In our last client spotlight, we mentioned that one of the greatest perks of being part of a web development firm is working on a seemingly endless variety of fascinating projects with people from all walks of life. We continue that joy with our next spotlight client, HANDS of Central Florida. The Housing and Neighborhood Development Services of Central Florida (HANDS) does important work to increase affordable housing and help families find homes. However, as HANDS’ client base grew, their phone-based operations bogged down the process. Facing pressures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement new digital systems to communicate data, HANDS turned to Blink;Tech.
In 2006, using the ingenuity and foresight of the Executive Director Jill McReynolds, Blink;Tech created a content management system that has made HANDS the leading player in its field. Empowering her vision into building a web application to register incoming clients, Blink;Tech took advantage of a booming population of Internet users to shift the workload onto the client and lighten the burden on HANDS staff, while dramatically increasing the throughput of service fulfillment.
Blink;Tech was the first in the nation to implement the HUD department’s digital reporting system, ARM, and a report that used to take days to produce now only takes one simple click of a button. An intuitive user interface for both clients and staff helps HANDS do what it does best: help people.
Since that initial overhaul, the HANDS client management system (CMS) has evolved into a sophisticated application, utilizing mobile technology, advanced communications, and automated fulfillment processing. These automated processes have contributed to a highly optimized staff performance.
The efficiency of the processes implemented has translated into an exponential growth in the number of people that HANDS has been able to help. This level of achievement would not have been possible prior to the edification of the CMS and the collaboration between HANDS and Blink;Tech.
Through a close working relationship and precise project management, HANDS has become the highest-ranking non-profit website for housing counseling in the state of Florida. As the relationship evolves, we expect to maintain this position through new technology, including artificial intelligence, and exploitation of HANDS’ large and increasing mobile user base.
Blink;Tech continues to support the organization’s management of a prolific client base, helping HANDS respond quickly to changes in the industry. Their CMS is constantly evolving, and the advanced Agile principles utilized allows advances in technology to work together to meet the needs of our client. The symbiosis of HANDS and Blink;Tech makes for one of our most interesting projects to date.
