Seattle Parks and Recreation runs around 15,000 programs and courses annually. Following its vision statement of “healthy people, healthy environment, strong communities,” the department puts a large focus on serving ALL customers. To reach as many people as possible and identify who they are not yet serving, the department needs a technology partner that streamlines administrative tasks, makes online registration simple and provides comprehensive, detailed reporting.
A Needed Upgrade
After discovering that ACTIVE Class would not be around for much longer, the city made the decision to switch to ACTIVENet. Melanie Chin says they weren’t looking to make a change, but it ended up working out for the best. “I loved [ACTIVE] Class, but it definitely had some challenges to it,” Chin says. “With ACTIVENet, the whole customer experience is much better. Overall, it’s a lot easier for our residents to use.” She says the migration and installation process went rather smoothly for a project of its size, and it was completed on time and within budget.
Serving More Residents
With ACTIVENet, the department has made the registration process for their programs and classes so much simpler for participants, resulting in more participation. Some of the department’s favorite features include:
- Scholarships integrated into the online registration process to automatically apply discounts
- The ability for users to make wish- lists
- Simplified and mobile-friendly online registrations
- User-generated accounts
“We are seeing our highest number of online users ever,” Chin says. “Our online registrations average before ACTIVENet was 40 percent, now we are seeing 70 to 80 percent of registrations online.”
This means significantly shorter lines during registration periods.“It’s funny—during one of our class sign- ups, shortly after our go-live, the staff was confused because people started leaving the line. We got worried that people were giving up on registering, but then we realized people were just registering on their phones so they didn’t have to wait any longer.
”Seattle has received a lot of positive feedback from the community about its new online registration process. One satisfied community member even wrote a rave about the new process that was published in the Seattle Times.
A True Partnership
According to Chin, the relationship between their department and ACTIVE’s team couldn’t be better. “We’ve been provided with nothing but high-quality people,” Chin says. “Our account manager has really been our cheerleader and largest supporter, and the professional services team has been so helpful.” She says the implementation process wouldn’t have been possible without their “no-nonsense, straight forward” project manager to make sure things happened in a timely and efficient manner.
Her advice to others making the switch to ACTIVENet is to get the Enterprise package.
“At first, I didn’t think it was worth it,” Chin says. “Now I believe it is money well-spent. Having a designated consultant was invaluable.”
What's Next?
Moving forward, Seattle is looking into expanding ACTIVENet into different city departments and to use the robust reporting tools to help build social equity throughout the city.Chin says the department’s goal is to become a service for all people and to use ACTIVENet to identify the underserved areas of its community. By identifying those areas, the department can tailor programs and services to target these customers.
“We have a lot of growing still to do, but we believe ACTIVENet will help us reach more people and begin positively effecting our community.”
