CG TECH

Success story

RetireAustralia: Critical Information Hub

COVID-19 rules were changing daily, and staff caring for vulnerable residents needed one trusted place to find them.

SharePoint Aged care
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Client
RetireAustralia
Industry
Aged care
Technologies
SharePoint Online, Microsoft 365
RetireAustralia: Critical Information Hub

The challenge

COVID-19 rules were changing fast, and staff mostly working from home needed one reliable place to keep up with them.

What we did

We built a Critical Information Hub on SharePoint Online within days, then handed it to their Communications Team to run.

When COVID-19 hit, RetireAustralia needed every staff member working from the same, current information. We built a Critical Information Hub on SharePoint Online within days, designed to keep serving them long after the pandemic.

Why it mattered

A retirement village is one of the highest-risk settings for an outbreak, and most residents fall into a vulnerable group. Government advice and mandated requirements were changing constantly, and most employees were working from home most of the time. RetireAustralia needed its people to understand the latest restrictions as they applied to villages, every day, without having to hunt for them.

The hub had to centralise and distil new information so it was quick to take in, be reachable anytime and anywhere, and be simple enough to moderate that keeping it current did not become a job in itself.

What we did

  • Used what they already had. RetireAustralia already held Office 365 licensing, so we built on SharePoint Online rather than buying something new.
  • Moved at pandemic speed. Wireframed, built and deployed the hub within days of the request.
  • Designed for simplicity. One clear place for restrictions, developments and updates, with nothing to confuse or trip people up.
  • Kept the technical parts out of sight. Navigating the hub and adding new resources takes a few clicks, even for the least technical user.
  • Let the platform manage the content. SharePoint Online’s automated content management keeps updates organised without manual upkeep.
  • Handed it to Communications. Their Communications Team took ownership of the hub and runs it themselves.
RetireAustralia COVID-19 Critical Information Hub updates and resources pages

The difference it made

  • A critical information hub created, deployed and handed over within days, in the race against the COVID-19 clock.
  • Staff informed in real time, whether working from home, an office, a village or on the go.
  • Non-technical staff publishing clear, visual updates to an audience of hundreds in a few clicks.
  • No new platform to license, because the hub was built on the Microsoft 365 tools they already had.
  • A hub built to keep serving the organisation after the pandemic, not just through it.

What RetireAustralia said

The communication with Village staff throughout COVID-19 were all possible because we kept our team connected using SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365.

Narongsak Warren, National Manager, Business Technology, RetireAustralia

The results

What RetireAustralia got

Live within days

Wireframed, built, deployed and handed over within days of the request

Easy for non-technical staff

The Communications Team publishes updates in a few clicks

One trusted source

Every update in one place, from home, an office, a village or on the go

Timely and effective communication is critical during the pandemic. With our Covid-19 Hub we can keep our employees informed in real time wherever they are – working from home, an office, a village or on the go.
Vanessa Robb, Communications Lead, RetireAustralia

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