Crawford & Company is an insurance claim outsourcer. And when disasters like hurricanes hit, they were used to keeping track of new adjusters and processes the (very) old-fashioned way: with whiteboards and hundreds of post-it notes.

When CIO Brian Flynn saw this process in action, he knew right away that something had to change. So much time and energy was being wasted during their disaster response, at a time when every second mattered. For one, the learning curve for new adjusters on boarded for the disaster was difficult to navigate.  Adjusters in the field had to set up and work from their laptops in the disaster area, making the whole process a mess.

The solution? Flynn knew that implementing an app that could be used on any tablet or mobile device would be invaluble to Crawford & Company.  Adjusters on the ground would be able to instantly upload pictures of the scene directly to team members  back at their headquarters.  New adjusters could also seek help from veterans with the Facebook like interface, and the network stored everything as it was happening to streamline the onboarding process for new adjusters during a disaster.

But the difficult part of implementing any change like this is not necessarily the development of the app and the network.  The most challenging part, as Brian Flynn puts it, is “aligning IT and business,” or simply getting people on board with the change.  Even with a clumsy system, there are still many people who will fight to the end for what they know and what’s comfortable.  But the best way to implement major changes like Flynn’s mobile app is to include employees in the process. To be fully embraced, the team should be given a chance to see the new model during development and have an opportunity to give input and feedback.  Then everyone can see how it will make their jobs easier and their work more efficient.

Even with the steps Brian Flynn took to improve Crawford & Company’s response time during hurricane season through digital media, he admits that parts of the process could have gone more smoothly.  Read the full story at CIO.