The Challenge

Heritage Immigration is the premier provider of immigration support services with operations in Canada and India. They provide a broad range of immigration services including support for visa applications, study and work permits, permanent residency, and citizenship applications.

With extensive knowledge and first-hand experience in global immigration, Heritage Immigration removes the hurdles for newcomers to Canada of navigating the immigration process, while delivering high-quality and professional support that caters to each applicant’s individual needs and circumstances.

Heritage Immigration processed over 400 cases last year and in anticipation of accelerated growth, the organization recognized there was an opportunity to document and refine their existing processes to reduce overarching lead times and elevate service levels. Propel Solutions was engaged to conduct a review of Sales, Case Management and Accounting practices, along with supporting technology, to identify a roadmap for creating effective and scalable team-based processes to deliver on future caseloads.

The Objective:

The project was conducted within a two-week period utilizing Propel’s remote working technologies toolkit and delivered on the following objectives:

  • Assessing the Case Management Lifecycle: In partnership with Heritage Immigration staff, Propel drafted process maps that documented the case lifecycle, from new application through successful visa approval, that detailed the key touchpoints, interdepartmental dependencies and processing requirements necessary to manage a case through the immigration process. Paired with a rigorous analysis of processing capacity and case times, this allowed Propel to form a baseline for improved case management practices that will increase process effectiveness.
  • Aligning Case Volumes to Future Resource Requirements: Propel assessed the work breakdown structure and interviewed key staff members to understand the current resource capacity within the team and alignment with service levels. This analysis highlighted the recruiting requirements and resourcing strategy necessary to deliver the desired quality and scalability as case volumes grow in the future.
  • Automating Processes through Technology: Propel reviewed the current communication and technology systems utilized by Heritage Immigration in their daily operations. Through an understanding of use cases, documentation practices and reporting needs, Propel identified gaps within the current technology infrastructure and further opportunities to leverage the systems in place to support workflows.

The Results

The Process and Technology Review provided Heritage Immigration with a roadmap for transforming internal processes to support future caseloads and to continue delivering the critical support sought by immigration seekers. Building on the staff’s contribution of over 20 ideas for improvement in the current processes, Propel identified opportunities to reduce lead times, improve customer service and leverage our exclusive partnership with Microsoft to deliver data management solutions that will equip Heritage Immigration with the tools needed for future growth.