About Overhaul
Overhaul’s software solution allows shippers to connect disparate sources of data into a fully transparent platform, giving organizations greater oversight and security of their supply chains. A trusted provider for Fortune 100 companies moving freight globally, its customers include Microsoft and Bristol Myers Squibb. The company employs 225 people, and has ambitious growth plans having raised $55 million in VC funding.
The Challenge
How to ensure IT Services meet the needs of rapidly scaling workforce
Overhaul had raised $55 million in 12 months, and was rapidly scaling its operations and headcount. A customer-centric mindset is one of the company’s core values, and Barry Conlon, CEO and co-founder, wanted to apply this principle to how IT is provided internally to end- users at all its global locations. “We were growing very quickly, and we wanted to make sure the technology we provide to our employees meets their different needs,” said Conlon.
The business was focused on scaling its IT function and services to enable exponential growth.
“As a software company with global operations, getting the IT Experience right for all our end-users is critical. To understand user experience I needed a scalable way to quickly gather feedback, with the ability to identify and track trends over time,” said Yancy Harlow, VP Information Technology, Overhaul.
The Solution
IT Experience platform with immediate powerful insights
To understand where investment needed to be targeted to enhance the end-user experience, Harlow initially considered using a basic survey tool such as SurveyMonkey to gather feedback. It quickly became clear this would not provide the depth of insights required, lacking the ability to categorize verbatim comments by service, role or region, and would not provide accurate trending data over time. Harlow would have had to dedicate a team of data analysts for a period of 3 months to make sense of the feedback, distracting his team from their core task of supporting end-users.
This led the business to seek out Voxxify.
“Having spoken with the Voxxify team and discovered what the platform could do, it was clear it was a perfect fit for our needs. The product uses AI to generate clear, actionable insights about IT for a distributed workforce, and will provide accurate trending data as we scale over time,” said Harlow.
The easy implementation requiring minimal input from Overhaul’s team was key to the success of the project. Survey design and setup took a week; the survey opened for two weeks, and insights were immediate. This enabled the team to develop an action plan straight away and tackle any priority issues immediately.
The Results
1. Clear insights that help prioritize actions
Within minutes of the survey closing, Voxxify’s machine learning powered insights clearly showed how different services were performing by region and department. The AI-generated Influence Score pinpointed what services were having the greatest impact on overall IT user experience. “The powerful analytics helped us laser-focus on the specific tools that need priority attention. The verbatim comments provide that rich personal feedback that really help inform what action to take,” said Ted Phillips, IT Operations Manager, Overhaul.
For example, relatively low IT Experience (ITX) scores for Content Management and Collaboration Tools highlighted that these services needed more attention. This data helped the team prioritize focus on these tools for the next quarter. In order to decide whether to “retain and enhance” or replace the tools, the team reviewed the pre-categorized verbatim comments to understand the specific reason for the score and identify the ideal solution.
2. Positive validation on what’s working well
Another valuable learning was validation for where the team had delivered for end-users, evidenced by positive ITX scores and comments. For example, Hardware scored well across all user groups, with this score having a relatively high influence on overall experience. “I was really happy to see Laptops & Desktops do well. Typically users are unhappy with corporate hardware, and it was nice to see validation that what we have delivered is working well for our employees,” said Harlow.
Further, positive sentiment about Conferencing Tools reinforced the decision to retain multiple tools serving different purposes. “This helps validate that from a customer use standpoint, what we have is working well so let’s not mess with it,” said Harlow.
3. Candid feedback and positive employee engagement
Overhaul found that a key benefit of Voxxify is that it encourages honest, candid feedback. “A real benefit is the data is gathered by an external IT experience specialist. This means the other departments are less shy about giving candid feedback. It has helped trigger both positive and constructive feedback, which is incredibly valuable for our team,” said Phillips.
Another win was the positive response from employees who appreciated being asked how technology is performing for them, helping strengthen IT’s connection with end-users.
4. Robust evidence to support business case for new HR System
IT user experience data is forming a critical part of the business case for IT investments for the CFO and exec team. For example, prior to working with Voxxify Overhaul had early discussions on the need to move to a new HR system, but it was one of many projects to be prioritized during a time of rapid growth.
The rich feedback and IT user experience scores have helped accelerate and inform this swap out. “The low score helps us decide to prioritize moving away from that tool to something that works better for everybody,” said Phillips.
The Takeaway
A seamless way to deliver people-centric IT
Building out a high-performing IT department from scratch and delivering IT for high-skilled workers in a rapidly scaling company meant Harlow had his hands full.
“Without a dedicated IT experience measurement platform like Voxxify, we would never have had the bandwidth to understand how the technology was meeting the needs of our different users. This has become our core channel for gathering and analyzing end-user experience,” said Harlow.
Voxxify provided the team with candid feedback about what is or isn’t working well, helping prioritize what to focus on during a time of rapid change.
“After just one survey we have been able to make valuable, cost- effective decisions about our IT roadmap. As we look ahead, this data will provide a critical metric for success for our team, and help put our people at the center of decision-making,” said Conlon.