Elly Yates-Roberts |
Design-build organisation ITAC has made consistent client experiences such a priority that it has copyrighted its approach.
Assured Project Management (APM) – the firm’s proprietary process for delivering successful projects – has been tested and refined over three decades to reduce the risk associated with capital projects by eliminating the unknowns that can derail the project execution plan. Ultimately, APM enables ITAC to deliver on the promises it makes to its clients.
“APM is built into every project with every client at ITAC – it’s how we collaborate to develop scope, budget, and an execution plan free of surprises,” said John Moody, vice president of design-build project execution and services at ITAC.
ITAC’s guiding principle is to provide its clients with a design-build process free of surprises in budget or schedule – and following its trademarked strategy to the letter is imperative in achieving this goal. Despite this, the firm faced a common challenge for any growing business: how to train new hires in company processes and procedures quickly.
ITAC had documented many processes but didn’t have a standardised or centralised repository – some stored in binders, some in e-mail, and some in their employees’ head from years of experience. Understanding the importance of unifying this information to simplify and streamline the process of training new employees, the firm began looking for a process management application. Ann Coker, director of project accounting and processes at ITAC, began evaluating potential tools. Since the organisation’s engineering team liked the use of process maps, Nintex Promapp became the number one contender.
“Process maps were a must for our engineering teams,” said Coker. “Nintex Promapp provided that functionality with written procedures as well, in a much easier-to-use and learn interface.”
Having selected Nintex Promapp, Coker and her team began rolling it out across the business. They developed an implementation plan, starting with training a group of 25 employees from each department.
As the tool has been rolled out, with more staff building processes in Nintex Promapp, Coker established a group of ‘Pro-masters’ to ensure those processes are mapped correctly and align with their standardised wording and format. These individuals are responsible for upholding the quality and integrity of the firm’s documented processes.
ITAC also hosts process mapping marathons or ‘Promapp-athons’ on a department basis to support adoption and implementation. Process owners vary by department depending on their expertise and role. Each week all departments host a dedicated Nintex Promapp Hour to develop processes, discuss progress and share updates.
So far ITAC has mapped over 1,000 processes and published nearly 500 processes with Nintex Promapp. The firm continually adds more processes to map or revisit depending on priorities – successfully mapping a larger portion of its operations department’s processes for selling services and project execution, as well as many accounting, procurement and HR processes.
The entire organisation has access to view processes in Nintex Promapp, and ITAC’s department leaders have also bought in, supporting its adoption and sharing positive feedback. Learning how to use the tool is part of the company’s new hire onboarding training and used throughout the process. ITAC’s managers appreciate how valuable Nintex Promapp is for helping educate the company’s new starters.
Introducing Nintex Promapp also aligned perfectly with ITAC’s APM methodology – a critical component to the organisation’s culture.
“APM is how we deliver the level of excellence our clients expect every time,” said Coker. “And Nintex Promapp is the how of APM.”
One of the main reasons for implementing a process management tool was to embed a process-driven mindset and further instill APM into the culture of ITAC.
With the support of Coker and the firm’s Pro-Masters, ITAC is continuing to map and manage more and more processes. Utilising Nintex Promapp has been such a success for ITAC, they’re now starting to look at how they can further enhance their processes with automation.
“We know if our processes are on point, we can consistently deliver the level of excellence our clients expect when they choose ITAC,” said Coker. “Nintex Promapp helps us deliver consistently and drive continuous improvement efforts that enhance our client experience.”
This article was originally published in the Winter 21/22 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.