Welcome to Arbor!
Congratulations on choosing Arbor as your new MIS and welcome to the Arbor community of schools! We're excited to get started with your move to Arbor and hope you are too!
Please note the following can vary for a GroupCall API migrator, we are working on adding the GroupCall Migrator specifications to this guide. If you need to raise any data discrepancies post migration please contact Arbor support or your dedicated partner and we will be advised of the next steps.
So how does onboarding work?
Each week, you'll get an email from our Onboarding Team with guidance and resources to help you get ready for your move to Arbor.
Your Onboarding is an 8 week journey split into two parts, Pre Launch (weeks 1-4) and Post Launch (weeks 5-8). The Pre Launch phase is all about getting prepared and ready to go live with your new Arbor MIS. Once you get access to your Arbor site in Week 5, the onboarding team will be with you for a few more weeks to help guide you with getting up and running on your new Arbor MIS.
Pre Launch Weeks 1-4
Week 1
Overview
This week, as part of our weekly guidance, you'll receive your first email from the Arbor Onboarding Team, saying hello and providing you with a bit more information about your move to Arbor and what to get started on.
Your Week 1 email will also contain an Onboarding Workbook that you can download and use to keep track of your weekly onboarding tasks and training!
What do you need to do this week?
In this session, a member of The Onboarding Team will give you an overview of your 8 week onboarding journey and cover the most crucial moments of the migration process. There will be the opportunity to ask questions as you watch.
Use the link in your week 1 email to watch the Webinar .
Change is exciting, but it can also be daunting! Your School team might be anxious about the move, so it's crucial to let them know what to expect. Check out our guidance on getting your team ready for the move to Arbor.
It's also important to ensure that you have the right people in place across the organisation to help you with this change. Take a look at our guidance on roles and responsibilities to understand more about this. Get your team excited about the move by sharing online training resources and videos.
After you've sent your data to us, any data inputted to your current system will not migrate over to Arbor - if you need to take attendance after your migration date but before you receive your Arbor site (see when here) we recommend using paper registers to do this. Start getting your paper registers ready - the attendance data can then be backfilled into your Arbor site once we send it over to you by following the guidance in this article
Have your diary handy! Towards the end of the week, you'll receive more information from us with details on how you can log into the Arbor Training Hub, get your staff enrolled and book onto any training you have purchased. We strongly recommend you focus on completing the below six courses before your migration date:
- Student Profiles and Enrolments
- Guardian Profiles
- Staff Profiles
- Staff Business roles and permissions
- Primary attendance management
- Communications
There is also a tab in your Onboarding Workbook where you can keep track of the Training you have completed!
On your Migration date in Week 4, that's when you'll need to send us your data. The way you do this will depend on the MIS system you currently use, so it may be worth taking a look at what the process is beforehand, so that you are as prepared as you can be! You can view the different migration guides on your onboarding dashboard here.
Is your system hosted by a third party? Or will your partner Support be producing your backup for you? If so you will need to contact them to book this straight away.
Are you part of a Multi Academy Trust (MAT)? If so, it may be that they are managing the data migration for your school. If you are not sure, please check with your MAT Lead to see if they will be uploading your data to us on your behalf or if you will be doing this.
Week 2
Overview
Last week, you should watched your Welcome to Arbor Onboarding video, now it's time to start preparing for your move.
What do you need to do this week?
This week it's time to hit the ground running with tidying the data in your current MIS. It's really important to do this to ensure that you have a smooth migration. Remember the 3 Cs:
- Check the data in your current MIS, making sure that everything is in the right place (e.g. only phone numbers in the phone number field).
- Clean up the data in your current system - remove redundant records and make sure everything is in the right place.
- Count key data sets (e.g. number on roll, number of FSM, number of students with SEN)
To help you keep track of your progress with your checks, we have our Pre-Migration Data Check workbook which you can download! For more information on how to clean and check your data, and to download the workbook, please read our Data Cleanse and Check Guidance
Are you ready to become an Arbor pro? If you've purchased training, make sure to make some time over the next couple weeks to book onto and attend your onboarding training. Last week you should have received an email from us on how you can log into the Arbor Training Hub and begin booking your onboarding training.
What training is important to book first? It's really important that you book your Onboarding training as soon as possible, as these modules will cover the key areas of Arbor that you will need understand in order to be successful with your new MIS.
We know how difficult it is to balance training with running a busy school office which is why our onboarding training has been broken down into individual modules you can book and attend. Staff have the freedom to choose which modules they want to attend and when from our schedule of onboarding training.
Not sure when you should complete each module? On our guide here we've listed our recommendations, to make sure you're ready to hit the ground running on your Go Live day!
And don't forget to share out any other useful guides you find on the Help Centre!
Do you have any third-party applications that you would like to link to your Arbor site? For example, CPOMS or ParentPay? Get in touch with them to let them know you are moving to Arbor and they will run through any next steps you need to take. They'll ask for your Go Live date, which is at the top of all the emails we send you.
