What is SVA?
What is SVA?
If you attended the Spring Town Hall, you might remember Senior Vice President and CFO Steve Marsh updating the group on a new company-wide engagement with SVA consulting.
With the significant growth of the organization in the last few years, we have become more professional and sophisticated for clients and guests. Now it’s time for our systems and processes to do the same so we can continue to stay competitive and seize new opportunities.
WCD’s engagement with SVA kicked off late last year. While leadership and some staff have been closely involved so far, it’s time to bring everyone up to speed on the changes ahead — including updates to policies, procedures, and systems that will help us stay efficient, scalable, and future-ready.
So, is everything about to change? Not exactly — but things are evolving.
“I love that we have physically grown our business over the last few years, both with the expansion and with our staffing,” President and CEO Marty Brooks said. “Now, with more events, bigger crowds and a larger team, we’re implementing new systems and tools to help us work smarter and continue growing as a premier events destination.”
To kick things off, we’re introducing the what and who behind SVA — starting with insights from two key leaders on the project: Steve Marsh, and Vice President of Human Resources Nila Tuckson.
Here is what they had to say.
With the significant growth of the organization in the last few years, we have become more professional and sophisticated for clients and guests. Now it’s time for our systems and processes to do the same so we can continue to stay competitive and seize new opportunities.
WCD’s engagement with SVA kicked off late last year. While leadership and some staff have been closely involved so far, it’s time to bring everyone up to speed on the changes ahead — including updates to policies, procedures, and systems that will help us stay efficient, scalable, and future-ready.
So, is everything about to change? Not exactly — but things are evolving.
“I love that we have physically grown our business over the last few years, both with the expansion and with our staffing,” President and CEO Marty Brooks said. “Now, with more events, bigger crowds and a larger team, we’re implementing new systems and tools to help us work smarter and continue growing as a premier events destination.”
To kick things off, we’re introducing the what and who behind SVA — starting with insights from two key leaders on the project: Steve Marsh, and Vice President of Human Resources Nila Tuckson.
Here is what they had to say.
Who is SVA?
SVA is a consulting firm out of Madison, Wisconsin. They specialize in accounting and business services, working with companies nationwide to implement new systems, software and technology to help improve internal operations and efficiencies.
The cornerstone of SVA's core values is to “Serve People Better.” You can learn more about them at their website here.
The cornerstone of SVA's core values is to “Serve People Better.” You can learn more about them at their website here.
Why did the WCD start working with SVA?
Nila Tuckson: “Leadership knew there was a lot of change to be implemented, but how do you accomplish it and how do you keep everybody motivated and moving in the same direction on time? Who's going to lead that? Who's going to make sure that it keeps moving forward? Are we going to veer off every time the event schedule's too busy? We felt like we needed some help with what SVA calls ‘change management’, overseeing how we can accomplish and get things done. SVA is making sure we stay on track.”
Steve Marsh: “As we've become a more sophisticated and professional organization during Marty’s tenure, our business ops have become more complex. After we opened the expansion last May and began bringing all this new talent on board, the senior management team started getting feedback in part from these new hires and asking questions about why we're doing things certain ways. The need to analyze how we do work around here and evaluate opportunities to be more efficient was at the forefront of leadership’s mind. Now's the opportunity for us to really optimize the way we work and SVA is just there to ensure we’re doing this in a thoughtful and intentional way.”
Steve Marsh: “As we've become a more sophisticated and professional organization during Marty’s tenure, our business ops have become more complex. After we opened the expansion last May and began bringing all this new talent on board, the senior management team started getting feedback in part from these new hires and asking questions about why we're doing things certain ways. The need to analyze how we do work around here and evaluate opportunities to be more efficient was at the forefront of leadership’s mind. Now's the opportunity for us to really optimize the way we work and SVA is just there to ensure we’re doing this in a thoughtful and intentional way.”
What are some examples of things being implemented with SVA at the WCD?
The main focus at WCD will be retiring outdated and unsupported technology we use for:
For example, one major update will be transition from Microsoft Dynamics (mostly scattered spreadsheets) to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system via a software called Acumatica. Marsh said this system will allow his team to work more efficiently but also offer all WCD managers more insight into the business to help budget and operate more effectively.
“The ERP will have an impact across the entire organization,” Marsh said. “It'll affect how people submit purchase requisitions. It will affect how credit card payments are processed and it will affect our budgeting process, our forecasting process, how we generate reports for the board and internally and how we view our tracking to budget and profitability. Hopefully it's more data, clear data and more quickly received and disseminated by the management team.”
Additionally, other systems have been in the works. Nila said that her team has been working on updates from updating the purchasing policy, to the creation of training programs and opportunities for staff, something Nila said was mentioned by many staff in the most recent engagement survey.
- Finance.
- Purchasing.
- Billing.
- Data Analysis.
- Content Management.
For example, one major update will be transition from Microsoft Dynamics (mostly scattered spreadsheets) to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system via a software called Acumatica. Marsh said this system will allow his team to work more efficiently but also offer all WCD managers more insight into the business to help budget and operate more effectively.
“The ERP will have an impact across the entire organization,” Marsh said. “It'll affect how people submit purchase requisitions. It will affect how credit card payments are processed and it will affect our budgeting process, our forecasting process, how we generate reports for the board and internally and how we view our tracking to budget and profitability. Hopefully it's more data, clear data and more quickly received and disseminated by the management team.”
Additionally, other systems have been in the works. Nila said that her team has been working on updates from updating the purchasing policy, to the creation of training programs and opportunities for staff, something Nila said was mentioned by many staff in the most recent engagement survey.
Sounds like finance is a priority right now, but could we see additional software and systems down the line?
Steve Marsh: “Once we get past the ERP we’ll determine if there’s an opportunity to get something for HR that better fits our business. The ERP is Part A, and hopefully, if this is successful, we can start on Part B.”
Nila Tuckson: “There’s too much technology out there that can help us navigate and streamline things, which will allow the HR team to spend more time focusing on enhancing and actively affecting the employees.”
Nila Tuckson: “There’s too much technology out there that can help us navigate and streamline things, which will allow the HR team to spend more time focusing on enhancing and actively affecting the employees.”
What is the overall goal of implementing these changes with SVA?
Nila Tuckson: “It is really easy just to continue doing the status quo because it just works but you have to move things forward. Otherwise, at some point, these things weren’t going to work anymore. These are necessary changes that need to happen. SVA is helping guide us through all of these major changes that have happened within the organization in a short period of time.”
Steve Marsh: “The goal is to make us more efficient in our day-to-day processes. Our hope is that will free up capacity for us to grow the business and focus on that and becoming more profitable.”
Steve Marsh: “The goal is to make us more efficient in our day-to-day processes. Our hope is that will free up capacity for us to grow the business and focus on that and becoming more profitable.”
How long will we be working with SVA?
Nila Tuckson: “We’ve contracted with SVA through the end of the year. We’ll evaluate, especially around the budget process, where we are at and whether to continue.”
Will more information be shared about SVA and the resulting changes?
Yes. In an effort to educate and inform staff, he Marketing and Communications team will be creating a monthly series of stories around the changes being implemented in conjunction with SVA. These will include details around new software and systems, impacts these will have on our business and operations and look further into why these changes are being made to improve our internal efficiencies and systems.