Two whole days and zero issues!
- Robert Hopkins
- Apr 8
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 15
I can’t tell you how nervous I was about how things would go at the food bank during the first few days - but to my surprise, everything is working smoothly! I haven’t run into any major issues. That’s not to say I haven’t made some tweaks - because I definitely have.
One challenge I didn’t anticipate was the process of onboarding new clients. I didn’t realize how problematic it could be having them - or even us - fill out paperwork by hand. It really hit me when I was helping the front desk and couldn’t even read my own handwriting on some of the forms I had filled out, including client names and SSN-4s. I knew I had to fix that.
So, after a ten-hour workday, I went home and rewrote part of the New Client Visit form. It now auto-fills client names and SSN-4s so the printed forms are clear and legible. Problem solved.
Other changes were small - just minor adjustments like correcting a time field that was displaying incorrectly or updating a few words on some reports. Nothing major, just simple refinements here and there.
The biggest challenge so far has been training volunteers who aren’t familiar with computers. I keep reminding myself to take a deep breath and be encouraging. When there’s a line of people waiting at the front windows, and the person at the computer is unsure of what to do, it can feel overwhelming for them. My role is to keep them calm, walk them through the process, and build their confidence. Once they start to get the hang of it, I step back and let them work—ready to jump in if they need support.
It’s so rewarding when everything clicks for them - it really makes all the effort worthwhile. Today, someone even commented on how refreshing it is not to have papers and clipboards scattered across the desks, now that all the data is safely stored in the system.
As they continue to get more comfortable with the software, I think they'll come to truly appreciate what they now have - and how this system can grow and adapt to meet the evolving needs of our community.
