Hylaine, Fiserv, MagMutual skilled volunteer team supports Atlanta nonprofit with business process improvements to create an anticipated 20% increase in operating efficiencies
Sponsored by Hylaine
Bearings Bike Works is a Southwest Atlanta nonprofit that operates four unique youth development programs that help students ages 6-18 develop hard skills, soft skills, and character strengths that can make a difference in future career success. Although the prospect of earning a bike is what draws kids to the program, the excitement of learning new skills and being a part of a community keeps them returning, week after week. Bearings’ mission is to put the right tools in the hands of youth to help develop and advance the necessary skills to transition into adulthood and the workforce, ultimately creating productive lives.
Post-pandemic, the Bearings team grew, and their business processes shifted. Following the changes, Bearings reached out to Apparo for assistance reorganizing and identifying ways to improve business processes and formally document them to run their organization more efficiently.
Sponsored by Hylaine, Apparo matched Bearings Bike Works with skilled volunteers including those from Hylaine, Fiserv, and MagMutual. This volunteer team conducted a current state assessment and documented processes in the areas of finance, HR, programs, retail mechanics, and development to help identify which areas could benefit from business process improvements. Additionally, the volunteer team addressed Bearings’ inventory tracking process in their retail bike shop to further help increase efficiencies.
The assessment revealed opportunities for streamlining processes and mitigating risks that will create many positive impacts for the Bearings team. Through having formally documented processes and implementing recommendations for replacing manual processes with technology, considering cybersecurity measures, and integrating data storage platforms, Bearings anticipates increasing operational efficiencies by 20%.
Bearings staff members will save an average of 5 hours per person weekly through having documented processes and operations that strengthen communications, financial integrity, and improve staff’s ability to share files. This freed time will empower Bearings to focus on their programming and mission, on implementing recommendations provided by the team, and allow them to spend more time with their constituents, leading to greater innovation and an overall improved ability to serve the community. The organization anticipates increasing their capacity to better serve their 300+ students annually.
The Bearings team is also looking forward to reduced stress, expanded bandwidth, and increased workplace happiness. Bearings Co-Founder Becky O’Mara shares more about the anticipated impact of project recommendations,
“When we have the daily operations already mapped out, we can think more holistically about how we’re operating and serving the community. With these increased efficiencies, outcomes are improved for a greater number of kids, and we will be able to be more adaptable to serve our constituents. These projects make our work more enjoyable and help us better fulfill our mission”.
Becky also discusses what it was like with the volunteer team,
“The volunteers were enthusiastic and fantastic to work with. We really enjoyed the site visit and had a great time being able to connect with them in-person. They had thoughtful questions and brought a lot of care to the process too”.
Volunteers reflect on their experiences:
- “I’m happy to say I’m really impressed with all that Bearings was able to accomplish manually, so I’m excited to see how much they’ll be able to do with automation in place. The site visit was absolutely amazing. I’m so impressed with the facilities. the organization, and the energy and excitement of the kids when they came in. I’m glad I got this opportunity.” – Tamara Lopata, Hylaine
- “Having the opportunity to visit the site was critical. Being able to see the facility, see how it operates, see how things flow not only within the retail space, but with all of the development space and seeing things in action and actually taking place went a huge way in understanding some of the suggestions that I had for opportunities for improvement. I couldn’t underscore how important that site visit was. It really helped us solidify a lot of the recommendations that we all made. It was great to meet folks in person as well.” -Steve Gillam, Fiserv
- “It was so nice to see the facility and get a firsthand look at the program in action. The interactions between the kids, mentors, and the camaraderie and mentorship happening between the older and younger kids was so heartwarming. It was great to be able to visualize their plans for future growth.” -Debby Murphy, Hylaine
- “I applaud the patience and fortitude of the team for putting all of the documentation together. This made the process easier to assess the data and create recommendations. As an Atlanta resident, I hadn’t heard of Bearings before, so I’m glad Apparo connected us.” – Patrick Fleming, Hylaine
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