Our client is a prominent non-profit credit union based in the Midwest, serving a community of over 150,000 members. They provide a diverse array of financial services, aligning with their mission to prioritize members’ needs. With up to 500 employees, the HR department faced the urgent need of structuring and streamlining the complex registration process for DEI training.
The client
Our client, a large Midwest non-profit credit union, was looking to streamline its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training for its 500 employees. Goal was to move from chaotic, time-consuming manual processes towards a smooth, automated system. Hence, relieving the burden on the HR team and offer more flexibility to the employees.
The outcome
Leveraging our SharePoint Event Management App, the client now effortlessly manages DEI training registration and attendance. The app offers an intuitive interface. It makes the training enrollment and management process highly user-friendly for both the attendees and the organizer.
The impact
Approximately 50 events are scheduled annually through the app, significantly reducing administrative tasks for the HR department. The user-friendly app was embraced by employees, improving training attendance and massively reducing the number of emails sent. As a result, more processes were moved to the app, thus further enhancing organizational efficiency.
The client’s challenges
As a not-for-profit credit union with a substantial Midwest presence and more than 150,000 members, our client offers an array of products and services. With up to 500 employees, the HR department found the task of managing DEI training increasingly time-consuming due to its reliance on manual processes.
The continuous back and forth of email conversations, coupled with scheduling mix-ups and administrative uncertainties, began to distract from the central objective of providing effective DEI training. Recognizing these issues, they identified an urgent need for a more streamlined approach decided to look for a solution.
To find a suitable solution, the team focuses on two main criterias. First objective was to restore structure, decrease tension, and refocus on training content. Secondly, the tool should integrate to the company’s intranet, considering a Microsoft 365 integrated solution, like our Event Management App, therefore seemed like a logical approach.
Testing and Implementation Phase
Switching to a new system always involves risk. However, the intuitive interface, customization options, and supportive onboarding made the transition smoother than anticipated. Implementing the Event Management App was straightforward. The client set up the app, created training events, and sent out the first round of invitations.
“The app is very straightforward and intuitive to use. Using the app made me realized how much of a burden it eliminates with a couple of clicks”
A “Virtual receptionist” for the HR department
The app provided an immediate solution to the HR coordinator’s challenges. Not only could they publish available training dates and manage complex DEI training calendars, the employees could also easily see all available dates and choose the one they could attend.
“We use the Event management app as a hub. It allows employees to review dates, to enroll and most importantly make the decision for themselves”.
This dramatically reduced the administrative burden on the HR team and streamlined the registration process.
As a result, our HR professional could now effortlessly manage registrations, send reminders, and cap the number of enrollments to maintain the quality of interaction during events. The filtering option made it easy to monitor each event’s registration status and take proactive action if required.
Most favorite features include:
Direct Email Functionality: Send important notifications and reminders straight from the app to the specific group of attendees. This eliminated the need to have a separate communication channel through Outlook.
Maximal enrollment: Set a limit on the number of attendees. Thus fostering a more interactive and discussion-focused environment for certain events.
Filtering option: View real-time registration status for each event, enabling proactive measures if sign-ups are low.
Most importantly, user acceptance and adoption rates soared due to the streamlined process of publishing events. Now, employees can effortlessly access all necessary information in one familiar and convenient location. This increased the overall usage of the platform and most importantly resulted in more engaged and well-informed participants.
The success of the app led the HR department to schedule additional internal events apart from the DEI initiative. The tool is now used for the internal manager training sessions and for more informal events such as the monthly Meet & Greet with the management team.
The New Normal and Future Developments
Over 500 employees interact with the app and more than 50 events are scheduled per year. The SharePoint Event Management App is now an irreplaceable tool in the HR department. As usage grows, the HR team is now considering expanding further the use of the app to other HR processes. Furthermore, they plan to start using the Microsoft Teams integration soon in order to publish their events and training on specific Teams channels.
