BC Transit leaders are embracing social media with their new website to increase transparency and public participation. Today, their customers are gleaning up-to-date scheduling information via Twitter feeds and are providing direct feedback to the organization with Facebook posts. However, research from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reveals that public sector agencies such as BC Transit are ahead of the curve. Many government agencies have yet to create social strategies. Agency leaders don’t yet understand how social media can help them meet their goals to improve operational efficiency, share information, and reduce costs. They also don’t know how to easily incorporate social media into daily operations.
Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Industry: Public transportation
Employees: 800
Revenue: CA$261 million in 2013
Partner: Eclipsys Solutions
Oracle products: Oracle WebCenter, Oracle Database, Oracle Linux
Vice President of Operations and Chief Operations Officer
Length of tenure: Four years
Education: Bachelor of Commerce, University of Victoria
Personal quote/mantra: “If it is worth doing, do it to the best of your ability. Then strive to do it a little better the next time.”
In response, in 2014 Oracle created a new initiative called “the Social Garage” to help government agencies at all levels develop social strategies to effectively engage with the public. Engineers and consultants from Oracle are involved in the initiative, along with a variety of Oracle partners. In addition, Oracle Government Cloud features cloud-based service capabilities that enable government and public sector organizations to easily incorporate mobile and web functionality to improve the way the organizations serve constituents.
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