Started in 1946 as a door-to-door carpet cleaning service, Woodard Cleaning and Restoration now employs 200 people and a 100-vehicle fleet.
Woodard’s dedication to customer service has made them St. Louis’ most trusted carpet, rug, flooring, and furniture cleaner, as well as a leader in fire, smoke, and water restoration. While the company prides itself on old-fashioned customer service, Woodard relies on technology to log requests, perform logistics and track progress — daily.
The challenge: Bringing an unfinished CRM system up to speed, expediently
Woodard had been working with a provider to build a unique technical system for three years but was not seeing the functionality promised. When Woodard challenged UNCOMN (formerly Aegis Strategies) to assess the software and processes, we found that the deliverables for that system were only 20% complete. Woodard then tasked us to research and recommend a customer relationship management solution within the next 30 days.
Our approach: Systems engineering, collaboration, and compassion combined
UNCOMN began applying our holistic, collaborative approach—with added urgency—to tackle the analysis and project discovery phase. We worked with Woodard’s leadership team diligently over the next several days to learn the business inside and out. This entailed daily interviews with the Chief Operations Officer (COO), internet technology manager, and other key staff to fully understand their process flow and needs.
Next, UNCOMN’s Technology Solutions team used its systems engineering expertise to identify products that would ideally meet Woodard’s software needs. Through lean business system implementation and knowledge management solutioning, we were able to recommend not only a CRM solution but also a new end-to-end system for their processes. This entailed modifying Woodard’s value stream and adding capability buckets to streamline business procedures and maximize operational capacity.
Ultimately, Woodard relied on UNCOMN to modernize and fully integrate their system. Knowing Woodard’s values of collaboration and culture, UNCOMN researched and suggested three different demos of commercial off-the-shelf technical solution products as well as a simple yet systematic way for the management team to rank them. The Woodard team voted in the solution UNCOMN also considered best and the team is excited to begin implementing it.
The results: Efficient technology, balanced structure and boosted morale
UNCOMN helped Woodard identify and begin actualizing their new software solution within the 30 days requested while suggesting complementary changes to the organizational architecture. Now, Woodard is moving forward confidently implementing the new CRM solution, expecting greater efficiency and the ability to store all their client data in one application.
Success with this first phase led Woodard to hire UNCOMN to develop their governance strategy next. UNCOMN was reviewing Woodard’s architecture and project management practices when they inspired us to change our “IT Governance” document to a “Collaboration Framework” document instead — maintaining their laser focus on teamwork. We never miss an opportunity to grow with our clients, and this is just one example of that.
During this process, with our holistic and reductionist approaches combined, UNCOMN identified a need to reallocate some authority, which can put even a highly respected company’s morale and success at risk. But because we worked together thoughtfully and openly, Woodard’s staff reacted positively to the new collaborative framework, which will empower their team to make informed decisions systematically, enhancing not only efficiency but also morale.
“Aegis’ systematic focus on our business and our priorities resulted in us receiving not merely what we thought we needed (a recommendation for a new CRM), but a new way of viewing our business and preparing for future innovation”
– Bryan Carter, Woodard COO.