You can find more information on third-party applications here: Guide to third-party apps
Are you part of a Multi Academy Trust? If so, it may be that they are contacting your third-party apps for you. Check with your MAT lead to see if you need to do this, or if they will be managing this centrally.
You're now in Week 3 of your onboarding journey! This week is really about preparing for your migration next week. You will continue working on checking and cleansing your data in your current MIS, attend your onboarding training sessions, and share useful resources to get your team prepared for your Arbor go live.
What do you need to do this week?
This week you will receive two emails from us, with details for your secure upload portal. One email will contain the link to your SUP and the other the password. The SUP allows you to securely send data from your current MIS to Arbor, so please keep these credentials safe, you'll need to use them on your migration day!
Not the one managing the data upload? Then please make sure to forward these credentials onto the person who will be sending your data to Arbor on your Migration day.
If you haven't received the SUP details and are part of a Multi Academy Trust, it may be that they are managing your data upload centrally, in which case, we might have already sent the details directly to them. If you are unsure, please make sure to check with your MAT project lead.
To find out more about the Secure upload portal and using the portal, please give our Secure Upload Portal FAQ guide a read!
The better quality the data is that you put into your Arbor, the easier it will be to get started after your migration. Instead of spending time cleansing your data, you'll have more time to focus on what is important and utilising your new Arbor MIS.
Spend some time this week working on the data cleansing in your current MIS. You'll need to complete this before your migration date.
Not sure how things will migrate? Check out our Migration FAQs in our Help Centre to find out
If you haven't already, make sure book onto your onboarding training sessions as soon as possible. It's important that you attend most of these sessions before your Go Live day. To help you decide when you should complete each module, we have put together our recommendations on this guide here. If you haven't purchased any training, don't forget you can share out and utilise guides on the Arbor help centre to help you get started!
Top tip from us: If you've purchased training for other areas such as meals and payments, and are wanting to use these functions in Arbor from day one, remember to get your training booked in before your Go Live!
Week 4
Now you're in week 4 of your onboarding journey, you're one step closer to your new Arbor MIS! Before you send us your data on your migration day, make sure you've completed your data checks, and don't forget to get those last few training sessions attended.
What do you need to do this week?
Over the last couple of weeks you will have been working through our data cleanse guide to prepare for your data for migration. Now it's your migration week, it's time to wrap these up and finalise those counts! You need to sign off your data checks on the Secure Upload Portal before you send us your data.
Now it's the moment we've all been waiting for!!! On your migration date we'll be ready to migrate your data from your current MIS to your new Arbor site!
So that everything runs on time, it's essential that you upload your data to us on this date.
Not sure how to upload your data? Follow our step-by-step guides by clicking on your current MIS below:
Remember to take attendance using paper registers after your migration date - want to know when your site will be ready? Find out what to expect here
Are you part of a Multi Academy Trust who are uploading your data for you? Make sure you have agreed a cut off time with your MAT for when the backups will be taken (e.g. after your afternoon registers have been taken). They will then access your school's Secure Upload Portal to send your school's data across to Arbor.
Once your data is migrated and your site is ready to use, we'll release it to your school Project Lead.
There are a few important things you'll need to do before you start using Arbor, all you need to do is follow the steps on our guide - Getting started with your Arbor MIS
It's time to check out your new Arbor MIS!
The moment you've been waiting for has arrived! Your new Arbor MIS is now ready. I hope you're as excited as we are and are ready to hit the ground running!
Here's a breakdown of what you can expect over the Post Launch (Weeks 5-8) part of your onboarding with Arbor.
Post Launch Weeks 5-8
Week 5
OverviewThis week you go live with your new Arbor site! It's important that you follow our Getting Started with your Arbor MIS 'go live' checklist, as this will help you take those first steps to get set up and ready to start using your new Arbor. Now you are live with Arbor, make sure to stop using your old MIS.
What do you need to do this week?
Our tried and tested data migration process has done the heavy lifting, but there are a few steps you'll need to complete before you can use Arbor.
Our Go Live Checklist will help you take those first steps, and minimise any issues you might face on Go Live day.
Now you have read our getting started checklist and know what to expect, it's time to get logged in.
The project leads at your school will receive an email with instructions on how to log into Arbor for the first time. Once they have logged in for the first time and are ready for all staff to log in, they will share your Arbor URL. If you need any help logging in for the first time, please follow these steps here.
Following migration, it's very important to check the data in your new Arbor system to make sure that everything has migrated as it should.
You must complete these checks within your first two weeks using Arbor - otherwise, we might not be able to fix any errors you find. You should start to use your Arbor site straight away - we can fix errors in the background.
For more information on how to check your migrated data, please follow the steps in this guide here
You should have already notified any third party systems of your move to Arbor. Now that you're live, you'll be able to approve and test these connections.
Not sure how to do this? We have all the guidance you need in section 5 of our go live check list here
Now you've had Arbor for a week, it's important to finish checking your migrated data using the Data Quality Dashboard in your Arbor. You'll need to sign off your Data Migration Report and let us know of any discrepancies. Make sure this week you utilise the support that is there for you, and make sure your staff know who to go to should they need any help.
