Certsure

An intervention that saved a business during the Covid 19 pandemic

Sector
- Private Sector

Certsure is the UK’s leading voluntary regulatory body for the electrical contracting industry. It has been assessing the competence of electricians for over fifty years and currently maintains a roll of over 36,000 registered contractors. It is also the UK’s market-leading body for renewable energy schemes including Microgeneration Certification and PAS 2030 installer schemes.

Certsure offers industry-leading certification services, building regulations schemes, products and support to the construction industry and beyond. Certsure is assessed by UKAS against internationally recognised standards on a regular basis and holds accreditation for:

ISO/IEC 17065:2012 – requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services
ISO/IEC 17024:2012 – general requirements for bodies operating certification of persons
ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 – requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems

Requirements

Following initial discussions with Certsure, our specialist partner – cyber security provider Blackfoot – recommended Leading Resolutions to help with a review to understand the value that technology played and could play in the development of its services and products into the future.

We proposed a rapid assessment to cover projects and spend (inflight and proposed), IT organisation structure, high-level technology assessment and general observations to realise immediate business benefit and build the foundations for a high performing IT function within its business.

Our Findings

IT investments had traditionally not been fully aligned with business strategy

The strategy around the adoption of technology was not fully understood and there were a number of single points of dependencies within the IT supply chain, including small software house products that couldn’t necessarily guarantee continuity

A number of recent good but necessary investments had been made in the “right” technology (Office 365, Windows and laptop refresh) however, there was significant “technical debt” that’s had accrued and needed to be addressed

There was an opportunity to improve both service delivery to employees and Certsure’s customers by some simple process and automation investments

The Intervention

Following a very positive playback session, Leading Resolutions were asked to Lead the IT Function in the absence of a senior IT leader in the organisation, and align the function with the business strategy and directions. We did this by:

Taking responsibility for the IT Leadership and day to day management of the IT team

Assessing and designing a new Target Operating Model for the IT team

Installing an Interim Head of Infrastructure to create a communicable roadmap for improved stability and scalability

Successfully delivering the Windows, Office 365 and Cyber projects

Reducing dependencies by carefully transitioning away from ‘small dev shops’ to right sized, known, trusted organisations and a cloud first approach

Engaging with the business and creating a high-level communications plan around the roadmap for change, ensuring that key stakeholders were aligned

Recruiting a capable Senior IT leader to join the Senior Leadership Team at Certsure to ensure continuity for its business and IT function

Leading Resolutions helped us understand the value that a fully aligned, capable IT function could bring to our business. We are now starting to make the right investment decisions that we know bring value to our employees and customers

Kevan Parker
Managing Director, Certsure