In early 2020, the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission (OREC) found itself in dire straits. Facing a recent change in leadership, only three months of cash reserves on hand, and an expiring contract with a legacy software provider, the commission was suddenly in a position where it needed to change its whole system – and fast.
OREC’s existing system had put the agency into a “never-ending data tailspin.” It featured no automations or data extraction capabilities. It didn’t integrate with external systems. Paper-based processes left staff members spending countless hours handling mail, processing documents by hand, and sending out renewal notices one at a time.
With only four months to transition its manual processes and legacy software system to a new provider, OREC turned to Thentia Cloud. Despite the monumental challenge, the agency worked with Thentia to make the change entirely on timeline, delivering a fully automated licensing software solution with robust data capabilities in less than half a year.
Since launching Thentia Cloud in December 2020, OREC has seen a complete transformation in its daily work. Within six months of implementation, 97% of licensee applications were being received through Thentia Cloud. The agency eliminated roughly $25,000 in annual paper mail expenses, and it could suddenly send mass renewal notices with just a few keystrokes.
Bailey Crotty, Deputy Director of OREC, had just begun her work at the agency when the need for the transition arose. Having inherited an office with a serious cash shortage and an outdated licensing system at the onset of a global pandemic, Crotty (along with Executive Director Grant Cody) was forced to quickly consider and plan out one of the largest digital transformations in the agency’s history.
In her conversation with Ascend Radio’s Paul Leavoy, the deputy director talks about her professional background and her reasons for entering the world of government regulation, as well as the unique challenges faced by OREC since the beginning of her tenure in 2020.
Digital tech, according to Crotty, is like a freight train – you’re either on it or off it. But it always pushes forward. It empowers regulatory staff to treat licensees more like the customers they are, and to provide the level of service professionals require to stay operational.
“Technology empowers us to get back to what a regulator should be doing,” Crotty says. “[It] should enable us to perform a higher level of customer service.”
She also touches on the obstacles inherent to regulating real estate and the barriers certain agencies face adapting to a rapidly changing world. Lastly, Crotty delves into the considerations that government officials should make as they upgrade their systems to keep up with the private sector.
To learn more about Crotty’s work at OREC and the agency’s transition to a cloud-based software provider, read Thentia Cloud’s case study on the project or check out her interview with Charles Barnes.
