For years, Ben Hesch, Chief Executive Officer of Woolwich Community Health Centre, watched employees work around a file system that no longer met the organization’s needs.
Documents were stored across multiple drives. Finding the right file could take time, and access depended on knowing where it was located. The servers also required ongoing patching and hardware upgrades.
For an organization with employees working across multiple sites, those challenges affected more than file storage. They made every day work slower and limited how easily teams could collaborate.
Working with Lai and Associates, Woolwich Community Health Centre moved its documents into SharePoint. The migration made information easier to access, improved collaboration between locations, and provided greater confidence in how sensitive documents were protected.
What happens when the Existing File System No Longer Works?
As files accumulated, the organization’s traditional server system became harder to manage.
According to Ben, the challenges involved cost, usability, and security.
“We had all of our files stored on a server system, and we had set up multiple different drives. We were finding that that way of storing data was outdated, and it introduced security risks.”
The technology itself required regular attention, but employees faced a more immediate problem each day.
As Ben explained:
“It felt like every day we were trying to find documents. It was never easy to find the document you needed, and if you didn’t have access to the right drive, you were out of luck.”
The system was still operating, but it no longer helped employees work efficiently. The organization needed more than another server upgrade. It needed a better way to organize and access information.
Cleaning Up Before Moving Forward
Instead of simply moving every existing file to its new intended home in SharePoint, the team at Woolwich Community Health Centre created a working group with representatives from different areas of the organization. The group reviewed files, found the most recent versions, and decided what still supported active work. Materials that needed to be kept but were no longer used regularly could be archived.
Reports showing when documents had last been accessed helped the group make those decisions.
“We could see this document hadn’t been accessed for more than eight years. Clearly, it’s not something we’re using. Let’s archive it.”
This gave the organization a cleaner starting point. Important records could still be kept without allowing inactive files to clutter the new SharePoint workspace.
The working group met about once a week for a couple of months while the migration was planned. Prompting Ben to mention that Rondha and the whole Lai and Associates team, helped the organization determine what needed to move and supported the process along the way.
Designing SharePoint Around Daily Work
The project also gave the Woolwich CHC team an opportunity to reconsider how its files should be organized.
Rather than simply recreating the existing drives in SharePoint, teams discussed their workflows and the documents they used most often.
Ben explained how staff input shaped the new structure:
“We took time to make sure we met with our teams to understand their daily workflow and what kinds of documents they might use. When we created the SharePoint sites and the pages for each team, they had the documents they needed to do their daily work.”
The goal was not just to give files a new location. It was to help employees reach the information they needed with fewer steps.
Looking back, Ben believes the time spent planning helped make the launch successful.
“Because we did that time and because we had a little working group, when we went live, it was actually pretty seamless.”
A Simpler Transition Than Expected
Employee adoption was one of the organization’s early concerns. Some staff members had worked with the previous system for 20 years or more, so leadership was unsure how easily they would adjust.
To make the change feel familiar, frequently used SharePoint locations were connected to OneDrive as shortcuts. Lai and Associates also provided training, while internal champions were identified to help answer questions.
In practice, employees needed less assistance than expected.
As Ben recalled:
“It was a pretty straightforward solution, very user friendly. We didn’t really end up using much of those champions’ time.”
Because employees had been involved during planning, the final workspace reflected the way they already worked.
Faster Access and Better Collaboration
For Ben, one of the clearest improvements was the amount of time employees saved when looking for information.
“Folks are not spending 20 or 30 minutes trying to find the right document to begin working on something. It’s pretty immediate access to the right document.”
The migration also changed how employees collaborated across the organization’s locations. Teams could work on the same document in real time and see how a project was developing.
Ben said this helped employees complete work faster while feeling more involved:
“Because you can collaborate at the same time on the same document, we produce things faster. People in general also feel more involved in the decisions and in the projects that they’re working on because they can see in real time what’s happening and how their input is being taken into account.”
When the Security Benefits Became Clear
The strongest validation came after an incident involving unauthorized access to email.
By then, the organization’s documents had been moved into SharePoint and protected with multi-factor authentication. According to Ben, access to the email account did not also provide access to confidential or business documents.
For him, that moment confirmed the value of the migration:
“It meant we could be sure if somebody hacked into an email address; they were not accessing our confidential information or our business information. When that happened, it was a real sigh of relief that we had made this change.”
No platform removes every cybersecurity risk. In this case, however, SharePoint and multi-factor authentication helped prevent unauthorized email access from becoming unauthorized document access.
A Change Worth Making
Looking back, Ben believes the initial work was worth the result.
“Everybody is so thrilled that we made the change, even though it was a little bit of work up front. Well worth the investment in time, and it’s made our day-to-day work a lot faster and more efficient.”
His advice to other organizations still relying on older file systems is direct:
“Do it and do it immediately. Such a helpful process to do. Well worth any minimal investment involved.”
Woolwich Community Health Centre did more than move files into SharePoint. It cleaned up outdated information, designed a workspace around its employees, and created a more connected way to work.
Take the Next Step
If your organization is reviewing options to improve using outdated drives or hard-to-find documents, contact Lai and Associates to explore how a file server to SharePoint migration could support your team.
