Family Action is a crisis agency, providing counselling, social work and refuge services for those affected by family violence, sexual harm, abuse or trauma.
Its team of 45 in-house staff and 35 contractors is made up of social workers, counsellors, psychologists, art therapists, psychotherapists and admin, with the organisation providing services across West Auckland.
“We are an agency that relies on good IT,” Michelle says. “Our client work takes up all our time and we don’t want to waste it by crawling under the desk and struggling with technology.” For an agency dealing with highly sensitive situations security is also paramount.
Family Action had outgrown its previous IT provider. “We wanted to make sure we got great security, but also to move into a more efficient way of working” Michelle says.
While Family Action used Microsoft 365, Michelle knew Microsoft’s products provided an array of tools the agency wasn’t yet harnessing and was keen to see them take full advantage of the applications available to them.
In addition, data was being stored across different areas. Sometimes, locating it was an issue and Michelle was keen to tidy up administration and ensure a single source of truth.
“Another issue was that our team lacked IT skills and they often required assistance, so we needed people who could support us whenever it was necessary.”
The I.T. Team worked closely with Family Action, interviewing team members about their IT needs, analysing existing technology and creating a comprehensive Annual IT Roadmap for the agency, complete with options and costs.
The first year’s work included a move of key data to the cloud – decommissioning an on-premise server, and setting up Microsoft SharePoint properly. SharePoint enabled Family Action to share information easily and efficiently and has encouraged new ways of working.
“The introduction of SharePoint has really improved communication across the agency. We can all work on one document, together, which is amazing when we are doing monthly reports,” Michelle says.
Improving their Security posture been a key factor in The I.T. Team’s engagement with a full range of security services and tools provided, including advanced elements of Microsoft 365, and harnessing the Huntress suite of powerful detection and response capabilities.
Connon Daly, the General Manager of The I.T. Team, says that Family Action has been very dedicated to security efforts. “They have shown a real willingness to enhance their security position,” he says.
The I.T. Team are also providing invaluable help desk support. A simple click on an app enables Family Action’s team to launch a help ticket. Response times, Michelle says, are ‘very good’.
When Family Action was given one month to move premises, The I.T. Team were among the first to receive a call for help.
“It was a standout performance by The I.T. Team,” Michelle says. “All the IT was working for the first day we were in the office. The I.T. Team understood exactly what we needed to do, came in at the weekends and worked with our electricians, telecoms people and landlord – they’re very good at working with other people – to ensure everything was good to go that first day.
“They came to the party 100 percent. They did not drop the ball and they were absolutely brilliant.”
And those IT Roadmaps? Michelle says they’re invaluable in ensuring Family Action is always achieving its goals.
“I like to see it written down and explained what we need. After that, we can discuss if we should invest right away or delay – taking into account the budget and management perspective, but also being mindful of not overwhelming your team with new things,” she says.
“They’ve been very thorough for us. They know my priorities and work towards that. I really like that.”