What do you need to do this week?
Last week you will have started checking your migrated data to make sure everything looks correct and nothing is missing. If you've noticed something missing, before you raise this with us, please check our Migration FAQs as it may be something we don't migrate. Whilst we migrate the majority of your data, there are somethings from your previous MIS that won't migrate across to your Arbor site.
Happy with your migrated data? Once you've ran your data checks and raised any discrepancies with us using this guide here, it's time to sign off your Data Migration Report to let us know everything is looking great on your end.
We're confident by this point you'll be well on your way to becoming an Arbor Pro, but don't forget to make the most out of any training you have purchased. It's important in those first few weeks of going live with your new Arbor MIS that you attend any Post-Launch training you may have purchased. So if there's a few sessions you need to attend, make sure you get them booked in!
Now that you're live, you and your team are bound to have a lot of burning questions. Don't worry -we've got the answers. We have many different support channels you can use to help you find your feet using your Arbor. Here they are:
The Arbor Bot, Your Onboarding Assistant - While you get used to things, the Arbor Bot will stay in the bottom left of your screen. If you need help finding anything, he can show you around. Can't find the registers? Ask the Arbor Bot!
Arbor Help Centre - Our Help Centre is your one-stop shop for learning how to use Arbor and is the easiest place for you to find the information you need! Even better, you can access our help centre through your Arbor site at anytime!
Support Team - For all functionality queries, Missing data? (the where, how and why), get in touch with our support team, who are the fountain of all Arbor knowledge! See how you can contact the support team here.
Do you get your support from a partner? If so, you'll need to direct all of these queries to your support partner. They are there to help you with using your Arbor site, and if there's a question they can't answer, they'll come ask us!
Onboarding Team - Something not looking quite right? If so, you can get in touch with the Onboarding team, but remember to check out our Migration FAQs first!
Week 7
Now you're starting to familiarise yourself with your new MIS, it's time to learn more about your Arbor and how you can make the most of it! Take the opportunity this week to book any outstanding training you may have and begin to embed the processes you’ll want to use in your new MIS for going forward. And make sure check in with your team and see how they are getting on! If they need any help and support, make sure they know where to go.
What do you need to do this week?
Ready to take your MIS to the next level? Now is a great time to set up any additional modules you have been thinking about introducing to your Arbor MIS*. Of course, there is no right or wrong way to use Arbor and if you would like to stick to the basics, that is absolutely okay too!
You may have already purchased some training to help you set up these additional modules, so if you haven't already, book onto a training session to see what you need to do.
*Module availability will be dependent on what Arbor package you have purchased. If you would like to upgrade your package, contact the onboarding team and let them know. They will be able to put you in touch with your Account Manager to discuss this with you.
Make sure to check-in with your staff to make sure they're getting on okay using Arbor. Do your staff have the correct business roles and permissions for their day-to-day activities? Do they need a little more guidance on certain areas of the system? Send them the link to our Help Centre and feel free to share any helpful guides/videos/webinars you find too. Teamwork makes the dream work!
We're confident by this point you'll be well on your way to becoming an Arbor Pro, but don't forget to make the most out of any training you have purchased. It's important in those first few weeks of going live with your new Arbor MIS that you attend any Post-Launch training you may have purchased. So if there's a few sessions you need to attend, make sure you get them booked in!
This is your final week of onboarding to Arbor! We've loved working with you to help get you started and we can't wait to see what you do next with your new Arbor MIS!
So what happens next?
It's time to Graduate!
It's been an exciting and crazy 8 weeks, hasn't it?! Take a deep breath! You've made it to the end of onboarding and you're on your way to becoming Arbor pros. Sadly, this is a goodbye from us, but our wonderful Customer Success Managers will be taking good care of you from here on out.
Our Customer Success Managers will work with you, proactively, on achieving your goals with Arbor to ensure you get the most out of our product. They'll book in review meetings with you to do this, and regularly share information and webinar content that will help contribute to your successful use of Arbor.
Alongside our Customer Success Managers, you will still have other support channels there to help and support you on the rest of your post-graduate journey. Here they are:
- Arbor Help Centre - Our Help Centre is your one-stop shop for learning how to use Arbor and is the easiest place for you to find the information you need! Even better, you can access our help centre through your Arbor site at anytime!
- Support Team - For all functionality queries (the where, how and why), get in touch with our support team, who are the fountain of all Arbor knowledge! See how you can contact the support team here. Do you get your support from a partner? If so, you'll need to direct all of these queries to your support partner. They are there to help you with using your Arbor site, and if there's a question they can't answer, they'll come ask us!
- Arbor Community want some inspiration on how to use your MIS going forward, need some support from someone who is using Arbor, or just fancy a chat? Our Arbor Community is a great forum to sign up to, and can be used for support or just general discussion. Grab a cuppa and share, discuss and connect!
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