Behind the scenes of Old Colony YMCA's CRM Transformation Journey

By

December 19, 2024

August 23, 2024

Evaluating A CRM

Webinars

JCCs

YMCAs

Parks & Recreation

How did Old Colony YMCA successfully navigate its management software transformation in just 7 months? It was a winning blend of strategy, teamwork, and unwavering commitment to their end goal. Dive in with us to learn how they made it happen.

Old Colony YMCA was ready for a change, with a vision to build and look into the future for their organization and community. With a strong commitment to delivering the best services, programs, and experiences, they embarked on a member management software transformation journey.

The YMCA has been serving Southeastern Massachusetts since 1887, impacting over 140,000 individuals annually, with more than 70% being children. Committed to building healthy spirits, minds, and bodies for all ages and abilities, the YMCA serves 31 communities and is the region's largest child care provider.

Through careful strategy and effective teamwork, Old Colony YMCA successfully implemented Traction Rec to improve communication, data management, and overall efficiency in just 7 months.

Linda Deane (Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer) joins us with Joe Leaver and Kendall Bennett to share their experience and insights on how they achieved this remarkable transformation. They will discuss the challenges they faced, the solutions they implemented, and key takeaways for organizations undergoing a CRM transformation.

We cover:

Critical steps Old Colony YMCA took to ensure a smooth technology transformation and rapid implementation in just 7 months.
Strategies, tools, and steps, to stay productive and focused while balancing this major initiative with their day-to-day operations.
How the YMCA formed an effective team to accelerate decision-making and techniques for making quick, informed decisions to keep the project on track.

We've pulled together a recap of our key takeaways from this webinar. You can watch the entire discussion further below.

Placing a high value on collaboration with a strong team dynamic from the beginning

To create an effective team and accelerate the project, adopting a top-down approach was essential for the YMCA team. Starting from the executive level and extending to branch directors, experts and specialists in their respective fields were included early in the process. This strategy allowed individuals to grasp the changes, make informed decisions, develop processes, and engage with stakeholders at every level. It really made the whole journey smoother for everyone involved.

Approach data migration with an open mind and flexibility

Just because something worked in the old system doesn’t mean it’ll automatically succeed in the new one. The YMCA team tackled their data migration with an open mind, eagerly exploring available options for immediate data integration and planning future steps. Navigating through various elements to assess information turned into a great opportunity to prioritize relevant data for import. By getting a clear understanding early on, the team managed to clean old data by removing duplicates and validating entries. This efficiency, along with support from the implementation team, ensured a smoother transition throughout the project.

When it comes to change management, communication is key (but adding a bit of fun never hurts!)

To get the organization ready for change, the YMCA emphasized maintaining open communication, providing daily updates and weekly briefings to keep all stakeholders, teams, and frontline staff. Responding promptly to questions and being as open as possible was just as important. Getting front-line staff involved early on was key, as they took charge of training their teams. It helped to keep the bigger picture in mind, knowing that the organization and operations would greatly improve after this transition. Keeping a positive outlook was easier with fun challenges and daily activities to boost team morale.

The future is going to be bright and fruitful for Old Colony YMCA

After 3 months of being live on Traction Rec, the YMCA is confidently moving beyond the "walking" phase of their crawl, walk, run journey, and the future couldn't be brighter. What's got them buzzing with excitement? It's the marketing and communications capabilities that is truly fueling their enthusiasm. Crafting personalized member journeys, innovative flows, and automations, all while now having a 360-degree view to engage members in fun and creative ways is something they've never had before. On the programming side, the day camp experience, once a challenge with their old technology, is completely transformed—the biggest benefit now allowing members to easily manage tasks online, giving them the power of convenience and simplicity with self-service capabilities.

Ultimately, the YMCA's primary motivation for change was to prepare for the future. The team is confident that Traction Rec, built on Salesforce, is the right tool to support their growth and excited for what lies ahead. We couldn't agree more!

‍