Item: WORKetc
Rating: 10
Author: Melissa Bailey

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Currently, we are using WORK[etc] to manage implementation of new contracts and then the transition into ongoing operations and support. We are a service based company so our clients rely on us for day-to-day support throughout the life of the contract. We needed a system that would give us detailed account history, provide a platform for virtual support and enable us to produce robust annual business reviews to showcase why we are the best partner (and will continue to be) for our clients. With a 50/50 workforce of both remote and corporate based employees, WORK[etc] connects our regional support teams to corporate to ensure our clients are being consistently targeted and touched.

Pros and Cons

The project management functionality is done extremely well. They have a high level of integration with other platforms (e.g. Google Drive) that allows our company to seamlessly connect everything we do for a client from inception throughout contract term.
Support ticket functionality easily allows for ticket tracking, monitoring and assigning to specific customer service associates who are in charge of accounts. It has also created a detailed support history that we can use during our annual business reviews to showcase ROI of our online support.
The system also has the ability for pretty sophisticated tagging and, once you master this feature, you can pull very targeted user lists to assist with upselling and marketing campaigns as needed.

They have an integration with Gmail to connect emails to specific projects within WORK[etc], however, you cannot filter by customer. So you have to know exactly what the project name is for this functionality to be useful.
When any new email address is sensed in the system, it automatically creates a new contact for that email. This can be quite annoying when you have people CC'd on emails that don't need to be there. We have to periodic cleanup work to control the amount of "dead" contacts.

Return on Investment

It has effectively connected our nationwide workforce.
It has turned our implementations into focused, task driven projects with notes, discussions, and a full client history that we can then turn over to operations for a seamless management approach.
It has saved us the expense of needing 2 additional systems (one for billing and one for project management) as WORK[etc] integrates it all.

Alternatives Considered

Smartsheet

Smartsheet was a never-ending to do list of unattached items. It wasn't creating a database for us to continue to pull from. WORK[etc] is both project managing and client managing at the same time.

Other Software Used

Absorb Anywhere LMS, Google Drive, Google Hangouts

Likelihood to Recommend

If you are looking for a way to organize customer data and projects across regions, then WORK[etc] will get the job done. For our company, the country is divided into 3 regions and each region has a team of workers in charge of providing ongoing support services to that region. WORK[etc] has organized our company exponentially and given us a solid database to pull from to ensure we're meeting contractual requirements, providing timely deliverables and staying ahead of the game. Because I only work in a service industry, I don't know if WORK[etc] would be appropriate for product based companies, However, if you were offering anything [product or service] that required online support, the system will function well.

The perfect CRM for connecting a disconnected workforce with their clients

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with WORK[etc]