NetVU Blog

Who hasn’t wondered occasionally if all the time they spend volunteering in various associations and charities is really worth it?  For emotional reasons, we justify many of our philanthropic activities, as well we should.

But when you volunteer for a business group, such as NetVU, how do you know that you are getting back as much or more than you give?

The easiest way to find out is to talk to your peers.  They will tell you!  For example, our volunteers tell us that they learn as much by teaching as by becoming a student. When they take that information back to the office, and apply it, it changes the dynamics of their work flow, and money is saved.

The easy part is coming out and teaching, even though you have to prep and plan and rehearse.

The hard part is actually going back to the office and implementing the 5, 10 or 15 things you learned from the students in the room who spoke up during class.

Or, who hasn’t benefitted from Real Time at some level or another? The hours saved due to the elimination of double entry equates to real money!  It took someone (or should I say a lot a “someones!”) volunteering at various industry functions many years ago, getting the word out and pushing for the changes that we all knew needed to happen.  Today, we all reap that benefit. We pass that benefit on to our legacies.

The math isn’t that hard even for conference attendance.  Just show up! You don’t even have to teach, or volunteer. Spend some time in classrooms and the hallways talking to other folks using the same systems as you do – if you find one good idea that saves just 15 minutes a day on a customer service function, you have saved money. [One example: 15 minutes x 200 workdays / 60 minutes per hour = 50 hours saved a year x $25 per hour = $1,250 a year x 3 CSRs = $3750 saved every year!] 

You can do your own math here.

Some ROI doesn’t come in the form of dollar bills. The leadership skills you gain by being active in any volunteer group can help you in your career or with other volunteer jobs. You may find you are less stressed at work because of the skills you learn while helping others. Maybe, you just have a little fun with friends! And couldn’t that be the best ROI of all?

~Lisa Harrington~

The Product Enhancement Request System or PERS is one of our NetVU membership perks that really add value increasing our agency management system efficiencies. Using it on a daily basis, members get the needed ideas to Vertafore for changes and upgrades. Us users, certainly have the experience and knowledge and Vertafore has the abilities to get changes made. PERS is the sounding board for us to submit enhancement ideas that can directly influence the development of a Vertafore product. I don’t know about you, but I find it amazing that my idea has the potential to affect future product releases making the product better for everyone!

The one thing I have heard from members concerning PERS is that nothing is actually done with their enhancement requests. I want to go ahead and debunk that myth, and let you know that every single enhancement submitted is reviewed by a select committee of NetVU peers focused on the betterment of the entire user group. Again, there is not a single PERS item not looked at and prioritized by NetVU.

We all have that "one" issue or item you wish was different so your workflow would be better. 1) find out if others agreed and has it been submitted, and 2) if not, submit it yourself! Search and vote on enhancements submitted by others. Then start sharing your own ideas and see how your enhancement can make a difference in the development process! Ready, Set, Go!

 ~Mark Stolly~

Click HERE to get started with PERS!