How to optimize resources and generate cost savings.
With eight main locations spread across Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, Family Service of Eastern Nova Scotia (FSENS) covers a very large geographic and mostly rural area. They also have staff working in remote locations. Before implementing Penelope, their challenges were:
FSENS adopted Penelope in 2011, and the system allows their staff to communicate securely while providing access to client files whenever and wherever they need, helping them develop a supportive agency culture.
Using Penelope has enabled FSENS to centralize their intake processes, reducing staff allocations to that service by about 25% and allowing them to reallocate those staff to direct client contact. The agency has also been able to stop using Clerical Relief programs when their Administrative Assistants are out of the office, leading to savings that can be allocated to other program needs.
FSENS has used Penelope to collect robust statistics that guide program direction, staffing, and contribute to research. When asked if she would recommend Penelope to other agencies, Bridget Revell of FSENS said, “Absolutely! Penelope offers a secure, simple, effective way to support work with clients. It has allowed us to standardize processes, and allows offices and workers to support the work across our agency in a way that was not possible before. Features such as building form letters within Penelope facilitate effective communication with clients, with the goal of improving the service we offer them.”
Bridget added, “Creative use of Penelope has allowed us to integrate human resources tasks, creating a further time savings and paperwork reduction. Having Penelope available within our agency has allowed us to support an agency identity and culture across all offices in a very large geographic area.”
Schedule a complimentary consultation with a Penelope expert to learn how your agency can optimize resources and introduce cost savings.