“The capacity of Sharepoint and Microsoft is huge. It has allowed us to support our clients better, and has helped us evolve and grow. Communication is streamlined, our visibility has increased, there are so many efficiencies, and I can’t say enough about cost reduction.
All of these changes have essentially allowed us to expand and support our mission in a better way. M365 allows us as an organization to be connected, be open and transparent, share news, and engage with our workers. Our frontline workers are especially tied into the system – this makes for a happier workforce, which is so important.”
Toby Harris, CEO of Traverse Independence
Case Study
Traverse Independence
Traverse Independence assists adults with acquired brain injuries (ABI) and physical disabilities as they traverse the distance between where they are today and where they dream of being – independent and self-sufficient.
The Problems
Traverse Independence was operating in an old-school fashion, relying on phones, paper, and emailing for communications and the bulk of their processes. They were also reliant on their server, which meant a slow, inconsistent connection that was limited to the premises.
Traverse’s instigator for change was 2020, when COVID-19 struck. Overnight, they had to figure out how to enable their staff to work remotely. Microsoft 365 turned out to be the hero of the hour, as they already had access to it, and it was cloud-based rather than server-based.
Their core challenges included:
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Relying on paper communications (interoffice envelopes) and dealing with historical paper records in filing cabinets that were running out of space
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Being on a server rather than the cloud, which meant a slow and inconsistent internet connection
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Struggling with file permissions and storage for documents that were online
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Rigid communication systems, relying on phones and email
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Geographical challenges: The area Traverse serves is vast, and with a reliance on mail, a lot of time was spent driving back and forth between sites
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Among their frontline staff, tech literacy is low and English is not a first language for many of them
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Budgetary restraints and, being an NFP, reliance on funding that is cyclical in nature and rarely if ever assured in the future
Strmline's Objective
To migrate Traverse’s filing, communication, and HR data and processes to M365, drastically reducing or eliminating the need for paper, phones, and emails. Ensuring all of Traverse’s most important processes can be completed remotely.
This included:
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Leveraging the full value of M365, a platform Traverse already had, which included streamlining Traverse’s internal processes, ensuring all their tools were fully synced with M365, and developing tools that were designed for a future of elevated growth and impact in the community.
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Helping Traverse migrate their processes from a server to the cloud, making it easy to access all files, forms, reporting, and communication remotely.
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Decreasing the complexity and energy-intensive processes surrounding employee forms and reports, as well as scheduling systems that take into account holidays and leave.
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Designing a system to house all documents, including an intuitive filter to quickly locate specific files.
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Creating processes that are simple and intuitive for employees with limited English skills
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Streamlining communications, eradicating the use of phones (except for client-facing staff), drastically reducing emails, and limiting the need for in-person meetings and driving to remote sites.
The Outcome
Strmline went to work finding solutions to Traverse’s most urgent problems, helping improve their systems and processes. What began as a short-term goal has developed into a strong four-year partnership as Strmline continues to develop important tools as needs arise, and make further refinements as Traverse uncovers more inefficiencies that can be solved in M365.
To date, Traverse has completely cut down on paper. They are entirely cloud-based, do not have phones at their desks, and no longer use email in a big way, keeping the majority of their communications within Teams.
All of Traverse’s internal meetings happen in Teams so they can be recorded, even if all the people in the meeting are on site. Remote working is now possible with no disruption to communication, connectivity, or productivity.
Traverse has learned through this transformation that their frontline workers (80% of their staff), who aren’t always tech-savvy or fluent in English, can use Teams easily and successfully. They have seen a huge increase in staff engagement across their multiple sites, which has led to closer connection and employee satisfaction across the organization.
Once Traverse realized they could get M365 licensing affordably as an NFP, they decided to migrate from other tools they were paying for, and saved costs.
"This work is not about adding more tools. With Strmline, you know they want you to succeed and are willing to do what it takes for you to achieve that. Training people on a new system is work, there’s no doubt about it, but this work is worth it – the cost of change today is much less than the cost of waiting for a full blown crisis tomorrow."
Aaron Willmott, Director of Client Services, Traverse Independence
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