Dave Jones, Inc. Improves Internal Communication & Operational Efficiency with Office 365 Intranet Implementation

Dave Jones Inc. Project Challenge

Improve Internal Communication & Operational Efficiency

Dave Jones Inc. (Dave Jones) is a Southern Wisconsin full-service plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, and electrical contractor headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Dave Jones approached FarWell to explore options to improve communication internally. The organization also needed to increase the efficiency of their operations in response to their continued growth.

Dave Jones was experiencing increased challenges connecting with their employees. Most Dave Jones
employees are located in the field at customer sites and do not visit the office regularly, leading to a lack of
team interaction.

Employees were also frustrated by the difficulty of finding the latest version of documents
that were shared within and across departments.

Dave Jones initially explored designing and implementing a home-grown solution for an intranet and wanted
FarWell expertise and insights before moving forward.

Dave Jones also wanted a document management solution to replace their current use of shared drives to improve the efficiency of manual and labor-intensive processes.

Source: Dave Jones, Inc. | Dave Jones, Inc. is a Southern Wisconsin full-service plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, and electrical contractor headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

Right-Fit™ FarWell Solution

FarWell conducted a Right-Fit Discovery and recommended and implemented a more effective and sustainable solution.

Through a Right-Fit Discovery session with Dave Jones senior leadership, FarWell recommended an alternate solution. Build an intranet using SharePoint through Microsoft Office 365 instead of a home-grown platform. Office 365 provided the much-needed document management and collaboration functionality to improve communications, reduce frustrations and streamline processes.

This solution aligned with the company’s goals for the project and its technology platforms. Additionally, the new intranet provided an opportunity for development of its internal team. The alternate solution resulted in less risks and provided ongoing sustainability, more effective security, and ease of administration.

FarWell Role

A FarWell team provided project management, change management, and identified a partner for the technical expertise for the design. This led to a successful implementation of the intranet site.

Source: Dave Jones, Inc. | Dave Jones, Inc. provides plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, and electrical installations in both residential and commercial settings.

Project Results

FarWell completed the implementation by the aggressive timeline and exceeded the Dave Jones requirements for functionality.

Employee adoption of the new site exceeded targets. Dave Jones has continued to expand its use of the site and Office 365 applications across its field and office employees. FarWell continues to support Dave Jones to further drive collaboration and process efficiencies.

Company leaders are pleased with the results, sharing that the site is helping them not just improve internal communication but also achieve significant productivity gains.

FarWell led the strategy and execution of an essential communication and collaboration tool for our growing company. FarWell fit us with a lean, expert project team.

We had exactly the talent we needed to get the work done right. We planned on a larger budget, but FarWell showed us where to focus our efforts and resources. At the end of the project, we had a sustainable and less costly solution. We are also finding new ways to apply the tools, like a more automated process for ordering parts.

FarWell continues to bring processes and practices to encourage a collaborative team environment. As a result, we’re saving the company time and money that we can invest in other, more valuable work.

The FarWell team took the time to understand our culture, values, goals and challenges. Our field team, which is the bulk of our workforce, also benefits through the use of their mobile phones to access key company and job information, improving their productivity, which is a huge win for us. What started as a project turned into a partner relationship. FarWell exceeded all our expectations.”

– Greg Jones | President/CEO, Dave Jones, Inc.

Implementing new technologies in your organization to optimize business process and improve your employee experience? Schedule a Right-Fit™ Discovery Meeting.