McCulloch Agencies

A unique, quickly growing rural agency needed scalable systems.

McCulloch Agencies is a fast-growing, family-owned stock and station agency with offices in Tamworth, Sydney and Quirindi. Owners Daniel and Karina McCulloch started the company in July 2019 to manage rural, residential and livestock assets for their customers, who are mostly farmers in the Northern NSW area.

As a rural business, McCulloch is unique in its presence in Sydney. This has allowed the agency to attract city-based Sydney residents to buy rural properties in regional NSW.

The business has grown quickly over 12 months to now employ more than a dozen staff members. To support future growth and allow their agency to swiftly take advantage of opportunities that arose, Daniel and Karina knew they’d need cohesive IT systems.

The team at Telstra Business Technology Centre Northern NSW had looked after McCulloch’s telephony since the beginning, so Daniel turned to them to explore how solutions such as Microsoft 365 could create a foundation for an efficient, scalable network.

Disjointed IT systems made work inefficient.

The McCulloch team knew that a coherent IT system would be necessary for their rapid growth and worked with a different network provider to set it up the base technology when they launched the business. Limited forward planning was undertaken and no basic IT policies or management procedures were established as part of that process.

The previous provider focused more on ad hoc requirements as McCulloch raised them, rather than putting together a cohesive software installation plan.

To ensure the McCulloch team could continue to provide the level of customer service they prided themselves on, they knew they needed more comprehensive IT support.

“We knew we needed the right hardware, software, systems and tools to grow. We needed that solid baseline in our systems. We had to ensure that we could collaborate in a quality way, especially as parts of our business – and many of our customers – are remote.”
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– Ciaran O’Gorman, General Manager, McCulloch Agencies

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A consultative approach laid the foundation for an efficient, scalable network.

Daniel got in touch with Chris Ash, Director of Service Delivery and IT at Telstra Business Technology Centre Northern NSW. Together they discussed the IT challenges McCulloch was facing and Chris outlined how his team could help.

Rather than simply suggesting a one-size-fits-all solution, Chris spent time with the McCulloch team at their offices, investigating not only which technology, software and solutions they used, but also how they used them. This helped Chris to understand the agency’s business processes and customise a solution to fit.

One of McCulloch’s immediate requirements was to build the ability to quickly on-board new staff – or even entire new offices – to support the agency’s expected growth.

So Chris and his team ran a gap analysis that compared McCulloch’s current environment with their needs, then put together a proposal. They recommended a three-step approach:

• upgrading all IT systems and software to a consistent baseline
• installing Microsoft 365 across all computers
• training staff to use all software to its fullest extent

They quickly got the go-ahead, and proceeded to standardise all the IT systems and install Microsoft 365 across the agency. At the same time, they implemented managed services with a single helpdesk number across all office sites, and upgraded the telephony.

“We recognised the need to bring a team on board with solid IT, telephony and managed services support and expertise, and that’s why we spoke to Chris. He and his team have a considerable reputation for knowing their stuff, and being good, trustworthy communicators. They also had access to a wide range of vendors and solutions to give us the best fit for our situation.”
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– Ciaran O’Gorman, General Manager, McCulloch Agencies

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Efficient IT and communications mean better customer support.

“We knew that, as a fast-growing business, it was important to have all the right systems in place, and that we couldn’t do that ourselves. The changes Chris and his team put in place mean we can better support our customers to be profitable. We’ll be able to grow more efficiently and quickly, and service a wider range of clients.”
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– Ciaran O’Gorman, General Manager, McCulloch Agencies

McCulloch’s new systems have made their IT operations and communications far more efficient, while also giving them an easy-to-replicate model for expansion. They can now quickly bring on new staff or start a new site with minimal effort. Access to the helpdesk number has also given them the confidence of having a single point of contact for any IT, telecommunications or managed service issues they experience.

Meanwhile, implementing Microsoft Teams has significantly improved McCulloch’s ability to communicate, both internally and with their customers. This was particularly useful during the COVID pandemic which saw a reduction in face-to face interactions. It meant the agency could quickly transition to business-as-usual remote working because they already had their systems in place.

These new efficiencies mean McCulloch Agencies can continue to develop strong relationships with their customers and provide first-class services with renewed confidence. They’re now well-positioned to continue their growth at the forefront of the stock and station agency industry.

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“Putting in a solution isn’t enough. The professional advice to make it work is so important. We’ve been able to work with McCulloch Agencies to streamline and simplify their systems so they can continue their growth.”
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– Chris Ash, Director of Service Delivery and IT, Telstra Business Technology Centre Northern NSW

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What does the future hold?

Telstra Business Technology Centre Northern NSW will continue to work with McCulloch Agencies to help the business use more of Microsoft 365’s range of capabilities. Daniel and Karina aim to continue improving the agency’s ability to proactively engage with customers remotely. To do this, they’ll make more use of Microsoft Teams for video conferencing, file transfers and client communications.

This will involve rolling out more hardware, plus upskilling and training McCulloch staff to help them get the most from their existing systems.

Words of advice.

Ciaran’s advice to other businesses is, “Give your IT environment, telecommunications and data networks a health check to make sure they’re right for what you need today, and also for the future”. He explains that the team can see the current state of your systems, and that they can work with any size of business. Once they know your situation, they can determine what needs to change based on where you are now, and your plans going forward.

The team at Telstra Business Technology Centre Northern NSW can then work with you to support your business needs now and into the future.

“Chris and the team really know and understand our current business, and where we want to take it in the future. It’s great to have them on board as a trusted partner and advisor who have a broad range of experience with both large corporates and SMEs.”
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– Ciaran O’Gorman, General Manager, McCulloch Agencies