Last Fall, PCG launched a new quarterly employee recognition program called the EPIC Awards to share the work of employees who exemplify the four tenets that define PCG’s ethos—Entrepreneurial Spirit, Passion, Impact, and Community. Today, we announce the recipients of PCG’s EPIC Award in recognition of Impact and a commitment to delivering solutions that matter to our employees, the firm, and those we serve. The award goes to the Human Services team of Amanda Dunlap (Nashville), Doug Patire (Troy), David Flores (Troy), David Ricords (Portland), and Matthew Kornher (Remote) for their work in developing and delivering a provider enrollment system for Early Intervention (EI) that will have a major effect on both existing and future clients.

The group was nominated for the Impact EPIC Award for their innovation, leadership, and teamwork in bringing this new tool to the forefront. Their work exemplifies the spirit of the PCG Employee Compact and this Impact award reflects their achievements in delivering on promises, as well as their integrity in delivering results through value-added solutions.

Identifying an Opportunity for Improvement

When faced with challenges and security issues in serving EI clients, PCG’s Human Services team was not able to use a straightforward out-of-the-box solution. Existing systems could not meet the needs of both the client and PCG to create a web-based means for provider enrollment. High costs and outside vendor issues presented challenges for meeting state security requirements. In order to serve these clients and meet their implementation timelines, the PCG team needed to find a scalable solution to meet everyone’s needs.

Finding a Solution that Matters

This solution was made possible through the combined efforts of the team which recommended that PCG’s Human Services leadership consider using Survey Framework, a tool that arrived with the recent acquisition of Hornby Zeller Associates. Survey Framework had the potential to solve the EI enrollment issues without requiring outside vendors or costly security efforts.

To see if this could work, David Flores (Manager of Software Engineering) teamed up with David Ricords (the Survey Framework developer) and Amanda Dunlap (PCG’s Provider Enrollment Subject Matter Expert). Together, they agreed that the tool could be modified and enhanced to meet EI client needs. Doug Patire worked with the development and business teams to identify the requirements so they could be presented to the clients. Matthew Kornher was the lead architect. Ultimately, the addition of shortcuts, the creation of new processes, and the development of new interfaces led to the successful incorporation of Survey Framework into the PCG EI system, meeting and exceeding all performance and security needs.

Delivering Results that Make a Difference

Using Survey Framework as the tool for EI client provider enrollment had a positive impact both internally and externally. Within PCG, using an internal tool saved money through eliminating contracts and vendors with outside tools. Likewise, modifying and enhancing Survey Framework avoided the high costs of internal development and building a new tool from the ground up. Having a state-of-the-art system also allows PCG to be more flexible in crafting rates for charging clients and staying competitive in the market.

Externally, the enhanced Survey Framework tool offers a range of benefits to the EI clients. The new system offers previously unavailable flexibility in making process changes in shorter timeframes. Now PCG can implement changes more effectively and efficiently, while saving time and resources, and improving speed to market. The new tool also offers functionality for annual surveys, data management, and reporting—all without the need for additional developer work. The streamlined and integrated Survey Framework will have a lasting impact on our clients and represents the ingenuity and creativity of PCG employees.

The long-lasting positive effects of the Survey Framework system go beyond serving clients. Within PCG, Amanda, Doug, David, David, and Matthew represent the incredible potential of collaborative problem solving, as well as the positive outcomes of teamwork in finding meaningful solutions. Here, the cooperation between the business team and the development team enhanced the understanding not only of client needs, but of employee needs as well. The bridges that have been built through this project represent a road to future cooperation and success.

This team’s collaborative effort and innovative thinking truly resulted in an Impactful solution for our Early Intervention projects, making this a worthy EPIC Award winner.

Congratulations to Amanda, Doug, David, David, and Matthew on this well-deserved recognition!