World Vision Manages Global Initiatives With Smartsheet
The Christian relief group World Vision International makes a difference in the lives of children around the world. Managing a staff of 50,000 as well as volunteers located around the globe takes skill and organization—and a effective collaborative work management tool.
"Everything we do has just one goal: the sustained well-being of children, especially the most vulnerable, and Smartsheet enables us to move closer to this goal."
Senior Advisor – Strategy, Global Office of Strategy, Collaboration & Innovation
Whether it’s providing earthquake relief in Nepal, developing training programs in Sri Lanka, or working with policy makers in Sudan, World Vision International is on the front line of changing children’s lives for the better.
Making a difference requires a lot of teamwork. The Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization has a staff of 50,000, volunteers located around the globe and 1,500 active projects. To organize so many people and efforts, World Vision needed a tool that could streamline and unify program management at any scale.
Smartsheet was the solution, providing clear project road maps as well as efficient coordination and collaboration.
Global Project Mapping
Historically, World Vision teams relied on phone calls, email, and spreadsheets as their core communication tools. But, the teams consistently struggled with status updates, health of the programs, and global planning.
Smartsheet solved this challenge with roll up reporting, regional planning, and scorecarding functions. Plans are prepared annually by every office and reported on quarterly, covering the key strategic initiatives that each regional team need to implement and deliver.
The teams use Smartsheet to create their regional plans, scorecards, and reports which map execution of the overall strategy, implementation of key initiatives, and measurement of strategic indicators. The result was improved visibility and collaboration.
Access and Visibility to Project Plans
Another challenge was coordinating teams across the globe with real-time collaboration and remote access. Smartsheet enabled the organization to have visibility into 1,500 global programs: what’s working and what’s not working, with remote access and the Smartsheet mobile app.
“Smartsheet is the glue that helps us stick together, to coordinate better, and ultimately avoid wasting resources,” says Juan Bertoldi, Senior Advisor – Strategy, Global Office of Strategy, Collaboration & Innovation.
Standard Practice Across Multiple Geographies
With team members and volunteers scattered around the world, a uniform evaluation checklist kept everyone on the same page.
Plans are prepared annually by every office and reported on quarterly, covering the key strategic initiatives that each regional team need to implement and deliver. The teams use Smartsheet to create their regional plans, scorecards, and reports which map execution of the overall strategy, implementation of key initiatives, and measurement of strategic indicators.
“We can see any changes at a glance, attach documents, and run reports for a quick snapshot of our progress,” says Bertoldi. “The ease of use and powerful collaboration features make Smartsheet a great tool to support key processes at World Vision International.
“Everything we do has just one goal: the sustained well-being of children, especially the most vulnerable and Smartsheet enables us to move closer to this goal.”