CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE
316 of vendors and doing multiple demonstrations ,” Knight explains . “ It ’ s the opposite of how teams engage vendors normally .” This approach helped Knight choose a company that would offer a complete service . “ We were really looking at solving the entire problem ,” she says . “ The finance , the HR , the IT , the client relationship , the client service ; the entire problem , instead of discrete solutions .” This is where Sierra Systems , a company already involved in donating and volunteering at the DI , came into play . After identifying Microsoft Dynamics as a customer relationship management system that could cater to the Drop-In ’ s needs , Knight considered two companies . “ One brought me standard pricing , and Sierra , with evidence of being donors and volunteers , brought me their proposal at half price ,” says Knight . “ I knew they were in it with us . Sierra had the imagination that we needed .”
Since then , the relationship has evolved from client-vendor to much more . In addition to back office initiatives to improve efficiency and foster digital engagement within the DI ’ s staff , Twigg
MARCH 2019