OVERVIEW
Express Employment International is a global staffing franchisor with a mission of putting a million people to work each year. The company supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and affiliated franchised brands across more than 850 franchise locations across the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Its international headquarters in Oklahoma City, OK, includes more than 500 corporate employees. Express is rooted in integrity, teamwork and a commitment to helping people build better lives through work.
As the organization expanded in scale and geographic reach, oversight requirements and operational complexity increased across the franchise network. The cybersecurity and GRC team needed a platform that could keep pace with that growth, requiring a solution that supported structured governance work, streamlined cybersecurity processes and provided leadership with a clear view of program maturity without adding unnecessary complexity. Onspring became the foundation for that work.
Profile
Company
Industry
Business Services
Headquarters
Oklahoma City, OK
Key Outcome
Leadership level reporting, rapid configuration, and a platform flexible enough for both governance and operations
Challenge
The cybersecurity function at Express has continued to evolve since its inception, with the team formalizing processes and strengthening internal governance over the past five years. The GRC team needed a platform that would allow them to clearly define processes, measure program maturity and scale their work without relying on spreadsheets or one-off tools.
At the same time, a new analyst joined the team in her first cybersecurity role and immediately began working inside Onspring. For the platform to support the team’s continued growth, it needed to be intuitive enough for those new to the discipline while remaining robust for experienced users.
Why Onspring
As the team evaluated how to scale their work, Onspring proved to be the platform that struck the right balance between structure and flexibility.
Customization with control
The team quickly found that Onspring allowed them to build the structure needed without locking them into rigid designs. As Shane Gerber, Cybersecurity GRC Lead, pointed out, “If you can dream it up, then you can create it within Onspring.”
Success Story
“Once I started to learn how to build things in the platform, I became much more comfortable with Onspring. Now it is like, wow, this is so customizable. I can really make it do whatever I need it to do.”
Express Employment Services
Fast support and enablement
Training resources and the Onspring Community played a major role in successful adoption. The team relied on Onspring’s library of how-to videos, configuration walkthroughs and administrator tutorials to build confidence while learning the platform. When questions came up, they used the Community discussion boards to see how other customers approached similar challenges and to share ideas with peers. That combination of self-guided learning and real-time answers helped both new and experienced team members advance quickly.
“Onspring support has been a very responsive partner. When a need arises, I usually get a response within a day. There are a lot of tools out there where you wait much longer for a response.”
— Shane Gerber, Cybersecurity GRC Lead
How They Built It
With a foundation in place, the Express team took a blended approach. They started with out-of-the-box applications, then adapted and expanded them in ways that fit their internal processes.
As the team became more confident, they pushed beyond traditional GRC and used Onspring to support operational cyber needs as well.
“Our Cyber Operations team has created a lot of things that are operational. You wouldn’t necessarily consider that GRC,” explained Shane.
Results
With Onspring, the cybersecurity team now has clarity, consistency and visibility at every level of leadership.
Clear value for leadership
The dashboards and reporting structure built in Onspring are now regularly used in executive and board-level discussions. Leadership has a clearer understanding of program maturity and risk posture, and the cybersecurity team is recognized for having one of the strongest reporting frameworks in the organization.
Faster onboarding for new analysts
What began as an intimidating level of flexibility is now one of the team’s biggest advantages. New analysts quickly learn how to build in the platform and contribute meaningful work. Shay describes, “Whatever task you are trying to build or track metrics for, you can make it happen. The platform adapts to the user’s needs.”
Advice for New Users
The Express team encourages new users to take advantage of the resources available in Onspring. Training videos and Community discussion boards helped the team learn quickly and build confidence in the platform. They emphasize that success does not require deep technical expertise. If users are willing to explore and experiment, the platform will support almost any process they can envision.
Customization remains one of the team’s favorite aspects of the platform. “My favorite thing about Onspring is definitely the customizability. There is just so much you can do with it,” noted Shay.
The team also notes that support is timely and reliable, making it easier to keep momentum as they build.
The Bottom Line
Onspring enabled Express Employment International to:
- Build GRC and operational workflows in a single platform
- Measure and present program results to executives and the board
- Scale a young cybersecurity function without complexity
- Support both governance and operational needs in one system
- Empower new team members to contribute with confidence
The platform grows as the program grows. The result is a confident team, measurable progress and a system that evolves alongside the organization.
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“If someone is considering Onspring, I would just say do it. Do not be scared of it. You cannot break it. I have tried. Just get in there and click around.”
