We are coming up to a month with the new MLS^® System and while some of us are settled in, some of us continue to be very frustrated. I can tell you that your Board of Directors is fully aware of the concerns and challenges with the new system.

Many questions have come our way about why there was so much change in what was originally positioned as a pretty low-scale upgrade to Matrix™! So, let me get into a bit of history: at present, CoreLogic has about half of their user boards (with over 850,000 members across North America) on Matrix™ and nearly half of those users on the version we just moved to, which is Matrix™ 8.4.

This is not the newest version of the platform, but one that some MLS®’s such as ORTIS in Ontario have actually decided to migrate past, skipping to Matrix™ X. At this point, our focus is on learning and correcting from this experience to smooth out future upgrade transitions.

As a stand-alone change, the move to a new version of Matrix™ would have raised some comments, even though we’re told it is a ‘light upgrade’, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Add in that we have adopted the RESO gold standard for data and merged with eight other board databases, and this is a lot of change. We’re moving quickly to respond to your feedback and are currently focusing on:

• Priority one: Data issues – to protect the integrity of member data at every corner;
• Priority two: ‘Bugs’ – anything that might cause the system to not function the way you expect;
• Priority three: Preferences – like moving private comments or changing the history layout.

Our challenge continues to be that some of the changes were more impactful to some of us than others, after all, we all learn new things in different ways. Thanks to your feedback we created a System Mapping tool that lists every field and the reason for that particular change. You asked for it – you’re getting it.

There have been some positive comments too. We’ve heard great feedback about the training course, not only that it is of very high quality, but that there needs to be even more detailed courses available. We agree, so as part of our work with Pillar 9™, we are continuing to offer new member orientation that provides a more in-depth look at the system.

The migration training was two hours long and focussed on changes to the system, where the new member orientation is 3.5 hours long and does a more in-depth overview of the entire system. It is designed for new members, but is open and available to any CREB^® member. Given the changes we’ve just seen, it’s a great idea as a refresher, or simply to get more information. The first session was run on July 21 and this course is being offered every two weeks on an ongoing basis . . . and of course it is free!

More support work is underway, but in the meantime, thanks to all of you that have taken the training and used the support materials. There is a lot to learn and like any business, we need to put the time in to learn our business tools.

We have also heard a lot of positive comments about the incredible work of our Help Desk team who have taken the brunt of the load. Please honour the fact they are trying their best and only want to get your question answered, so you can get back to work and they can get to the next call.

Please know that your issues are tracked and sent to the Pillar 9™ IT team. They are constantly working from list to list and to that point, many of you suggested the idea of an issues log which is currently being acted on.Like anything else, rushing something out the door that is not dynamically updated would only frustrate you more, so this is on the way. While all of these ideas are happening, real changes are being made in the system and Pillar 9™ will be updating us as improvements are made.

Please know that we are doing our best to keep on top of member concerns and ensuring the staff are reporting back on their progress and maintaining sight on our ultimate goal, which is your satisfaction with the new MLS^® System.

Our staff team is truly doing all they can, but as Alan says, “we all have to recognize that this project is the product of a hybrid structure that is part of evolutionary compromise. The good news is we are one very large step closer to a provincial system and database—a change we will never have to go through again.”

In addition to providing oversight and monitoring performance, your Board of Directors called an emergency meeting and sent a follow up to Pillar 9™ with a simple call to action;

1. As a show of good faith, waive the Pillar 9™ $27.50/member technology fee for July and August.
2. Commission a third-party to conduct a full review of the migration experience of the partner boards and their members. We need to answer the question we repeatedly hear from members on why this new system is so far from their expectations and required so many adjustments by them to adapt.

We have also fully supported the staff decision to make resources immediately available to Pillar 9™. Clearly, we have missed the mark on the user experience, and we know that so far. This is why we are providing key support to enable Pillar 9™ to respond to your needs, quickly and completely.

Shane Griffin, the Pillar 9™ CEO is working on improvements and dealing with members directly. We have encouraged this direct access with our MLS^® System partner and we appreciate how much effort this is for Shane. This is another way we are working hard to keep our communications open and real.

While this was not the rollout or final product we envisioned, our pledge continues to be to get this right, quickly.