HJ SIMS
HJ Sims works with Synergy to transform their digital workplace
Summary Data
As one of America's pioneering financial services firms, HJ Sims is committed to helping individuals and organizations meet the financial challenges of today and tomorrow.
Industry
Financial Services
Geography
USA
Consulting
Training Services
Workflow Automation
SharePoint Intranet Consulting
Powell 365 Design
technologies
SharePoint
Nintex
Powell 365
Overview
After deciding that their legacy on-premises intranet solution was outdated and rarely used, HJ Sims set out to find a new intranet solution that would replace their old tool. To improve their company’s internal communication and support their clients with the best services possible, HJ Sims needed a functional, branded intranet solution that would boost internal collaboration.
This is the story of how HJ Sims successfully realized their goal to transform their digital workplace and launch a new intranet.
Challenges/
Goals
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Finding a solution that provided a user-friendly, centralized location to help employees facilitate and manage their strategic initiatives
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Implementing a company intranet that was natively responsive to Microsoft Office 365
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Providing employees a digital workplace that could be accessed anywhere, anytime via desktop or mobile devices
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Improving employee experience with multi-way, peer-to-peer communication and a uniquely designed profile
Solution/
Approach
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Low code/no code intranet design and implementation plan
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Aesthetic, branded digital workplace where employees would remain motivated and engaged
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Site template updates managed through Powell Manager
To aid in the search for a new intranet tool, HJ Sims sought out the expertise of Synergy, an elite software consultant and implementation partner with a specialization in digital transformation. Having extensive experience with intranet projects and after working closely with HJ Sims to understand their project requirements and needs, Synergy recommended Powell Software’s intranet tool – Powell 365.
“Powell 365 is a powerful solution that enables us to easily enhance and upgrade our clients’ portals. In a couple of clicks, we can easily update and redeploy a site or enhance existing capabilities with additional features to meet new needs. Delivery is simplified and as consultants, we can focus on works that bring more value to our customers like information architecture, governance, adoption plans and trainings.”
- Jason Blair, Senior Architect at Synergy
Results
While still in the early stages of rolling out the tool and collecting feedback, the employee reception has been overall extremely positive. Now able to access a single, central repository for relevant content and information, the asset management department no longer must rely on continuous email threads as a part of their standard operating procedure. With everything available in just a few clicks, employee productivity, organization and effectiveness have already noticeably improved throughout the organization. Other improvements and positive benefits that have already been noted are:
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All employees are now utilizing the intranet portal
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Increase to IT knowledge base and training repository from 1-2 people visiting a month on avg to 260+ monthly visits
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Onboarding and training for new employees has become a more streamlined, effective process
Success Story
Upon deciding that their legacy on-premises intranet solution was outdated and rarely used, HJ Sims set out to find a new intranet solution that would replace their old tool. In order to improve company communication and culture, and to continue providing their clients with the best services possible, HJ Sims needed a functional, branded intranet solution that would boost internal collaboration.
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After their initial research and prep work to determine the key success factors to developing and implementing a new intranet portal, HJ Sims began their search. The main objective, however, was finding a solution that provided a user-friendly, centralized location to help employees facilitate and manage their strategic initiatives. Likewise, a solution that was natively responsive to Office 365 while being accessible from any desktop or mobile device within the company was another key criterion that any prospective intranet needed to be seriously considered for selection. Once these criteria were identified, HJ Sims began their search for the solution that would transform their digital workplace.
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To aid in the search for a new intranet tool, HJ Sims sought out the expertise of Synergy, an elite software consultant and implementation partner with a specialization in digital transformation. Having extensive experience with intranet projects and after working closely with HJ Sims to understand their project requirements and needs, Synergy recommended Powell Software’s intranet tool – Powell 365. The main reasons for selecting Powell 365 were because:
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Synergy and HJ Sims liked that Powell 365 would allow for more control and to own/manage the intranet in-house once implemented
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Enabled Synergy to deliver the portal with OOB components/features that didn’t require custom development and additional costs
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Ability to standardize and govern the page layouts and branding
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Provided a visually aesthetic, and easy to use/navigate interface
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Once the decision to implement a Powell 365 intranet was agreed, senior solutions consultants from the Synergy team worked closely with HJ Sims to meet all their project requirements. This close relationship that was formed led to the delivery of a quality solution in a few short months. One challenge that HJ Sims did face was having to quickly get themselves trained and up to speed with SharePoint Online. Learning and becoming familiar with SharePoint Online, its nuances and how Powell 365 interacts with SPO is something that HJ Sims will continue to do as they expand and add on to their new site.
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HJ Sims is a valued client of both Synergy and Powell Software, and will continue to be supported fully as they build out their portal. With generations of people having relied on HJ Sims and their services, Powell Software is proud to partner with Synergy to deliver a digital workplace that will allow them to work at their best.
