Case Study
IT Leadership at Mind
Challenge
When Smartdesc first began working with Mind, the IT Infrastructure required investment, and a great deal of foundational work was carried out on the IT Strategy and Support, Governance and Digital Transformation and Change areas of the charity.
The organisation had been experiencing an extremely fast period of growth, and Mind needed some expert IT leadership and insight.
“Trust and confidence have been the greatest value provided overall by Smartdesc. We trust their advice, and if they say they will do something, we have the confidence that they will do it.”
Paul Ward, Chief Operating Officer – Mind
Solution
Led by Director of Smartdesc, Adam Monks, who acts as an in-house transformational IT Director for Mind, the team provide expert strategic oversight of everything to do with technology within the organisation. The team are not a typical outsourced operation, as every aspect of their work is interwoven into the Mind infrastructure, including the 150 retail outlets. Smartdesc work across a variety of teams, including, HR, Accounts and Compliance, giving strong IT leadership and sharing expert knowledge on all areas of IT and Digital.
This work includes:
- Working closely with heads of departments to grow the organisation and ensure a high level of support.
- Guidance and mentorship to the IT Manager.
- Acting as Chair of the IT & Digital Group – a steering committee and Chair of the Project Governance Board
- Fostering effective collaboration with vendors and third parties to ensure the best service levels and value for Mind.
- Creating strategic, tactical and effective organisational governance processes.
- Ensuring that Mind can leverage the value of IT across the whole organisation.
- Driving positive change through IT training.
- Providing a Head of IT to oversee and provide project support across all technology areas.
- Taking all users, stakeholders and volunteers on a change journey.
- Co-ordinating 10+ members of the Smartdesc team who all work on different aspects of the Mind Partnership – ensuring the overall goals are met, cost effectively and efficiently.
Results
- High calibre IT Leadership and innovation has driven positive change throughout the organisation.
- Engaging users across multiple departments and encouraging loyalty.
- Internal Development and Upskilling of in-house IT members, including the IT Manager to better support Mind.
- Provision of more automated, affordable IT Solutions.