IOR Global Services is a destination service provider that helps businesses to support employees during the relocation process for international assignments. It offers everything workers need to thrive in their new situation, including language and cultural training, securing accommodation, locating schools for dependents, opening bank accounts and getting drivers’ licenses.
These services must be provided in a timely manner to make sure moves go smoothly. This requires IOR teams to remain motivated and productive, and to have the right tools to communicate seamlessly with customers while managing thousands of language and location specialists.
IOR recently made a switch to run its business on Equus AssignmentPro, and has since improved the day-to-day experience for its workers and service providers and simplified processes to create efficiencies across the organization.
Reaching Out To Equus For Help With A Stalled Implementation
Before using AssignmentPro, IOR managed service delivery on a proprietary, bespoke solution built and maintained by an outsourced IT team. After 10 years using these systems, IOR realized that it was becoming increasingly challenging to keep up with the pace of technology changes with their own systems.
IOR knew it could be getting more value out of its technology. After reviewing their options, IOR decided to unify their data and processes on a single platform-AssignmentPro-to gain more control over their business and provide a more responsive service for their customers.
The company began its AssignmentPro implementation in July 2021. IOR dedicated a team of employees to work on the implementation in addition to their primary roles at the company. Because of the time constraints, the process took longer than expected.
During implementation, the Equus team noticed IOR needed additional support, so they recommended the company utilize Equus Enhanced Support (ES) services. Enhanced Support is an experienced team that partners with customers to help them achieve their mobility objectives and bridge any expertise or resourcing gaps that have been holding them back.
Collaborating To Become More Efficient And Win More Customers
With the help of the Enhanced Support team, IOR was able to accelerate the implementation of AssignmentPro. Soon after, the configuration and migration were complete and IOR was ready to roll out all of its Language Training services on the Equus solution. “The Enhanced Support team expedited the work and took on some of the technical tasks that had been a struggle for us to complete,” says Cristina Bondari, Senior Program Manager at IOR Global Services.
Now all IOR’s customer requests and service providers’ availability is stored in a single location, making it easy for the IOR team to view what their customers need, and to find suppliers to fulfill the requests. To help accomplish this, the ES team simplified internal processes by creating user tables to store the available services based on assignment type and creating advanced automation to notify the IOR team when their customers approve services.
AssignmentPro also integrates with IOR’s accounting system, so the team can easily reconcile fees charged by its service providers and ensure they’re paid appropriately. This also means it’s simpler for the finance team to create accurate financial reports and comply with tax regulations.
Most importantly, using AssignmentPro gives IOR a competitive advantage that can help them to win work from corporates or relocation providers that also use Equus technology. Now, IOR can seamlessly share data with their customers requesting services. They can even receive service requests through the Equus Ecosystem, respond to the requests, and have the info flow back to the customer automatically. The ease of working in this way makes IOR an attractive partner for any organization needing support for international workers.
‘We Launched AssignmentPro Three Times Faster Than Without Equus’ Help’
IOR is now launching all three of its business divisions on AssignmentPro in a staged approach, with language services going live in October, and cultural and destination services switching to the new solution by the end of the year. Working with ES sped up the project considerably-the IOR team estimates it would have taken significantly longer to do it themselves.
Throughout the process, the teams worked well together. “ES was efficient and collaborative,” says Bondari. “We had weekly meetings, with a to-do list of top items for that week, and reports on what had been completed. Everything the ES team members said they’d do was completed on time.”
ES also offered training and upskilling during the engagement. They explained what was involved in the work they completed, so the IOR team could increase their knowledge and build on that going forward to keep the solution working at maximum efficiency over the long term.
“They answered all of our questions until we had enough knowledge to do it ourselves,” says Bondari. “Even when we hit challenges, they were so patient and relaxed with us.”
Prepared For A Future Of Growth
Using AssignmentPro, IOR is confident it can now keep up with changing market forces and grow their business. The IOR team can also maintain the platform on their own, and add new features and capabilities when business needs change. Because Equus continually updates the products on a regular basis, IOR knows the system always has all of the latest capabilities. And when minor issues come up, the global services company knows the Equus CS team is always there for extra help and advice.
AssignmentPro is so easy to use that business managers are able to interact with the system directly, minimizing the need to involve the tech team. “That’s a major benefit for us,” says Bondari. “Our tech team has a lot of priorities, so the fact that business users can maintain AssignmentPro on their own quickens the pace at which we can interact with our customers and suppliers and helps us to provide a higher quality experience for everyone.”
If there’s one final thing the IOR team learned about getting the most out of AssignmentPro, it’s that it’s essential to dedicate resources to an implementation project-or to reach out for assistance. “If you don’t have the resources to really focus a few people on setting up and customizing AssignmentPro to your needs, consider getting help from ES,” says Bondari. “Don’t try to be the hero and go it alone. ES really saved us. We wouldn’t have gotten all these benefits without them.”
