in the early 1990s. She cut her teeth in technology just as digital began to transform the way we all work. Three decades later and Lisa is now leading the latest digital programme set to transform council services and customer experience. Here Lisa looks back on her 29 years with the council.
I joined Dorset County Council in 1992 as a clerical apprentice. At the time I was halfway through my A-levels but the need for a car was pressing, my mum is disabled and doesn’t drive and I wanted to be able to leave the village which had no public transport.
The apprenticeship scheme attracted me as I could continue my studies and work in different departments, because at that point I didn’t have a career in my mind. I had an interest in computer programming and social care.
I moved around for three years before joining a relatively new information technology team in social care. In this team I did a range of jobs including, organising installation of computers and internet connections, training staff how to use software, application development and support, business process improvement and project management.
By 2002 I was leading a team of 30 and during that decade I married and started a family. I was able to reduce my hours, work flexibly, and from home. This made a difference to my work/life balance. Never then did I expect to work from home full time like the last year, connecting to people using Microsoft Teams with people’s pets joining our meetings.
This flexibility along with the ongoing investment in my personal development particularly in management and leadership, is a real benefit of working in local government. I love that I get to work with lots of different people across the council and with partners such as the local NHS, schools, other councils, and businesses.
In 2007 I moved into the central ICT department as a Business Partner, this involved developing strategy, buying software, and implementing solutions using a mix of our own skills and external suppliers. All this experience led to the last few years of ‘making digital happen’ at Dorset.
There is never a dull day and I enjoy the creativity and ability to innovate in my current role which has led to Festival of the Future, an award-winning Learning at Work week and our new customer platform which we are in the process of starting to implement. I’m excited about the platform as it will allow us to give our customers a better experience of council services, automate processes, reduce cost, and allow us to re-use and share what we do with other councils.
It’s great to hear that work you’ve been involved in has an impact, such as the role Dorset Care Record has had in saving people’s lives and setting out our aspirations in our new Digital Vision.
It’s busy and we have a big focus on wellbeing. My favourite digital team activities have included desk yoga, crafting and pumpkin carving. I like to get out in the garden growing vegetables and enjoy just being in the sunshine to unwind.
Dorset Council is an exciting, ambitious council to work for, really focused on making a difference and caring about people.
We are recruiting. If, like Lisa, you would like to progress a career in digital why not apply to join us? We have new vacancies for a range of new digital projects, click here for more details Dorset Recruitment – Jobs and careers (dorsetcouncil.gov.uk)
I have worked in communications for 25 years, first as a journalist and then in public and private sector public relations. From Southampton originally, I have lived in beautiful Dorset for the last two decades. My passion for Dorset has also turned into a passion for landscape photography. My other great loves are my family and Southampton Football Club.