At Peer Power, our urgent mission to close equity gaps in public education is powered not just by passionate educators and mentors, but also by innovative technology working behind the scenes. As the Data Systems Associate, I’ve seen firsthand how embracing technological solutions can amplify our impact on students’ lives.
The heart of our work lies in connecting talented college students with high school classrooms. To do this effectively, I’ve harnessed the power of automation in our recruitment, interview, and hiring process. By automating critical parts of this process, we can more rapidly identify and onboard the best candidates. That means less time spent on repetitive administrative tasks and, ultimately, getting support to students faster.
However, implementing new technologies isn’t without challenges, especially as organizations grow. One critical area I’ve focused on recently is building a centralized automation management system, documenting all of our automated workflows, and setting up error handling. As our operations scaled, I needed a way to quickly identify, track, and resolve issues across our various automated processes. I also needed to be able to view all of our workflow interdependencies at a glance so that I could safely make improvements without breaking our other workflows.
With smoother operations, we can:
- Deploy Success Coaches more quickly and effectively
- Divert more resources away from repetitive labor tasks and towards direct student support
- Reduce the chances of human error and missed opportunities
- Make data-driven decisions to continually improve our programs, marketing, and recruiting
For non-profit professionals looking to enhance their operations through technology and automation, I encourage you to start small. Identify a single process that, if improved, could significantly impact your efficiency or effectiveness. From there, explore how technology could streamline that process, always keeping your mission and the people you serve at the forefront of your decisions.
By embracing these technological advancements, we at Peer Power have been able to focus more of our energy and resources on what truly matters – creating opportunities for Memphis students to grow, learn, and thrive.