GET TO KNOW YOUR CO-OP: CoServ’s Enterprise Applications Team bridges technology and business for efficient service

Every day, hundreds of CoServ Employees use state-of-the-art programs to provide quick and efficient service to our Members and Customers.

With a few clicks, Customer Care Specialists can look up accounts, help a Member switch electric rates, or enroll in a budget billing program.

An Employee in accounting applies a credit to our Rush Hour Reward participants.

Members use SmartHub to access many of the same functions that Customer Care has, including checking daily electricity usage or reporting an outage.

Making sure all these programs run smoothly and have the latest updates while adding new functionality is the job of CoServ’s Enterprise Applications team. This eight-person team specializes in project management, technical configuration, quality assurance and business processes.

“We bridge the gap between the technology and the business, ensuring that Employees have the tools they need to serve our Members and Customers,” said Cristal Hilliard, Enterprise Applications Manager. “The products we maintain and improve are part of CoServ’s integrated suite of applications for Customer Care, billing, payment processing, accounting, field services, communications, marketing and more.”

Altogether, the team has 120 years of combined years of service at CoServ, including Cristal, who has been at the co-op for 25 years. Cristal started as a Customer Care Specialist, which gives her valuable insight into how that department operates.

Enterprise Applications was instrumental in the SmartHub launch in January 2020, a watershed moment for CoServ. In January 2023, the team helped redesign CoServ’s bill to make it more user friendly, based on feedback from Members and Customers. In December that same year, SmartHub was also redesigned to improve navigation.

These examples are external facing but Enterprise Applications does much more behind the scenes.

“Our goal is to ensure that Employees have the tools and information they need, whether that’s processing bills and payments, managing CoServ’s finances, or using a mobile device application for service orders in the field,” Cristal said.

As CoServ looks ahead to the future and the technology needed to support it, the Enterprise Applications Team will be instrumental in its success.

“We have a saying on the team, ‘Collaboration is the name of the game’,” Cristal said. “In 2024, the Enterprise Applications team will continue collaborating with our users, vendors and our highly skilled colleagues in IT to keep systems and processes up to date.”

Whether it’s improving or redesigning the apps and websites our Members and Customers use or enhancing the programs Employees use, the Enterprise Applications Team plays an important role in CoServ’s ability to deliver great service every day.