50%
Of employees access the site daily.
LiftFund is a non-profit organization that is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The organization provides credit and services to small businesses and entrepreneurs who do not have access to loans from commercial sources, as well as to offer leadership and innovation to the microlending industry.
Though LiftFund had found great success as a pillar in the communities that they serve, the decision was made to make some changes to the infrastructure. The company intranet at the time was outdated and did not have the functionality or the flexibility to allow LiftFund employees to work at their best.
Challenges
After much research and due diligence into the feasibility of developing their own in-house SharePoint Intranet, LiftFund realized that this was not a route they were interested in pursuing.
Accounting for the time and resources needed to develop a custom intranet (built to the specs/quality that they wanted), it was clear that this would be a monumental task.
“We were immediately drawn to the many different, unique aesthetics that Powell Intranet offered, and saw great value in saving time and resources to develop and maintain our SharePoint intranet site using Powell Manager.”
DK Thepuatrakul
VP of Information Technology
LiftFund
Objectives
The team wanted a new digital workplace that was:
Accessible without having to connect to the network
Had the features and functionality needed for day-to-day tasks
Offered better security for important company data
Encouraged collaboration, allowing for employee surveying
Above all, however, the LiftFund team wanted an engaging, professional site that was easy to build and maintain.
It was around this time that LiftFund found Powell and partner RSM US LLP and the digital workplace suite that they would set out to establish. RSM US LLP is the U.S. member of RSM International, a global network of independent audit, tax, and consulting firms with more than 43,000 people in over 120 countries. Their focus is on delivering a highly personalized and relevant client experience.
LiftFund was thrilled with the beautifully designed intranets that Powell offered and saw great value in their SharePoint designer, Powell Manager.
With this tool, LiftFund saw the long-term potential to be able to save time and resources in order to develop, maintain, and update their SharePoint site. Once the partnership was formed, the digital transformation began to quickly take shape.
Implementation process
After the decision was made to implement a Powell Intranet, LiftFund assembled a team to take on this project made up of their VP of IT, a SharePoint developer, and a Project Manager to coordinate and work with key users.
In addition to the support that Powell was provided throughout the process, they referred LiftFund to a trusted partner, RSM, in order to further assist and facilitate the site implementation.
After the hard work put into the project by LiftFund, as well as the guidance and training from both RSM and Powell, they were able to deploy their site in less than 3 months and are now able to maintain their site completely in-house.
With the new Powell Intranet in place, LiftFund now has the digital workplace tool to collaborate and communicate effectively. There is still much that can be done to improve their intranet and refine the employee experience, and LiftFund has begun this process as they plan to use their SharePoint site as the gateway for their Business Intelligence. LiftFund has always remained committed to growing their business and serving their communities, and this could not be more evident with their investment in a Powell Intranet.
Results & impact
The reaction and feedback within the company to the new intranet has been outstanding as over 50% of the LiftFund employees access the site daily (and this figure continues to rise). Employees were not only delighted with the site structure and design but other tools or features that they requested were built and deployed within a few days’ time.
Other benefits LiftFund saw upon deploying their new site include:
- Improved communication and collaboration as a company – using project sites/pages to work and collaborate across the teams
- Provided a gateway of communication as a company with Yammer availabilities Increased the number of employees utilizing the company intranet
- Empowered employees by training librarians (key users) to manage their documents themselves
- Decreased time for IT to manage and maintain the site
- Increased productivity as users can access company resources easier
Conclusion
LiftFund’s successful implementation of a new Powell Intranet demonstrates the transformative power of a well-executed digital workplace strategy. By prioritizing user needs, leveraging expert partnerships, and embracing innovative tools like Powell Manager, LiftFund was able to overcome the challenges of an outdated system and rapidly deploy a modern, engaging intranet. The results speak for themselves: a highly adopted platform that has improved communication, collaboration, and productivity across the organization. This investment has not only streamlined day-to-day operations but has also empowered LiftFund to better serve its mission of supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs. As LiftFund continues to expand its digital capabilities, its commitment to innovation and community impact remains clear.
