Purpose
During a series of acquisitions, Amica needed a centralized location for information sharing, online forms, and communication.
Who is the Customer?
Amica Senior Lifestyles Inc. Customer Since: June 2015 Sarah Santaluce: Brand Manager (Previously Project Manager)
Customer Profile
Amica Senior Lifestyles, Inc. is a private-pay retirement living company with 31 communities across Canada. Our all-inclusive senior’s communities offer a range of first-class amenities and personalized services including independent living, assisted living and memory care.
Approval processes that previously took 6-8 weeks, now had the ability to be approved within 1 day.
Solution: How Amica Senior Lifestyles Eased The Growing Pains Of Acquisitions
IC delivered a non-technical solution for a centralized location where all policies, manuals and standards could be stored and easily shared amongst new acquisitions, without accruing costs.
Here’s the story of how IC helped Amica Senior Lifestyles Inc. through a nationwide company expansion.
The Company was in the middle of a series of acquisitions of retirement communities across the nation. They were faced with the challenge of how to communicate effectively amongst the 31 locations (and counting) that spread 3000 miles across Canada. Without an intranet, the new communities under the Amica umbrella needed tools for information sharing. Their standards, policies and manuals varied by location; and the newly acquired communities were still operating autonomously. Sarah needed a solution, and without a background in tech, she needed one that was user-friendly and non-technical. IC provided Amica with a user-friendly software that would now facilitate communication, centralize documents and significantly reduce the time for approval processes. With remote installation, all Sarah had to worry about was customizing the site to reflect Amica’s culture and values.
Reduce Errors, Improve Productivity
Prior to the intranet, the support teams had to chase requests via email and phone. This had the potential to result in lengthy processes. Once the streamlined workflows were introduced, they noticed a significant reduction in email volume and helped to maintain a high level of accuracy. Productivity was up, admin work was down, and communication was improved – the support teams knew exactly what the communities needed.
6000+ Incident Reports/Year Moved from Manual to Automated
The wellness department uses the Intranet the most with incident report submissions. This process is imperative to the safety of the residents, ensuring all measures are taken to provide a safe environment for seniors. Prior to an intranet, each incident report was handwritten and stored in a binder resulting in manual processes. With the intranet, the reports moved to online forms, statistics and takeaways are presented in real-time. Integrated with the ‘e-call’ systems, staff now receive live data on calls and can initiate preventative measures.
We could never go back to the old way of processing forms & approvals. Approvals sometimes go through 10-12 people & would take 6-8 weeks. When we launched our Intranet, a request was submitted in the morning, & was approved that night.
– Sarah Santaluce, Brand Manager From Amica Senior Lifestyles Inc.
The Online Form Builder Revolutionized Processes
The most pressing element to organize was the inauguration of online forms. Amica has over 20 different accounting forms that are now online, in addition to incident reports, and onboarding/ offboarding forms. Centralizing these documents improved information sharing and efficiency, as the centralized document management system cultivated self sufficiency.
Top 4 Benefits
User-friendly Interface for non-technical administrator
Improved Communication across 45 locations during acquisitions
Centralized Information Sharing for manuals, policies & standards
Improved Reporting incident reports & prevention tactics shared in real time