Welcome to Arbor! We're thrilled you've chosen us. Below is an overview of your 8-week onboarding journey.
Pre-Launch (Weeks 1-4): Prepare for your migration to Arbor.
Post-Launch (Weeks 5-8): We'll support you as you get started with your new Arbor MIS.
Week 1
Watch your Introduction Video
In this video, a member of The Onboarding Team will give you an overview of your 8-week onboarding journey and cover the most crucial parts of the migration, such as how to complete training and prepare for your migration. The video is available in your week 1 email, as well as a PDF version of the slides.
Download your Migration Pack
Your Migration Pack will be sent to you during Week 1 to help you with your onboarding tasks and is a handy tool that you can use, to ensure you remain on track.
The Migration Pack has important information on how to cleanse the data in your current MIS as well as key steps to take to ensure a successful migration. You can also download a version from our help centre here.
Start your Arbor Training
In Week 1, we will also send you instructions detailing how to log into the Arbor Training Hub and start your Arbor Foundations Training.
You'll need to start the training straight away.
You should focus on key courses before your migration such as Attendance Management, Student/Guardian/Staff Profiles and Staff Business Roles/Permissions.
There is also a tab in your Migration Pack where you can keep track of the Training you have completed!
Week 2
Authorise the Data Migration via Groupcall
In Week 2, you'll get access to your Arbor Secure Portal via email. Log into the portal and accept the Migration Terms & Conditions this week.
You will also receive an email from Groupcall with the subject line ‘Invitation from Arbor Education to sync your MIS data and complete your setup,’ which contains instructions detailing how to approve Data Sharing with Arbor and how to install Groupcall Xporter on Demand so that we can complete your migration.
You must follow the steps in this email to approve data sharing and complete this installation this week so we can begin health checks on your data next week. We recommend using the Guided Install option and scheduling a call with Groupcall to ensure everything is set up correctly.
Click here for more information on the process.
You should ensure the user that has approved GroupCall data sharing has access to all these key areas of SIMS - Check this guidance for more information.
Contact 3rd Party Applications
Do you have any third-party applications that you'd 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
Start Data Cleansing
Use your Migration Pack that we sent to you in Week 1 to guide you through a Data Cleanse in your current MIS.
Cleansing the data in SIMS before your migration day is an essential part of the migration and will help ensure the data is nice and tidy, stored in the right place, and up to date so that your data transfers across to Arbor as expected.
Week 3
Complete Data Cleansing
By the end of this week, you should have fully completed your data cleansing in SIMS. This is an important step to ensure your data is clean and ready for migration next week.
Ensure Groupcall Xporter on Demand is Installed
You should have completed this in Week 2, but if you haven't already, you must install Groupcall's Xporter on Demand (XoD) application. This tool is essential for migrating your data to Arbor and needs to be completed asap.
Share Teacher Training Videos
Your teachers must familiarise themselves with the fundamentals of Arbor before going live, such as how to take registers in Arbor. Encourage your team to watch the Teacher Essentials training video this week to help them feel confident and excited for the switch. Click here to access these videos.
Week 4
Migration Week!
This week we are starting the process of migrating your data onto Arbor. You won't notice anything, but we will start our background checks to ensure we won't encounter any issues on your migration date. If we do notice anything this week, we will call you to discuss the best course of action. You can continue to use SIMS up until your new Arbor site is ready.
While there are no immediate actions required from you this week, it’s important to review the tasks completed in the past few weeks to make sure everything is on track for your migration. Specifically, please ensure the following are in place:
- Your team is trained on Arbor and ready for Day One
- Your third-party providers are aware of your move to Arbor
- Data cleansing of your SIMS site has been completed
Week 5
Log into your new Arbor MIS!
Once your migration is complete, we will send your School Project Lead an email with instructions of how to log into your new Arbor MIS!
Check your Arbor Data
It’s important that you verify the data we’ve migrated from SIMS to Arbor to ensure accuracy and avoid any discrepancies. This is also a critical step before you can sign off on your Data Migration Report and switch Groupcall from SIMS to Arbor, enabling you to connect third-party applications.
Get Staff to Use Arbor
Once the Project Lead has logged in and started the initial checks, you can get the wider team logging into Arbor too and start to take attendance in Arbor!
Share the Arbor URL with the wider team, as well as our handy Getting Started Guides.
Week 6
Sign Off Data Migration Report
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 some things from SIMS that won't migrate across to your Arbor site.
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.
Connect 3rd Party Applications to Arbor
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.
Weeks 7 and 8
Complete Training and Set Up Additional Modules
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 outstanding training available to you on the Arbor Training Hub. So if there are a few sessions you need to attend, make sure you get them booked!
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 okay too!
You may have already purchased some training to help you set up these additional modules, so if you haven't already, book 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.
Onboarding Complete!
Now that you’ve completed your onboarding, the Customer Success Team will work alongside you to help you reach your long-term goals and will be in touch over the next couple of weeks to introduce themselves.
The team will check in with you to review how you’re using Arbor in your school. They will look at your usage, adoption, and staff satisfaction, and how you can get the most out of your new Arbor MIS. They can also help with purchasing any further training or upgrading your package.
You can reach them at mysuccess@arbor-education.com
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