San Diego County to Save $225,000/year with Digital Signatures

Not too long ago, if a resident of San Diego County needed to change their address, the process was pretty cumbersome. The resident would have to drive to the county offices, find parking, fill out and sign the form. After that, people in the county’s offices had to read each form and re-key the information into the county’s computers.

Rolf Bishop, the chief information officer for San Diego County, knew there had to be a better way.

“It was inefficient, and it didn’t give our constituents good customer service. It just wasn’t a good way to handle business,” Bishop said. “We were looking to extend our products and services to the public so they could access them anywhere, anytime.”

At first, Rolf offered the forms on the county’s website for residents to download, print and sign. But that process still required mail or in-person delivery of the documents, not to mention the time it took for employees to re-enter the information.  That’s when Rolf decided that e-signatures would improve the entire process, both for residents and for county employees.

Picking a Vendor

Rolf knew that there were a lot of different e-signature vendors on the market. He carefully evaluated each of them, looking for a solution that was highly secure and approved by the state of California.

But security and legal evidence wasn’t enough for Rolf. He also wanted a flexible solution that could integrate into the county’s existing systems to create a seamless experience for signers. On top of that, the product needed to be easy for employees and residents to use.

In the end, Rolf chose SIGNiX because it was highly secure, legal and easy to use.

“Fingertip availability of services is huge. There’s no need to put people through the hassle of doing something in person when it can be done electronically. With SIGNiX, they can sign documents on their smartphone, tablet or computer,” Rolf said. 

Seeing Quick Results

Rolf piloted the county’s digital signature project on the change of address form. Even though Rolf’s team didn’t do anything to advertise the e-signature service, adoption soared. Rolf even started getting emails from residents saying how easy the process was and thanking the county for the service.

“To me, the quick adoption means there was a pent-up need for things to be more efficient,” Rolf said.

After the success with their pilot program, Rolf’s team decided to use e-signatures on another form. The county expects to save $225,000/year on postage, printing and filing costs with SIGNiX on just two of their forms. They plan to scale the project for their other forms in the coming months and years.  

Leading the Way

On top of the positive feedback from residents, other counties and state governments are impressed by the project.

“We’ve already gotten calls from other counties in California, and I even have other states calling me about it,” Bishop said. “When they heard about it, their ears perked up right away.”

With this technology, government offices can save time and money while offering their constituents a better experience. 

This is an excerpt of one of SIGNiX’s case studies. To read the full case study, click here.