Price, performance or even principles. There are many reasons a business might consider switching IT providers, but one common misconception that often prevents them.

For Capital Region Community Services (CRCS), like many businesses, the effort of moving 200 employees over to a new provider felt huge. But it wanted the responsiveness of a local provider, and more confidence that its IT provider could help meet legislative requirements without supporting unethical practices such as human trafficking.

CRCS senior manager of Governance, Quality, Compliance and ICT Felicity Henss says as it turns out, the organisation needn’t have worried too much about upheaval during the transition.

“I’m sure if you don’t have a company that’s experienced like OPC, it has the potential to be a hassle. But from an employee perspective, it was all very seamless and there was no down time. One day the old provider left and the next, OPC was in,” she says.

“From our employees’ perspectives, the only difference was that there was a new phone number to call if they had questions or issues. For them, it’s been otherwise business as usual, which is critical.”

Felicity describes the onboarding process as deceptively simple from the client’s perspective.

“We had a comprehensive roadmap laid out so we always had a clear understanding of what was coming next,” she says.

“Their [OPC] advice along the way was always extremely sound, and the level of support they provided through the onboarding process was exceptional. They made sure we had faces in the office to support our staff in that transition and phone support for our remote workers.

“They also stayed on top of communication, so that we in turn were able to communicate to our employees throughout the process.”

CRCS has made some major gains in the switch. Speed and quality of responsiveness have vastly improved when issues arise – thanks to the proximity of its new provider.

“Because they have a local presence, we can have people come onsite to attend to us, while many IT providers only offer remote support,” Felicity says.

“Everything is monitored and OPC can provide reports on request, so nothing is a surprise.

“The added bonus is that we’re aligned in our values. OPC’s focus on supporting community groups and organisations was certainly a factor for us when it came to choosing.

“We’re now in the next phase, where OPC can make strategic recommendations for how to improve out IT services, because from mine and the executive team’s perspective, we’re looking for continual improvement of our system.”

At the time CRCS made the switch, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) didn’t fall under Felicity’s remit. But when asked to take ICT under her wing, she wasn’t fazed.

Though the organisation had only recently switched to OPC, she had every reason to have faith in the newcomers.

“I knew I was in good hands because I had had interactions with OPC as an employee when we switched service providers. I had assurances the organisation had done their due diligence with OPC, and they were reassuring from the very first meeting,” she says.

“They have been exceptional in their support, trustworthy and responsive in the transition from the previous manager looking after ICT to me. That allows me to be responsive internally to our employees and in turn to our participants, because that’s why we exist.”

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