Service center support - ARDB’s Service Center Support

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Prior to Hartwood coming on contract, ARDB had two email smb inboxes (e.g., group inboxes) designed for customer support. This was the only mechanism by which Records Managers (RMs) could contact HQMC with questions regarding RM compliance. The backlog of requests for information (RFIs) was significant. Furthermore, due to a shortage of manpower, ARDB’s response times were sporadic, often taking several days if not weeks to reply.     

CHALLENGE:  When Hartwood first developed the Command Records Operational Support Site (CROSS), we made very sure to include a “Contacts” box for customer support. This feature directly notifies the entire team when a customer submits an RFI. However, we also included the capability for Command Designated Records Managers (CDRMs) to make direct contact with the subordinate RMs within their command structure—an unprecedent feature to date. We recognized that, due to high volume turnover, it is often difficult for CDRMs to maintain regular contact with, or simply keep track of their RM staff. This capability now not only allows CDRMs to manage their staff in real time, but it also allows them to communicate internally and “pass” new information/compliance standards in one, consolidated location. Hartwood is also now able to quantify our response times to customers, which rarely exceeds a 24-48 hour turnaround. In addition, we also hired both a full-time Outreach Coordinator as well as Service Desk Support.    

SOLUTION:  Hartwood Consulting Group documented the many discussions related to License Management and cost allocation from the functional representatives of all current and future service consumers and created a requirements list that would satisfy the needs for transparency of license utilization, and management of licenses at the appropriate levels within each DON component.   

RESULT:  With this kind of proactive communication, ARDB has seen an exponential increase in CROSS traffic, which effectually translates to overall RM program compliance. For context, in October 2019 CROSS had an approximate 18% total Marine Corps registration rate; as of July 2021, we are now at 55% with more than 3,200 users. Of note, formal policy mandating CROSS use was not published until March 2021, meaning that the majority of growth was achieved via proactive outreach and word-of-mouth. As a result, ARDB is wholistically able to respond faster and to a higher volume of customers. And it’s only upwards from here...