Ensuring Child Bereavement UK benefits from technology

Like many organisations, Child Bereavement UK chose to work with an external IT partner to benefit from their specialist expertise and reduce the internal resources directed towards technology management. Child Bereavement UK wanted to minimise the distractions of operational technology issues, allowing their staff to focus on their core purpose: helping the bereaved and maximising the impact of funds raised.

Throughout our 15-year partnership, BCN has guided Child Bereavement UK through several technology change projects to ensure they are well positioned to benefit from modern IT workplace practices.

Like many organisations, Child Bereavement UK was forced to make major technological changes in the midst of the 2020 pandemic, the most crucial of which being their remote working capacity; essential in keeping counsellors and service users connected while nationwide restrictions kept them apart.

Pre-pandemic, Child Bereavement UK’s counselling sessions were predominantly face-to-face, and shifting all scheduled sessions to video and voice calling would be more than a technical challenge; it would also need to be implemented with the speed and sensitivity befitting the nature of the service.

Exacerbating the situation was a record-breaking wave of cyber-attacks on UK charities, exploiting, and instigated by, the nationwide pandemic. It was important to Child Bereavement UK that any major technological changes could be implemented without creating new entry points for malicious actors.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the shift to remote working did facilitate some benefits for Child Bereavement UK. Remote sessions have brought some advantages to those in need of Child Bereavement UK’s support – in particular, an ability to access support irrespective of location. As the pandemic begins to ease, a blended mix of remote and face-to-face support will continue to be offered.

BCN have become a trusted partner to Child Bereavement UK, helping them through major technical changes and operational advancements. Having established a 15-year partnership, BCN have gained an extensive knowledge of the charity’s systems, allowing them to deliver tailored and effective IT support.

In 2009 and 2019, Child Bereavement UK underwent various office moves, including their headquarters. BCN supported them through a major office refit, ensuring that the transition was efficient and disruption was minimised.

“Everything was in situ by 3pm on the day of the move with staff working productively.” Sue Randall, Executive Manager, Child Bereavement UK

In January 2020, BCN updated Child Bereavement UK’s systems to the Windows 10 operating system; laying the foundations for a modernised working environment. It was because of this that BCN could easily and efficiently carry out a server refresh project in August 2021. This included a review of Microsoft Teams usage and an improvement on structure and working practices. BCN were able to replace the server seamlessly and without operational disruption.

Child Bereavement UK then committed to BCN as their IT partner for a further three years, moving from a previous support plan to the latest Guardian Support service, providing additional benefits including security awareness training for all staff.

Most recently, in February 2022, BCN introduced Child Bereavement UU to our trusted cyber insurance partner, to assist them with their first Cyber Insurance policy.

As a registered charity with clear responsibilities to ensure funds are used effectively, Child Bereavement UK invited alternative providers to bid for the contract during a review of IT services in 2021.

However, Child Bereavement UK opted to commit for a further 3 years with BCN due to the reliability of services offered, the proactive actions taken during the longstanding relationship and the quality and calmness of the people on the BCN service desk who support them day-to-day.

All organisations have seen an increase in phishing attempts in recent years, and charities are not exempt. As a trusted partner and security provider, BCN have shielded Child Bereavement UK against any potential threats and issues.

Having partnered with Child Bereavement UK for so long, BCN have long since established a relationship built on trust, transparency and total service commitment.

As both companies look to the future, BCN will continue to support Child Bereavement UK with technology that has a positive impact on the charity and their operations.

To do this, BCN will be implementing our unique IMPACT360 framework, which will include:

• Discovery sessions with the Child Bereavement UK board and senior leadership team to establish goals and identify the metrics by which IT impact will be measured.
• Employee technology surveys to uncover how IT is impacting Child Bereavement UK’s ability to do their best work.
• Technology standards alignment: identifying the gaps between Child Bereavement UK’s actual technology usage and the potential gains that technology could bring.
• Setting the baselines from which to measure the real positive impact IT is having towards achieving Child Bereavement UK’s BCN look forward to continuing our working relationship with Child Bereavement UK, helping to enhance their use of technology to achieve their goals, and furthering our powerful partnership.