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— Education
Heretaunga Kindergartens general manager Scott Jenyns, who joined the organisation seeking a change from the corporate environment and ‘an opportunity to give back to the community I love so much’, says that working with the association is not about a one-way relationship.
“There's definitely an opportunity, I think, for most business-minded people to get a better understanding of how important early childhood education is. It’s pretty inspiring when you walk into one of the kindergartens just to see the mahi that has been undertaken,” says Scott.
“Any commercial relationship needs to be two-way. So I felt for the suppliers we rely on, as a not-for-profit, we could also ask, what can they do for us – and our community – as well? One of our long-term goals is to provide some benefit to whānau who have enrolled tamariki into any one of our kindergartens, so they can get access to better or more cost-effective services because they're part of the Heretaunga Kindergartens ecosystem.”
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Seeking a partner that could not only serve his organisation’s internet requirements but were also prepared to support the wider community, Scott got in touch with Now.
“It was hard to ignore Now's story because you were seeing all of the positivity around their awards.”
But the catalyst for change for Heretaunga Kindergartens was the responsiveness of the Now team, and their willingness to build a meaningful relationship with the kindergartens and their community.
“Now were very forthcoming and very quick to come back with a solution,” says Scott. “We knew they were going to be competitively priced – it wasn't all about price, although important when you're a not-for-profit – it was also about, okay, what can we offer the community as well?”
- Scott Jenyns, General Manager, Heretaunga Kindergartens
Reliability was also important for the kindergartens, as well as expert, timely support.
“All of our systems are now internet based, so having access is really important. Because they are traditional kindergartens, they are all on quite large sites, so it's important that we've got connectivity across the site,” says Scott.
“From a technology perspective, for us it's all about ensuring that we can provide efficiencies for our teams and that our teaching teams spend more time on the floor teaching.”
To make the changeover seamless, Now worked closely with the kindergartens, sending technicians to each site and ensuring the systems were replicated exactly – meaning nothing was required of the staff for the changeover.
“We only had one call – and that was because one of our team had accidentally turned off their modem at the wall. That reinforced how well it worked, because Now dropped everything to come out and investigate the issue.”
“I was expecting a few pain points, but it was seamless, because of the planning that was put into it. The team have also been very forthcoming, in terms of the service and reliability being better than the previous provider.”
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As well as services for each kindergarten, Now also provides internet and telephone services for the Heretaunga Kindergartens head office.
“We've moved offices recently and that move was very smooth and extremely well planned,” says Scott. “Now made sure that we got all the information that they needed well in advance, and it was just a really seamless cutover.”
Scott has also introduced Now to the Association’s peak body, the New Zealand Kindergarten Association.
“Of the 26 associations across New Zealand, I knew that Now would be able to provide a tailored solution for those individual organisations.”
Ultimately, the confidence to provide that recommendation comes down to the relationship Heretaunga Kindergartens has built with Now.
“A lot of companies throw around the word relationship,” says Scott. “But with Now I've found, they’re genuine. I think it's that they really do live up to that whole relationship piece being two way and not just about money flowing one way.”