Centacare - Case Study

The Centacare Employment and Training organisation provide individual employment, training, and support services to unemployed jobseekers. A not for profit organisation, Centacare encourage their clients to regain and sustain their dignity and work as a way of building successful economic and social livelihoods for themselves.

The organisation is spread across six sites throughout the Perth metropolitan area and has over 80 staff members. Centacare delivers a range of programs and services from its six locations including employment services, Australian apprenticeship support services, personal support program, language, literacy and numeracy programs, connections youth program and courses from their registered training organisation.

Situation
Previous to outsourcing their IT requirements to RDA Group, the Centacare team were operating with an inadequate system, which affected fundamental aspects of the organisation, including communication, administration and internal perception.

Centacare used a shared drive to access key documents and information on their network, however the usage process for this had no consistency which made it complicated and confusing for all employees. The lack of internal communication amongst staff members created a need for a central communication portal.

Objectives
Centacare needed a new and fresh approach to their shared documents and information – a system that was modern and intuitive.

Sally Burgess, Corporate Strategist for Centacare, determined the organisation had at least four sites throughout the Perth metropolitan area whose staff required access to the system and they needed a solution that allowed room for potential change.

“We wanted expandable framework to cater for future needs and growth”, said Ms Burgess.

Action
The RDA consulting team worked with a Microsoft product designed specifically to run intranets. “Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) 2.0 is a particularly simple system to install and use so it was the perfect option for Centacare”, said Michael Dorrington, Senior Analyst Programmer at RDA Group.

The new intranet was divided into the company’s main projects and sections resulting in a very structured location for staff to find what they need. Documents, announcements, events and content for each section are now simply controlled.

RDA Group also completed the design work for the project with Ms Burgess.

Outcome
The IT interface of Centacare’s system has changed dramatically and the shared information and communication is now completely streamlined.

“The common feeling amongst the entire team is that we are now working with a system that is well presented, organised and managed. Our internal perception has a more professional edge”, said Ms Burgess.

From a marketing point of view, Centacare regards the RDA team to remain professional and easy to work with. “They have listened to our ideas and proposals with patience and explained the reasoning behind making decisions clearly, ensuring we are constantly in the loop”, said Ms Burgess.

RDA Group has a long term working relationship with Centacare’s internal IT team that has always remained mutually successful.

“Our relationship continuously proves productive and enjoyable - no issue is too big or small.”