Olympia School District is located in the state’s capital city. The district is fairly large with approximately 10,000 students and 1,200 staff members spread across 22 different sites.
Their “neighborhood school” structure emphasizes more but smaller elementary schools, which feed upward into fewer but larger middle and high schools, a unique structure for the state of Washington. This early education focus is very effective for students but requires larger administrative investment and financial management than normal.
Just a few short years ago, the majority of Olympia School District’s administrative processes were 30 years behind corporate America. Paper-based tasks dominated the back office which struggled to stay afloat as administration needs were deprioritized in favor of taxpayer-facing initiatives.
Before partnering with DocuPhase, Olympia School district faced a swath of administrative issues including:
It wasn’t until a major flood destroyed millions of paper records housed in the administration building’s basement, that Olympia realized it was time to find a digital solution.
Although digital document management was at the front of their mind, the newly appointed Director of Finance and Business Services knew that was only the tip of the iceberg.
“It was really alarming to come into Olympia and see that we still processed travel forms, personnel action forms, budget requests, and even checks by paper. Even though we were using computer systems to type that stuff in, the source documents that we were using to input that data were all paper generated and most of the time required multiple signatures.” – Justin Lanting, Director of Finance and Business Services.
Before discovering DocuPhase, Olympia School District initially worked with another software provider who helped them scan their records. Unfortunately, without the embedded capability to organize, index, perform advanced searches, or directly rout documents as part of a larger process workflow, Olympia quickly realized they needed a solution with a more comprehensive approach.
Documents Digitized.
Faster Turnaround for Personnel Action Forms
Faster faculty time card processing.
Fewer payment exceptions when processing faculty pay.
Saved per week on daily vendor deposits.
"The biggest thing we got with DocuPhase was a partner. When you come to the team about a new process and they say: “Oh yeah that’s not hard, I think we can do something like that”, it becomes pretty easy to lead a project in your district."
Justin Lanting Director of Finance and Business Services, Olympia School District
DocuPhase's K-12 Business Automation solution was chosen to bring Olympia School District’s back-office processes into the digital age complete with Document Management, Electronic Web Forms, and Workflow Automation.
A document management system was implemented to help the district digitally store, organize, and secure its documents and records in one place making it easier for principals, teachers, and other authorized personnel to access the information they need in a timely fashion.
Meanwhile, custom e-forms, access portals, and accompanying workflows were built to:
Finally, DocuPhase integrated with Skyward, the district’s student information system. This allowed finance and HR users to access files stored in DocuPhase’s document management system through Skyward. Any changes made in Skyward are then synced with DocuPhase and all other integrated systems, ensuring data consistency throughout all programs.
After implementing DocuPhase's K-12 Business Automation solution, the benefits became immediately apparent.
By pairing Document Management and Workflow Automation with existing line-of-business applications, the slog of back-office paper processing has been all but eliminated and administrators have been freed up to take on more important tasks.
The e-forms that replaced paper-based forms not only reduced lost files and accelerated back-office processes but were also praised for helping improve relations between faculty and administration. In particular, personnel action forms which were once a barrier to timely introduction of new faculty, now take only a few days to fully process compared to two weeks before automation.
Implementing DocuPhase's solution also provided the district with detailed auditing and reporting capabilities, helping the district ensure compliance with HIPAA and other applicable regulations.
Working hand-in-hand with Olympia School District, DocuPhase was able to customize and implement solutions designed specifically for the problems and complexities school districts commonly face. More than that, DocuPhase's K-12 Business Solution is adaptable and designed to evolve with the district as its needs change.
Administrators have overwhelmingly adopted DocuPhase's document management and workflow capabilities. With the positive reception, Olympia continues to look for new opportunities to leverage DocuPhase's powerful technology in streamlining tasks and integrating data to better serve faculty, students, and teachers.
The Client: Olympia School District is located in the state’s capital city. The district ...
The Client: Olympia School District is located in the state’s capital city. The district ...
The Client: Olympia School District is located in the state’s capital city. The district ...
The Client: Olympia School District is located in the state’s capital city. The district ...
