The challenge

The Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA), a voluntary parent organisation advocating for educational equity in remote areas, identified skills gaps in their use of digital technologies and governance practices. Motivated to enhance document management with Microsoft Teams and improve their governance practices, ICPA sought tailored training solutions from CCE. Their previous reliance on traditional email for document collaboration was functional but increasingly inefficient managing multiple contributors' inputs, requiring a shift towards more streamlined processes.

Our solution

Expert CCE facilitator John Le Mesurier developed a bespoke training program specifically for ICPA, designed to tackle their unique challenges.

The structured one-day training encompassed four two-hour sessions:

• MS Teams skills development: Enhancing skills in using Microsoft Teams and SharePoint for improved document control and real-time collaboration.
• Governance: Focusing on aligning council member skills with organisational tasks, ensuring effective succession planning and building capacity for sustained advocacy.
• Business process efficiency: Simplifying procedures to achieve better outcomes with fewer steps, directly addressing the need for streamlined operations.
• Change management and advocacy: Implementing change management models and techniques for better stakeholder management, coupled with advocacy training to enhance external engagements.

Each session was accompanied by relevant case studies and interactive exercises, tailored to resonate with ICPA’s mission and daily operations, making the training both practical and impactful.

The training was delivered face-to-face by Dominic Siow, and strategically scheduled to coincide with ICPA’s large annual meeting in Dubbo, ensuring optimal participation from members dispersed across NSW and QLD. Additional half-day Microsoft Teams training was facilitated by Danny Malik at CCE’s facilities in Sydney, to further enhance ICPA's digital collaboration skills.

The outcome

The training program led to improvements in how ICPA managed documents and collaborated internally. The introduction of Microsoft Teams and OneDrive has enhanced traditional processes, streamlining day-to-day operations. Transitioning to live documents in Microsoft Teams simplified collaboration by allowing immediate recognition and resolution of edits, effectively smoothing out previous inefficiencies.

Additionally, the training has had a motivational impact on the participants, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to enhance their roles within the organisation. This empowerment is expected to drive further improvements in their advocacy efforts and operational effectiveness.

Recognising the benefits of CCE training, ICPA scheduled additional session in Microsoft Teams to further enhance their capabilities, demonstrating the value they place on continued professional development and the positive ongoing relationship with CCE.

This case study illustrates the effectiveness of CCE’s tailored training programs in addressing specific organisational challenges, highlighting the transformative impact of well-executed corporate training on operational efficiency and staff engagement.