A phased migration and training program ensure the successful adoption of the modern workplace at Promen

Promen's employees made a smooth transition to the new, modern workplace thanks to the right guidance and training.

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Promen supports people in developing skills and finding suitable employment, enabling them to actively participate in society. They collaborate with municipalities and employers, focusing on personal growth and social impact. Acknowledge has been their IT for many years. When the hardware and software at their workstations needed replacing, they immediately turned to us. After consultation, various options were considered, such as upgrading the current environment or implementing a hybrid solution. “After much deliberation, we ultimately opted for a completely new work environment. We transitioned in phases to a modern, state-of-the-art system,” says Geert Domburg, IT at Promen.

Completely new

The transition to a fully modern workplace was exciting, but it was definitely the right choice. Geert: “The big advantage is that we’ve replaced all our thin clients. This gave us the opportunity to start from scratch. As a result, our security is up to date again, and we now manage all our devices.” New laptops have been issued to all office staff. All data has been fully migrated from local servers to the cloud, allowing employees to work anytime, anywhere via Office 365. In addition, multi-factor authentication (MFA) has been implemented, and Promen uses Mimecast’s email security. “It was very important to us that all these changes be introduced in phases. That takes a lot of time, but we don’t want to burden our employees too much. Despite our small IT, we try to ease users into the changes gradually,” Geert explains.

Adoption and training

Adoption specialist Pien van Hout was closely involved in the project on behalf of Acknowledge. “The success of the transition to the modern workplace depends entirely on how well end users adapt to it. Fortunately, Geert understands this very well,” she explains. “Using our approach to IT, we guided Promen’s employees to embrace the new way of working as effectively as possible. To do this, we used various methods, such as the necessary internal communication, an introductory video, reference cards, and a manual. Because Promen opted for a phased transition, we also had enough time to train all office staff during workshops. In small groups, we went into detail about using the new laptops and collaborating with Teams. Participants had the opportunity to practice on their own and could share their experiences.”

Peace and contentment

It was a time-consuming project, but in the end, it paid off. With support from Acknowledge’s project manager and technical consultants, all the laptops were successfully deployed within a few weeks. For more complex challenges—such as security solutions—the right specialists were brought on board in a timely manner. And thanks to the adoption strategy, employees were involved as much as possible throughout the process. “I notice that there’s now a sense of calm and satisfaction, and that’s nice. New employees also tell us they’re surprised at how quickly they can get started with their laptops. That’s always been our goal: to focus on the user,” says Geert. Pien agrees: “A great example of the power of collaboration, training, and adoption!”

Short lines of communication

The main advantage of a long-term partnership is that Acknowledge is very familiar with Promen’s environment. “That makes communication a lot easier!” says Geert. “We’re too small to handle all management in-house, so we need a partner who can take over second- and third-line management. It’s great to be able to work with a team that understands exactly what we’re talking about on every front. We’re also in regular contact with our service manager, which keeps communication lines short and clear.” Geert gives the modern workplace project a solid eight out of ten!