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Entura used a legacy in-house tool for managing its professional resumes and as a database for case studies. This tool was time-consuming to maintain, challenging to use and did not support the various templates needed by the bid team. Entura wished to migrate the data from the legacy system to a modern, supported and off-the-shelf management tool for CVs and case studies. After researching different products, Entura investigated CV Partner to determine if it was fit for Entura’s purposes. Having tested the functional capabilities and trialed a data migration, Entura selected the product and a roll-out date was set, assisted by the CV Partner Customer Success Team.
Entura is the consulting business of Hydro Tasmania - Australia’s largest generator of clean, renewable energy, and champions for a sustainable future. For more than a century, Tasmanians have relied on Hydro Tasmania's hydropower to grow communities and the economy. Entura is one of the world’s most experienced specialist power and water consulting firms. Entura creates safe and sustainable power and water solutions that make a positive and enduring contribution to clients and communities across the Indo-Pacific region. Entura employs more than 280 people across multiple offices and locations in Australia and internationally.
Entura had been using an in-house legacy tool to provide a record of its people’s skills, experiences and qualifications as well as the projects undertaken by the business. The tool had worked well for many years but was now unsupported and struggling to provide the flexibility and robustness required to meet the changing demands of the business. Also, the Entura team required upgraded security and privacy standards, as well as wanting to lessen demand on internal IT resources. Rather than updating or improving CV Writer, it was decided that an alternative should be sought. The team set out to evaluate a commercial, off-the-shelf SaaS tool to meet the business’s functional needs.
Entura set out to find a system which was both user-friendly and future-proof, continuously updated and supported. Preferably the tool would be cloud-based to enable quick onboarding and support across international offices. After searching through many SaaS and CV database tools, most of which are targeted to recruitment systems, the team found a tool tailored for the needs of a professional services firm, which needs to submit a wide range of bids and proposals.
Legacy tool was inflexible
”IT security and compliance were of utmost importance when we searched for a new tool. We therefore required that the vendor should have ISO 27001 certification.”Daniel Marr, Manager Bid Optimisation at Entura
Online introduction to CV Partner over video-conferencing
CV Partner was discovered after a comprehensive online search, and contact was established via cvpartner.com. Shortly after contacting CV Partner, a video conference was arranged. After an initial online introduction and demonstration, many of the initial questions were answered, such as how CV Partner could migrate data from the existing tool, how each user could have access to CV Partner, how exporting templates would work, and how data would be stored securely.
A trial account with Entura’s own data and templates was set up
After the first call, CV Partner offered access to an account with the company’s own data and templates. The account provided access to all features, and Entura’s team was able to test many features including templates, backups, user interface and support. In parallel with the testing of the demo account, the commercial and technical requirements were addressed.
Data migration testing
As Entura obtained approval for the introduction of CV Partner, Entura and CV Partner teams worked together to plan the data migration. Initially, content from the legacy system was exported in Excel (CSV files), and the data was verified and then imported to CV Partner. Once some test data had been successfully imported, the final migration date was set. Data was shared securely using the CV Partner data upload feature. The data migration was included in the first year’s licence fee.
Master data cleaning and training
After the data had been imported, Entura’s bid team received training in using the CV Partner master data tool. This allowed them to clean up terminology and gain better control over the content in the account before the end-users were welcomed to the tool.
SSO setup and end user training
To ensure easy and secure access for all users, the Hydro Tasmania IT team configured SSO for users who needed access to their CV. Once data was migrated and consequently quality-assured, each user was encouraged to attend a training seminar where employees and super-users could learn to use the tool.
Go live date
Once all of the above steps were completed, the Entura implementation team set a go-live date. In parallel, the implementation team had set up SSO and help text to provide users with a good introduction when they logged in to update their CV. The combination of high-quality data migration from a legacy system, training and the intuitive user interface made the initial experience with CV Partner a success for all users.
”An important aspect of the process was to be able to do a comprehensive functionality evaluation and test the solution for ourselves! It showed me that CV Partner was confident in its product”Daniel Marr, Manager Bid Optimisation at Entura
Entura now has the benefit of access to a system that is readily available, secure, well-maintained and up-to-date with regard to user interface and security standards. The end-users are satisfied with the improved user interface, in particular the ‘suggested skills’ and experiences features, and the reduced time spent updating CVs and case studies. In addition, the demands on Hydro Tasmania’s internal IT team time has been significantly reduced. The support chat and email ticketing system has helped the Entura with efficient troubleshooting, despite the time zone difference between Tasmania and Europe.
Since each CV and case study is up-to-date in CV Partner, the bid team is able to quickly compile the CVs and case studies needed to submit bids in various formats. New bids and tenders are also able to be tailored, with the right CVs and case studies available and with the most relevant skills, experiences and projects highlighted. Case studies are linked with relevant CVs, enabling standardised and shared project descriptions and saving time. Entura’s bid team is now able to tailor CV and case study templates for the World Bank and other NGOs which require specific templates.
”We were particularly impressed with the responsiveness of the CV Partner team, and their willingness for online conferencing, despite the time difference.”Daniel Marr, Manager Bid Optimisation at Entura
