So...what is I4C?

Wait...what?

After 20+ years in the sports industry, the general reaction to my recent career change was met with a “wait…what?”, either in words or body language.?I get it.?I’m not sure that anyone saw that coming, including me!?While I loved my time working in sports and going through the ups and downs in arguably Canada’s most challenging professional sports market, the opportunity to join, and build on, an incredibly successful 25-year-old business was just too good to pass up! It's a different game, but the underlying principals of success are the same.

So...what is I4C?

Other than the presence we've had at Canadian Tire Centre as a sponsor with the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club in the past, I4C has generally not been a brand in the public eye. Makes sense, as we support the business community and public sector.?On the other hand, the average person would be very familiar with the brands in our client roster, which you can read more about on our website.

Naturally then, the most common question I've had over the past 4 weeks has gone something like this - “sounds like a good opportunity, but what is I4C?”.?Good question and I’m glad you asked (and even if you didn’t, here comes the answer):

At its core, I4C helps to solve both business and technical challenges by pairing exceptionally talented experts with the appropriate solution(s) designed to modernize and/or optimize your business and/or business processes.?Specifically, this includes strategy consulting, software implementation and customization, technology infrastructure design and implementation, as well as ongoing support and maintenance.?While this is often done on a contract/project basis, we also assist our partners with finding talent that can fit their longer term/permanent needs.

So, you are a recruiting firm?

Coupled with some nodding heads, my explanation usually leads to a clarification question, like “so, you are a recruiting firm”??The answer to that is, yes and no.?We do recruit for ourselves (consultants) and for our clients (contract and permanent), but it’s just a part of the service that we offer.?For illustration purposes, here are just a few examples of projects/project categories that most can understand based on their own experience:

1. ?Sales & Marketing – our team will assess how best to optimize your sales & marketing efforts with the common 2023 goal of delivering more for less in mind.?This could lead to technology (think CRM, CDP, marketing automation tools, and more) changes, integrations, and migrations, but it starts with gaining a deep understanding of your current situation and desired outcomes.????
2. “The Cloud” – Cloud adoption, particularly over the past 3 years, has seen amazing growth, largely due to the need for more accessible data (in the remote/hybrid environment), cost savings (both in terms of the long term cost savings and improved costs to “get in”), and security/reliability.?Our team can guide you the process, help you select the right solution, and ensure a smooth transition of data, organized to help make your business more efficient.
3. Web & Mobile Application Development – we have a long history of developing custom solutions to serve the needs of our clients, including a wide array of projects built for internal business operations as well as external (customer facing) requirements.?
4. Human Resources Information Systems – our team will help assist you in selecting the right system for your needs and will guide you through the implementation process to ensure you can manage and automate your HR functions more efficiently than you do today (payroll, onboarding, performance management, applicant tracking, and more).?
5. E-Learning – our team of e-learning professionals supports the development and implementation of solutions designed to ensure both valuable and engaging training solutions.?In addition to applying best practices, we’ll review and recommend options that leverage some of the emerging trends in this space, including the addition of gamification elements, the incorporation of artificial intelligence and machine learning to personalize the experience for the user, and much more.

This is just the beginning!

While my journey (and I4C 2.0) has just begun, the long history of delivering (and over-delivering) on client expectations is why I4C has been such a trusted resource across private industry verticals (we’ve worked in almost every industry), and throughout the public sector.?The marketer in me wants to add a call to action here, but, if you are reading this and it resonates with you, I think you know where to find me!

More to come as we continue to tell our story and evolve our service offering, but for now, thanks for reading and following along.