BC Crane Safety
Case Study
THE PROBLEM
As the Executive Director of BC Crane Safety, Clinton Connell knew he faced a challenge with their website. “Before taking on this role, I was on the Board of Directors for many years,” he said, “so I was very familiar with BC Crane Safety, but I was not a fan of the website.”
For Connell, it was too much like a typical government website—filled with great information, but very confusing to navigate. “It just wasn’t very user friendly,” he said, “and probably most importantly, it wasn’t stakeholder focused.”
“We knew we had to refocus on the different stakeholder groups and provide them with a website that delivered a much easier and more enjoyable experience.”
Connell was well aware that people with BC Crane Safety came to the website in search of answers to their questions and resources to resolve problems that they were facing on the job. “To further frustrate someone in that process,” said Connell, “is really not helpful. We’re here to serve the crane industry, but our website just wasn’t delivering.”
THE SOLUTION
Connell’s first call for help went to Gerry Wiebe, an advisor with Pohl Strategic. “I had known Gerry for years, and I had seen some of the website work that his team had done,” recalled Connell. “And so I not only knew their reputation for delivering a quality product, but I knew their working style as well.”
When Connell showed his Board of Directors the different websites that Pohl Strategic had produced for other companies, they were convinced that this was a good fit for BC Crane Safety.
When the team at Pohl Strategic went to work for BC Crane Safety, the process began with a comprehensive plan to interview a cross-section of stakeholders.
Connell was clear that he trusted Pohl’s process as well. In particular, he was persuaded that their team would do the focused research necessary to provide a sound solution to their website problem.
As data was gathered, the complicated nature of the Association became simplified. “The team at Pohl did a great job of identifying the different stakeholder groups,” said Connell, “and determining their specific needs and priorities.”
THE OUTCOME
The research took some time, but it was worth it. “The new website was well received almost instantly,” said Connell. “Our stakeholders were immediately impressed. We moved from the beta version to the go-live version in remarkable time and with only minimal changes. In my experience, that’s not common.”
After the website was fully completed, Gerry and the team at Pohl Strategic hosted show-and-tell events to walk through the new website, first with senior management of both BC Crane Safety and WorkSafeBC, and then with a cross-section of the primary user groups.
According to Connell, stakeholders found site navigation greatly improved and commented readily on the functionality of the resource library, in addition to being captivated by the new graphics, color-coding and iconography.
In the end, it was clear that the new website had delivered the impact that was intended. Connell concluded by saying, “At the first website review, one of the representatives from WorkSafeBC, who works with at least thirteen different industries, said our new website raised the bar.”
BC Crane Safety
Case Study
THE PROBLEM
As the Executive Director of BC Crane Safety, Clinton Connell knew he faced a challenge with their website. “Before taking on this role, I was on the Board of Directors for many years,” he said, “so I was very familiar with BC Crane Safety, but I was not a fan of the website.”
For Connell, it was too much like a typical government website—filled with great information, but very confusing to navigate. “It just wasn’t very user friendly,” he said, “and probably most importantly, it wasn’t stakeholder focused.”
“We knew we had to refocus on the different stakeholder groups and provide them with a website that delivered a much easier and more enjoyable experience.”
Connell was well aware that people with BC Crane Safety came to the website in search of answers to their questions and resources to resolve problems that they were facing on the job. “To further frustrate someone in that process,” said Connell, “is really not helpful. We’re here to serve the crane industry, but our website just wasn’t delivering.”
THE SOLUTION
Connell’s first call for help went to Gerry Wiebe, an advisor with Pohl Strategic. “I had known Gerry for years, and I had seen some of the website work that his team had done,” recalled Connell. “And so I not only knew their reputation for delivering a quality product, but I knew their working style as well.”
When Connell showed his Board of Directors the different websites that Pohl Strategic had produced for other companies, they were convinced that this was a good fit for BC Crane Safety.
When the team at Pohl Strategic went to work for BC Crane Safety, the process began with a comprehensive plan to interview a cross-section of stakeholders.
Connell was clear that he trusted Pohl’s process as well. In particular, he was persuaded that their team would do the focused research necessary to provide a sound solution to their website problem.
As data was gathered, the complicated nature of the Association became simplified. “The team at Pohl did a great job of identifying the different stakeholder groups,” said Connell, “and determining their specific needs and priorities.”
THE OUTCOME
The research took some time, but it was worth it. “The new website was well received almost instantly,” said Connell. “Our stakeholders were immediately impressed. We moved from the beta version to the go-live version in remarkable time and with only minimal changes. In my experience, that’s not common.”
After the website was fully completed, Gerry and the team at Pohl Strategic hosted show-and-tell events to walk through the new website, first with senior management of both BC Crane Safety and WorkSafeBC, and then with a cross-section of the primary user groups.
According to Connell, stakeholders found site navigation greatly improved and commented readily on the functionality of the resource library, in addition to being captivated by the new graphics, color-coding and iconography.
In the end, it was clear that the new website had delivered the impact that was intended. Connell concluded by saying, “At the first website review, one of the representatives from WorkSafeBC, who works with at least thirteen different industries, said our new website raised the bar.”
