The Smith Family

For more than 100 years, The Smith Family has worked to improve the lives of young Australians experiencing disadvantage through education.

Operating nationally across communities throughout Australia, the organisation supports thousands of children and families through evidence-based learning programs, mentoring, financial assistance, and long-term educational support designed to help students create better futures.

Behind that mission sits a large and complex operational environment. Like many purpose-driven organisations, The Smith Family must balance growing service delivery demands with the responsibility of ensuring every resource is used carefully, transparently, and effectively.

As the organisation evolved, it became increasingly important to modernise internal systems in a way that could strengthen operational capability while remaining deeply aligned to the organisation’s values.

That need ultimately led to a strategic partnership with EPI-USE ANZ and the implementation of SAP SuccessFactors, a transformation that would later be recognised at the SAP Best Tech Awards 2025 in the Chris O’Brien category for driving social impact through ethical systems.

For The Smith Family, the transformation was never simply about technology modernisation.

The organisation needed systems that could better support people, improve operational consistency, and create a stronger foundation for future growth. But equally important was how the transformation would be delivered.

As a purpose-led organisation working directly with vulnerable communities, maintaining trust, accountability, and transparency throughout the process was critical.

The Smith Family wanted a partner that understood the broader human impact of transformation, not only the technical requirements.

The project therefore focused on several key priorities:

• Creating a more connected and sustainable people systems environment
• Improving visibility, consistency, and operational efficiency
• Supporting employees through change with empathy and transparency
• Building long-term internal capability rather than dependency
• Ensuring systems aligned with organisational values and purpose
• Enabling teams to focus more time on supporting children and families

The organisation recognised that technology should strengthen human outcomes, not complicate them.

That principle became the foundation of the engagement.

The Smith Family partnered with EPI-USE to implement SAP SuccessFactors using an approach centred on collaboration, ethical delivery, and long-term empowerment.

Rather than treating the project as a standard systems implementation, EPI-USE worked closely with stakeholders across the organisation to ensure the transformation reflected both operational requirements and organisational culture.

From the outset, the engagement prioritised:

• Transparent communication
• Shared accountability
• Sustainable design decisions
• Practical knowledge transfer
• Careful change management
• Long-term operational resilience

EPI-USE focused on enabling The Smith Family’s teams to confidently manage and evolve the environment internally over time. The project invested heavily in capability-building and practical empowerment, ensuring the organisation was not reliant on external support after go-live.

The partnership delivered far more than a successful technology implementation.

By combining SAP SuccessFactors with a people-centred delivery approach, The Smith Family established a stronger operational foundation capable of supporting future growth, organisational agility, and improved employee experiences.

Key outcomes included:

• A more connected and modern people systems environment
• Improved operational visibility and consistency
• Greater internal ownership and confidence within teams
• Enhanced collaboration and accountability across stakeholders
• Sustainable systems designed around long-term organisational needs
• Improved ability to support employees and organisational growth
• Stronger alignment between technology, culture, and organisational purpose

The project also reinforced the role ethical technology delivery can play within the not-for-profit sector.

For The Smith Family, the transformation demonstrated that technology can strengthen community outcomes when guided by shared values and responsible partnership.

The partnership ultimately highlighted what becomes possible when technology implementation is approached through the lens of partnership, ethics, and human impact — creating not only a modern systems environment, but a stronger operational platform capable of supporting long-term service delivery, organisational resilience, and future growth.