Saved over 200 hours of specialists' time

Ritstjórn
Róbert Reynisson
Aerial view of the city, looking east. Miklabraut on the far left, then Eskihlíð and Skógarhlíð

Elsa Katrín Pétursdóttir works at the Financial Management Office of the Department of Finance & Risk Management, which handles property rates collection among other duties. She and her colleagues used to process hundreds of requests manually each week, but with the digital worker Sæborg, they transformed the process and dramatically improved services.

Intense manual work a major source of stress

Elsa's job includes serving real estate agents, who need property overviews, debt status and assessment information when buying and selling properties. "These came in as emails that had to be answered manually, up to 120 requests per day," Elsa explains.

Understandably, this was both stressful and draining for staff. "The volume is just overwhelming. Requests come in all day, breaking up your workday and constantly pulling you away from other projects."

Elsa Katrín Pétursdóttir, at the financial management office of the Department of Finance & Risk Management. Portrait of her sitting by a living wall. Still from video.

"I have time to handle other projects much better," says Elsa Katrín Pétursdóttir.

Digital worker cuts wait times

To tackle this challenge, they decided to automate the process by bringing in a digital worker from Evolve. "It has its own email address and mailbox and its own computer. Or she – Sæborg,“ says Elsa with a laugh.

Sæborg is programmed to read requests and determine whether they come from a real estate agency, if the property number is correct, and whether data is being requested for one or more years. If something doesn't check out, she can respond on her own and request the correct data. The result is much more accurate data and faster services.

Real estate agents demanded quick processing, especially when they needed data delivered on short notice for closing meetings. "Before, we had to compile this information and respond maybe two to three times per day, but Sæborg responds four to five times per hour. We couldn't meet the demand for short wait times without this solution," says Elsa.

Time for more complex projects

Sæborg has also freed up staff to handle more complex projects. "I have time to handle other projects much better," says Elsa. "We often get inquiries that require extensive research and sometimes consultation with lawyers. That can be time-consuming, and now there's more time to handle it."

Saved 200 hours of work

The biggest benefit shows up in the numbers. "We launched this in November and now, 10 months later, Sæborg has delivered nearly 12,000 requests. That’s equivalent to 200 hours, which is nearly two months’ worth of work—that's quite significant," Elsa concludes.