Gwinnett County, GA Moves to CivicPlus for Modern Rec Management Tool

Managing the parks, facilities, classes, and activities in Gwinnett County, GA is no small task, especially in a county that is one of the largest in the state of Georgia and home to over 900,000 residents. According to John Register, CPRP, Gwinnett County Community Services Manager, he is proud to call Gwinnett home.

“I have lived here all of my life and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” said Register. “It’s where I was raised, and it’s where my wife and I are raising our children. I love living and working in Gwinnett.”

As someone who is passionate and committed to serving his community, it is crucial to Register to offer residents the very best of everything. That’s why, when the parks and rec leaders in Gwinnett realized their former parks and rec management software was outdated, it sought out a solution provider that offered intuitive usability, robust features, and a modern design, all backed by an accessible, strategic service team.

Before CivicPlus^® Recreation Management Software

Before the CivicPlus Recreation Management system (formerly Rec1), Gwinnett County utilized a parks and rec management software with limited functionality that in turn limited citizens’ ability to engage with available programs and activities.

The system that Gwinnett County utilized required installation on individual computers and his team quickly exceeded its software license limit, which hindered his team’s efficiency.

“We only had 60 seats, and we had way more people using the system than that,” said Register.”

The County’s parks and rec staff were also frustrated by system inefficiencies caused by the amount of data maintained in the system.

“We had a lot of data, and so the system kept getting bogged down,” said Register.

Choosing a Solution with Limitless Possibilities

When Register and his team wanted to make improvements to their current offering by expanding online functionality, they hit a roadblock with their previous vendor.

“We told the vendor we wanted to add online registrations for classes and activities and then eventually pavilions and facility rentals,” said Register. “They refused.”

Since then, the software Gwinnett County was using has been sunset and is no longer supporting system enhancements.

“They weren’t going to upgrade the system anymore,” said Register. “It was stagnant. We needed an upgrade and a new product to move ahead with the times.”

Register worked for a year crafting the request for proposal (RFP) for the County’s new parks and rec management system.

“We outlined the requirements that we had to have, like Web-based access rather than a hardware/software program,” said Register. “The proposal we released was several pages long. We received six responses, and we invited three to come in and give a one-hour presentation. Two did it over the phone and one presented in person.” Register adds with a smile, “Who do you think won?”

Not only did Register and his team appreciate that the CivicPlus team made the effort to meet with his team in person, they were confident that in choosing CivicPlus’ software, they were choosing the best available product.

“If you compare each offering’s features side-by-side, [CivicPlus Recreation Management] was the better system,” said Register. “It has better functionality. It’s Web-based, so as long as you have an Internet connection, you can get to it. Plus, the price was something we could afford. In the end, the committee chose [CivicPlus]. It was the best option for us.”

A Strategic Partner and Committed Supporter

It was not only during the RFP process that the CivicPlus team proved their commitment to being a present, accessible solution partner to Gwinnett County.

“During the implementation process, our [CiviPlus] contact came to our offices several times to provide training to our team,” said Register. “Our [CivicPlus] contact kept in touch with us weekly to keep us informed about his team’s implementation progress. I believe what makes the product better has to do with [CivicPlus’] leadership and its staff. We have always been made to feel that we are CivicPlus’ best client. We know we have a diverse financial recording system and a lot of data and requirements, and if [CivicPlus Recreation Management software] can be customized for us to fir our needs, it will work for anyone.”

After CivicPlus

With the CivicPlus Recreation Management solution as the foundation for its digital engagement strategy, Gwinnett County is confident it is providing the easy-to-use, high-quality registration and reservation experience it aimed to offer its citizens.

“We have over $5 million that comes through the system,” said Register. “There are lots of citizens who are signed up to use our [Recreation Management] system, and we help troubleshoot very few requests. When we do, it’s mostly user error—things like trying to pay with a credit card type we don’t accept. It’s not because of the system.”

Register believes what makes CivicPlus’ platform an easy-to-use solution for citizens is its convenient search functionality and the manner in which the County has color-coded its activity types to correspond to its Gwinnett County lifestyle magazine, Leisure is for Everyone.

“Green is for camps, brown is for historic activities,” said Register, “So, citizens can narrow down the list of opportunities to find just what interests them.”

Not only does CivicPlus Recreation Management offer convenient usability for citizens, it provides robust functionality for the County’s administrative staff.

“The canned reports are great, and the data is available any time. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in those reports, you’re not looking for the right thing,” said Register. “We appreciate the system’s flexibility and the 24/7 access. If the system is ever going to be down, we receive an email a week in advance that the system will be down for routine maintenance for five minutes between 11:30 and midnight,” he adds with a laugh.  “You just can’t go wrong using system.”

If you’re ready to trade in your outdated parks and rec management software for a modern, intuitive, user-friendly system, click below to demo our powerful CivicPlus Recreation Management solution.