Team Rubicon optimizes logistics and mobilizes more volunteers with Dynamics 365 Field Service

When a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis strikes, every moment matters. Team Rubicon, an international humanitarian organization, is committed to making the most impact possible to help communities in need. 

Since its founding in 2010, Team Rubicon has seen the need for disaster relief increase in scale, intensity, and complexity. The climate crisis continues to change weather systems, leading to more intense hurricanes and natural disasters; the impact of COVID-19, and of global conflicts and violence, have exacerbated inequities around the world. These tragedies often disproportionately impact the most vulnerable communities. 

“We’re working with people on their worst day,” says Jarrett Brown, State Administrator at Team Rubicon. A veteran himself, Brown found purpose and a way to utilize his military background through his work with Team Rubicon. “We’re there to serve everyone and anyone, but our main focus is on those who don’t have the capabilities to get their disaster cleaned up and rebuilt.” 

When Team Rubicon arrives to provide relief after a hurricane hits or a flood destroys a neighborhood’s homes, the organization needs to be able to cut through the chaos and mobilize fast. Combining military expertise with technology solutions enables Team Rubicon to apply a tactical, streamlined approach to its relief efforts. 

Optimizing logistics and operations 

Team Rubicon aims to equip its volunteers, known as “Greyshirts,” with the tools, skills, and information they need for each mission, so that each team is prepared to hit the ground running and start helping communities quickly. But identifying the right volunteers for each situation requires visibility into the schedules, skills, and training of all available volunteers, and with more than 150,000 Greyshirts in Team Rubicon’s database, matching skillsets with needs is a logistical challenge. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service helps Team Rubicon better understand the strengths of each volunteer and assign the right people to where they’re needed most. “Field Service helps us to build out all the attributes of a Greyshirt and understand what their experiences are,” says Sheng-te Yang, Vice President of Data and Technology at Team Rubicon. “Then, we can connect with them, make sure we have the right information, and mobilize volunteers.” 

Within the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, Greyshirts can also complete courses based on their desire to learn new skills or bolster the skills they already have. They can then easily log that information—creating a streamlined, connected experience for volunteers, while keeping the organization’s volunteer database up to date. 

Boosting field operations

Once volunteers are on the ground for disaster response, they need to be able to track work orders, manage materials, and streamline communications across projects and teams. Team Rubicon’s technology-focused approach means that a mobile device with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service is often the first tool in a volunteer’s toolbox.  

Since December 2021, Team Rubicon has relied on Dynamics 365 Field Service to get its work done most effectively. “Field Service helps us to go more in-depth and break down the details of a work order, create multiple work orders for one address, and track assets and teams at each project,” explains Brown. 

The platform helps volunteers work in smarter, more proactive ways. For example, instead of reading status updates and email threads, information about a task or project is stored in one centralized location. “As a result, we’re able to streamline communications, get volunteers to the field a lot quicker, and better manage our resources.” 

Team Rubicon understands that disaster relief isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Dynamics 365 helps the organization to manage an immense amount of data, leading to a more focused relief effort for each family in need. For example, Brown recounts an experience from a disaster relief deployment in Kentucky, a state that has seen historic flood-related disasters in recent years. Team Rubicon received a request for help from the Baker family, who needed cancer treatment but were unable to safely leave their home due to storm damage. 

“Through the Field Service system, we were able to track all the details we needed to assist them, and we were able to build a footbridge so they could safely get off their property to get to their chemo treatment,” explains Brown. “When we have better visibility on everything, we can prioritize jobs better to get people the help who need it most.”

Scaling the impact of relief efforts 

Ultimately, improving logistics and operations through technology helps Team Rubicon help more people, faster after the devastation of a disaster. “Technology allows us to do more with less,” says Yang. “The impact that we can have on people on their worst day is multiplied—it’s exponential because of the technology we use.”

The expertise and dedication of Team Rubicon volunteers makes the organization’s work possible; technology makes it scalable. “I can’t imagine being able to mobilize the number of people that we mobilize today without Microsoft Dynamics 365,” says Yang. “It’s because of technology that we can continue to codify our process, measure it, refine it, and improve on it, so that we can continue to have more and more impact on the communities we serve.”

Sharing solutions for a common goal 

As a leader in the disaster relief field, Team Rubicon prioritizes sharing information and resources with other organizations working towards a shared mission. “We’re constantly trying to further technology in the nonprofit space,” says Yang. “We’re a strong ally with Microsoft in this regard. We come up with different solutions together, and as we solve our challenges, we know that there are other nonprofits out there facing the same issues.” 

Looking ahead, Team Rubicon plans to apply Microsoft technology to other obstacles that are common to nonprofits, like expanding operations and improving financial tracking. “As we continue to develop new programs to help the community, it will be based on the Dynamics platform,” Yang explains. “It’s all about how we continue to grow our mission and continue to be transparent about how we’re spending our donor dollars.” 

With strategic, scalable technology infrastructure in place, Team Rubicon can continue to execute on its mission to provide the greatest service for disaster relief possible. 

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