We help companies eliminate waste.

Recently we had an interview with our client Jenn Pensa, COO of Ardent Credit Union. 

Here’s what Jenn had to say about her company’s Challenge, the CTC Solution and the Results: 

Challenge      

 “I recently changed jobs and the new company had decided we would stay with the hybrid work model. To do this properly it’s important to provide a work environment that allows everyone to work effectively no matter how many days they’re in or out of the office. It is critical for us to leverage tools like Teams and Microsoft 365 and all the efficiency that comes with improved communication and collaboration as well as reducing email.  Since we installed the Microsoft licensing 2.5 years ago, we had everything we needed – we just weren’t using the software to its capabilities yet.    

We knew it would be painful to do a full rollout on our own because the internal IT team members may not understand how to configure 365 and how all our current systems would connect with 365 as well.    

For companies our size typically, you can’t have all the technology resources in-house to effectively go where you want to go with our long-term technology strategy. You need your in-house IT to be the boots on the ground and have strong outside partners to define the strategy and be subject matter experts on the various technologies you are deploying. That outside voice ensures a smooth and efficient rollout. The in-house team and outside expert approach would allow us to have the best of everything.” 

Solution   

 “I knew immediately that we needed to bring in CTC Productivity to optimize our Microsoft 365 technology because of the quality work they did for us at my last company. CTC has focused subject matter expertise in Microsoft 365, with up-to-the-minute learning. Using subject matter experts allowed us to be educated, innovative and cutting edge without having to hire a new expert for each area. That’s an important solution because we don’t need some of these skills long-term.    

We realized our tech team members (internal and external) had pockets of knowledge on certain aspects of Microsoft 365 (configuration, licensing, Intune) but couldn’t provide the full service that CTC could from migration to optimization.  

Also, when it comes to security and compliance internal team members may not understand the best way to configure the tool and often rely on non-tech people to make decisions outside of their skillset. CTC did the compliance and security assessment and made recommendations on how to optimally configure the environment. This was a huge benefit. CTC really understands client needs and the world of compliance and security – and knows the right security framework to keep our data safe and compliant.”   

Results     

“From the first day we engaged CTC we didn’t stress. CTC guided us through the process. They told us to ‘Trust in the fact that there is an algorithm for this’ and that there is a process that will work every time. It’s agnostic to your business. It doesn’t matter what industry. Trust you can do this with their help.    

I would highly recommend CTC’s 365 Assess/Migration/Optimization Roadmap. It’s critical to get the foundation in place first. Then you can determine how to leverage it across teams. CTC knows what to do, just follow their lead. 

CTC is easy to work with. They listen. It’s a fantastic experience working with them. Their team members are amazing and some of the smartest people I have worked with. It’s nice to work with tech pros that are humble, and client focused.    

I have worked with many Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and technology partners that provide services and scope in different models. CTC has a retainer model that is fantastic because our company gets a lot of bang for our buck. I really appreciated the additional thought leadership hours.  In my opinion, CTC does not charge enough.    

What we got in spades is the one-off questions answered quickly. My team is not wasting time trying to figure out the answers when the CTC team knows them already and can quickly answer our questions and make sure we are not making mistakes. They know how to do it right by laying out the groundwork, so everything is set up correctly the first time.   

Microsoft 365 works so well when it’s done right! Sometimes applications promise a lot and they do not really work. 365 actually works. The integration between desktop and phone is so helpful since we all live on our phone. Using 365 optimally is imperative in this hybrid work model that is here to stay.” 

Challenge   

The CEO knew they were not operating their business optimally, but they were unsure of where the opportunities were to improve. They engaged CTC to help identify the root cause of their issues and propose changes to streamline the way they work.  

Solution  

The CTC team started the discussion by understanding what the main business challenges were in the organization. They then proceeded to walk us through the Microsoft 365 suite of tools and explained how this technology (that we were already paying for by the way!) could help eliminate the issues. Also by sharing the capabilities of the entire suite of tools it allowed them to spot other business issues that could be solved that they would never have known were possible with the software.    

While their IT resources had kept them up to date with the latest software versions, they were lacking in expertise regarding both WHAT they had access to and HOW to leverage the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity apps to make the business more efficient and productive. 

Additionally, while coaching the COO to be a more effective leader and learn delegation strategies Jan realized he didn’t just need soft skill training. Microsoft 365 had some apps and features that would help him manage this area of his work more effectively. They helped him understand how to leverage the Task Management apps within 365 to make delegation and accountability easier for both him and his team members. Tools that helped everyone keep their tasks organized and visible so they could easily prioritize and track their work. 

 As Jan always says, you want to start with the business issues and then decide what technology to rollout. Don’t get distracted by bright shiny objects that don’t add a lot of value to the organization.  

Results  

As one would expect, the results from these items were immense.   

This resulted in at least 60% fewer emails as they gravitated toward more effective and efficient  applications that were available in native Office 365.  

They now use email mostly to exchange information with outside customers and vendors without cluttering their inboxes with basic internal questions and status updates.   

Like many leaders, the CEO used to have a tough time making it home for dinner in the evening and even spent part of his weekends catching up. Since meeting with Jan, the only reason he misses dinner is that he is at a happy hour or another work event. (Which is a different problem 😊 ). He also carved his work week down to where he is hardly ever working on Friday afternoons, which has been a HUGE upgrade for him and his family.  

The COO is now in control of his area and able to spend more time on customer relationships and personnel development versus task management.   

Ryan Lamb, Chief Executive Officer, GCATS Telecom & Critical Power Services 

Challenge:  

The CEO of the company knew one of his team leaders was a Rockstar. The problem was neither she nor others saw her in that same light. Her quieter, introverted personality was holding her back from being the leader he knew she could be. The goal was to change her approach and raise her confidence so she would show everyone her real talent.  

Solution:  

Through 1-1 coaching we worked on a few strategic areas. One was elevating her in her department so she would have more time to spend on companywide initiatives. We had her adopt the “Only Do What Only You Can Do” approach and delegate the rest. This allowed her to not only free up time for other strategic work, but it empowered her team, knowing that she trusted them to take on more responsibility.   

We also worked on her communication style to be more proactive and engaged. As an introvert, she seldom spoke up in meetings and often was not asked for her opinion. With this additional time from effectively delegating, she would read up on activities going on outside of her department so she could provide her important perspective in leadership meetings to show others her brilliance.  

She was also leading an important project and because her nature was to only share when she had something important to share, many misread her dedication and drive on the project. By changing her communication strategy and teaching her to proactively communicate, it calmed the concerns of those on the project and helped elevate her leadership in their eyes. For many, silence can be interpreted as no progress. She also learned to be more open and vocal about what she sees and wants for the organization, her department and equally important…for herself.  Thus, giving the CEO more confidence that she is indeed interested in advancement. 

 Results:  

With coaching, she improved her communication, management, and work style. She now better understands she is accountable, but not necessarily responsible, for the output of her department and has stopped being a “doer”.  She has more time to focus on important work like company-wide initiatives, proactive strategies to minimize challenges in the department and coaching her direct reports on their work and career paths. 

 “The biggest thing I learned from the coaching with Jan was to be more vocal – whether that be in meetings or one-on-ones with my supervisor.  What I say does matter!  Jan also encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone, which has been challenging at times but definitely worth it!”

• Time saved each month: 21% + 
• Job satisfaction increase: 81-100% 
• Stress reduction: 81-100% 

 Tammy Larson, Chief Risk Officer, Coulee Bank