Articles by Diana Hvistendahl, PMP
Blog Archive
Leveraging Our Intranet to Drive Performance
With SMEs and managers needing access to all kinds of information, our iDirect intranet is invaluable for keeping everyone on the same page. What can be found there? So much—perhaps too much! But it is better than digging through network folders or contacting a department’s busy subject matter experts …
How Technical Writers Support IWCO Direct from Behind the Scenes
Technical writers are key players within any system or process change initiative at IWCO Direct. Their writing style and standards turn the knowledge of our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) into consumable content, providing clarity and answers for those that seek information about our processes […]
What Corporate Training Looks Like at IWCO Direct
As you may have followed in SpeakingDIRECT, we’ve been tracking IWCO Direct’s progress with new tools and practices for learning, training, and professional development, along with how it helps us deliver better marketing. We’ve always used standard corporate training resources (like SOPs, process diagrams, and online conferencing) that make our work better by making our […]
Implementing Our Strategy to Reduce Front-End Process Cycle Times
Since the Front-End project’s initiation in 2017, IWCO Direct has been on a mission to streamline our front-end process. Several system enhancements, coupled with extensive training on new processes, helped our teams reduce Front-End process cycle time by 30% in 2018. We’ve been able to continue that trend through the first half of 2019. The Front-End process cycle time is measured [...]
How Our Workflow Processes Support Content Development
The IT department might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of establishing processes, creating guidebooks or workflows, and improving references to simplify training, but a new team at IWCO Direct is changing that. The Information & Process Services Department, a part of our IT organization, offers a variety of […]
Front-End: Making Our Workflow Tools Work for Us
As we move into a new phase of our Front-End process and system improvement efforts at IWCO Direct, we are focusing mainly on how to improve our speed-to-production—in other words, how quickly we can collect all client input and create instructions for our production departments. Back in November, Debora Haskel was on a flight and […]
How Our Front-End Project is Reducing Cycle Time for Our Teams (and Improving Speed-to-Market for Our Clients)
Since my October update on our workflow efficiency initiatives, we’ve been training all our Account Management teams to follow an improved front-end process. Leading up to October, a group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from Estimating, Sales, Scheduling, Outsourcing, Planning, Purchasing, Product Engineering (PE), Client Services, and Content Development analyzed, streamlined, and vetted every process [...]
Lessons from Launching a Learning Management System
Back in September, I introduced readers to our Learning Management System (LMS), a tool that helps us train new employees and empower existing ones with new skills. This system allows IWCO Direct to provide more efficient service to our clients as well as influence the long-term direction of the company through the education of our […]
Staff Training Makes Our New Workflow More Efficient Right Off the Bat
As Pat Sondreal mentioned in his September 21 post, we started the rollout of our new and improved front-end system this year, which is designed to enhance our direct marketing workflow. Every process, from initial request for quote to a job’s release to production, was analyzed and streamlined, and IT implemented several technology enhancements […]
How Our Learning Management System Supports Efficiency
Providing the best service possible for our clients requires having a highly educated workforce. Our new learning management system (LMS) supports that focus, letting us load eLearning courses, assign them to employees, track their progress, and report training status to leadership—and increase efficiency in the work we do with our clients. Integrating a Learning Management […]
