Hutt City Council uses our pioneering, simple, and easy-to-use video devices to embrace modern hybrid work, ensuring complete equity between its in-office and remote employees so they can work more effectively.

Innovation is core to the mission of Hutt City Council. Located on the Hutt River north of Wellington, New Zealand, Hutt City Council supports a large geographic region around the city of Lower Hutt that’s home to around 114,000 residents. From the mayor to councilors to council and city staff, all are focused on building a connected, resilient, and inclusive city where all of the residents can thrive.

Hutt City Council manages infrastructure, oversees local parks, libraries, and recreational facilities, provides regulatory services, and supports emergency management. With innovative programs and policies and integrating easy-to-use technology solutions, Hutt City Council has become a forerunner among nearby regional councils as it provides critical services to residents while embracing and encouraging modern, hybrid collaboration.

Giving employees the flexibility to work from anywhere

Like many organizations, Hutt City Council learned during the pandemic that where some employees are physically working at any given time doesn’t matter. With the infrastructure and services that the Council supports spread out across the region, it is beneficial for elected officials and staff to have the flexibility to work from anywhere. Using Neat video devices running Microsoft Teams, Hutt City Council employees can now be part of meetings and collaborate freely, regardless of location.

Coming out of the pandemic, it was clear we needed to invest in a conferencing solution that would support hybrid work – many of our meetings were a mix of people in a room and other attendees working elsewhere. These meetings were becoming fragmented and difficult to manage. We knew we needed an innovative solution and found that with Neat running Microsoft Teams.

Lyndon Allott, Chief Digital Officer, Hutt City Council

The organization’s hybrid work guidelines are evolving, with individual teams building whatever policies are the most effective. Still, the expectation is that many employees will work remotely on any given day, leading Hutt City Council to reexamine its office spaces to include open office spaces, hotdesks, huddle spaces and traditional meeting rooms.

Neat Symmetry was a real selling point for Hutt City Council. A key focus for the Council is supporting people’s well-being and providing flexibility to ensure a healthy work-life balance. Neat Symmetry ensures all meeting participants are equally seen and heard, regardless of where they’re joining from, ensuring equity for in-person and remote attendees.

Neat looks at things from a customer’s point of view and what the experience will be like, which is crucial. We also appreciated the support and responsiveness from the Neat team, which made our deployment easy.

Steve Wake, IT Systems Administrator, Hutt City Council

Easy than ever communication between teams

Previously, Hutt City Council only had a couple of their main meeting rooms equipped with video conferencing solutions. With a largely hybrid workforce, Hutt City Council has expanded its use of video technology and plans to expand its remote collaboration capabilities. Today, spaces in Hutt City Council’s main city offices, its Emergency Management Center, and other city facilities include Neat devices, making communication and collaboration easier than ever.

We were at a stage where we needed to make better use of our meeting spaces in a cost-effective way, to be more accessible and support different ways of working. At the same time, people expect everything to be simple and easy to use, which is just what we found with Neat devices. They just work with very little instruction or support required from our IT staff.

Phil Baker, Operations Manager, Hutt City Council

Hutt City Council has deployed a mix of Neat Bar, Neat Bar Pro, Neat Pad, Neat Board, and Neat Frame, outfitting its meeting spaces, flexible workspaces, and personal offices with powerful video and audio capabilities.

In addition to enabling fluid communication among city staff, council members and the mayor, Hutt City Council uses Neat devices to improve communication with the community. Various community boards and organizations can also use Hutt City Council’s facilities to hold meetings, using Neat devices to collaborate with remote participants and record sessions to share with the broader community.

Discover more about Neat devices and their pioneering capabilities at neat.no.