Dedicated to best serving all its residents, businesses and volunteers, Lillestrøm kommune recognized the importance of having a website that could not only deliver relevant information but act as a self-service resource.
Norway's ninth largest municipality
Lillestrøm kommune is located on Nedre Romerike and is home to over 91,000 residents. Named Norway’s best biking city, Lillestrøm serves its residents from the cities to the countryside and is the ninth most populated municipality.
Serving many residents efficiently means having a website that provides accessible and accurate information. Lillestrøm decided to take a deeper look into how the website and its search was performing.
Challenge: A need for digitization
A few years ago, all Norwegian municipalities had an uplift to create a self-service website. Search plays a key part in this transition as people turn to websites to find information. But there was one problem: the search solution Lillestrøm had didn’t live up to the expectation. They faced challenges such as:
- Lack of control for their search function
- Poor or no results returned
- Limited insights into visitor behavior
- Costly and time-consuming to make changes impacting search
These search inefficiencies led to call and email inquiries and redirected staff away from other responsibilities. Lillestrøm knew it needed a solution that would benefit both residents and employees.
Goal: Creating a self-service website
Working with partner Noa Ignite, Lillestrøm evaluated website design and search options to meet its goal of a self-service website. The website and search needed to communicate with residents, employees and visitors. They also wanted to meet digitalization requirements to put users at the center with a search that was easy-to-use, efficient and reliable.
Lillestrøm carefully created a list of essential search requirements to meet these goals and overcome its challenges. This list included a search that could:
- Give Lillestrøm control of the experience and results
- Understand users and natural language processing (NLP)
- Deploy quickly and intuitively, with accessibility features
- Rely on machine learning and
- Leverage a team of dependable search experts.
Results: Benefits of Cludo's intelligent search
Evaluating intelligent search solutions led Lillestrøm to Cludo. After a successful implementation, Lillestrøm kommune quickly noticed benefits for internal and external users. Cludo has given employees, like Leiv-Rune Gully, Communications Advisor at Lillestrøm, the ability to make changes without relying on consultants or the web team’s time. He can easily react to and adjust the search within minutes, and both internal and external teams can prioritize other projects for Lillestrøm.
As a true search partner, Cludo ensures each challenge or question, no matter how unique, is addressed. Being able to work with a dedicated customer support representative at Cludo has been invaluable to Stig Ervland, Communications Advisor at Lillestrøm.
“To be able to talk to technical people quite quickly, it's a short way to get to you,” says Stig. “It's easy to get hold of people at Cludo, which is very valuable for us as a municipality.”
While Lillestrøm is fortunate to have technical resources, some municipalities require external consultants. This leads to higher costs and turnaround times. With Cludo, changes made in the MyCludo application immediately take effect without involving other departments. Lillestrøm also uses Cludo’s rich analytics to better understand and communicate with its residents. For example, the municipality observes seasonal-based trends and adapts content to include the same language visitors search with.
“A good search has something for everyone, both for an employee and for residents, so that people are finding what they are looking for, and not the opposite,” says Leiv-Rune.
Since implementation, Lillestrøm has fewer complaints. Residents can find information they need through search and the municipality has seen a decline in the number of phone calls and email inquiries it receives.
Putting users and digitization at the forefront
With its goals and need for digitization, Lillestrøm knew its search must be intuitive, accurate and put the user experience at the center.
“Cludo’s solution improves the search function on lillestrom.kommune.no. The product is easy-to-use, efficient and reliable, and it also simplifies everyday life for our employees, who find it easier to find the content they need," says Leiv-Rune.
Lillestrøm is committed to continually prioritizing its users’ needs, especially when it comes to the website. Built on values of trust, inclusion and innovation, the municipality strives to best serve the demands of its diverse communities, beginning with relevant search.