It’s a great pleasure to write my first monthly message as Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. April has been a busy and exciting month for me, learning more about the organisation, our customers and our digital transformation. In my first blog, I’ll look back at the highlights of my first month as Keeper, and also give a hint of what’s ahead both for me and RoS.

News from across the business

I have recently been speaking to colleagues about milestones. This month has been full of them, but one in particular was the signing of a number of commissions that form the final element of Crown appointments. Events like this are part of my responsibilities as Deputy Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, and a reminder of the important role RoS plays in governance for Scotland.

I’ve been meeting with leads across the business to discuss our products and services, getting the latest news and an understanding of what’s next. For example, it’s been a big month for our Digital Discharge Service (DDS) team, with Lloyds Banking Group joining the service. This is a great achievement for the service, as Lloyds Banking Group accounts for the largest volume of standard security discharge applications we process.

I was also pleased to hear about the DDS team’s meeting with the Hong Kong Land Registry, following discussions among various stakeholder groups after last year’s Registrars of Title Conference. International connections like this are key to delivering best practice in land registration, and are something I’m looking to encourage further in the coming weeks and months.

Many of the conversations I’ve been having with colleagues and others have revolved around our digital transformation, and I’m excited to take RoS forward in the next steps of this journey. Just before I started as Keeper, RoS introduced an enhanced version of our land registration application form, designed to improve customer experience and reduce the likelihood of rejections. Developments like this embody what RoS is trying to achieve with our digital transformation – the delivery of a more effective land registration and information service for our customers and the people of Scotland.

Good news from the Gold Coast, plus award recognition for RoS

I’ve quickly learned that RoS is a dynamic place to work, and filled with dedicated and resourceful people. One such dedicated individual is Derek Oliver in our Registration team, who won two gold medals in Lawn Bowls with Team Scotland during the 2018 Commonwealth Games. We covered Derek and his achievements through our blog – congratulations to Derek for representing Scotland so well on the international stage.

Our teams have also been recognised this month in UK-wide awards. RoS has been nominated in the 2018 Paperless Awards, thanks to the work of our digital transformation, including the development of both DDS and ScotLIS. We were then successful at the 2018 British Council for Offices Awards, with our efficient and smart working office at St Vincent winning the Best Office Fit Out award for Scotland. Well done to all the teams involved.

Looking forward

Month two of my tenure as Keeper is going to be another busy one. Now that I’m settling into the day to day role, I’m looking forward to more opportunities to meet with our wide range of customers and stakeholders. Our recent blog post on user experience with ScotLIS reminds me just how powerful and important our customers’ feedback is, so meeting with you and your organisations is an important next milestone for me to work towards.

Did you know you can now follow the Keeper over on Twitter? You’ll find Jennifer on her official account @RoSKeeper.