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CRM Getting the People Part of the Equation Right
By Michael Meltzer, Managing Partner, Active Management Techniques
All we seem to be reading about recently is the failure of organisations to achieve their expected ROI’s on their investments in technology in general and, in particular, on their CRM initiatives. Now investing in CRM solutions, whether they are people and or process and or technology, means you are investing in organisational change! To make that change effective and to make it stick you must get the people part of the equation just right. Change always involves those most complex of animals, people, and as much as we might like to believe the myths: a) all you need is the right solution, b) all you need is the right help, c) all you need is the right executive sponsorship and d) all you need is the right organisation, simplistic bromides are not the answer. Like the journey to Hades, Getting to that mystical CRM heaven is a journey full of mystery, magic and danger.
Mystery because it is so difficult to put your finger on what CRM really is or is not. Magical because so many organisations think that all you need to do to make things happen is wave money and technology at the opportunity/problem for it to happen or simply vanish in a puff of smoke. Moreover, the danger that comes in the form of bad advice, cost overruns and failure to undertake basic upfront planning for your people and process issues.
To start on any improvement (CRM journey) that involves changing the way you do business you must figure out why you are really doing it and what benefits you expect to see: what are the business drivers have that a realistic ROI attached? What elements involve process improvement and where does the customer value or service come into the equation? How long will the initial stages of the journey take and when will the first wins be detectable with a demonstrable ROI? Will your IT team be running the show or will the business take responsibility?
You need to consider whether it is your IT team’s responsibility to:
• Identify the need for the solution
• Identify the right business approach
• Identify and map the underlying processes
• Identify the teams and business units that will benefit
• Build the business case
• Ensure all the people issues are addressed
• Ensure that business benefits are achieved
If most of the above is not their responsibility you had better be very clear whose they are and get some metrics, plans and actions in place. The responsibility for the success of CRM initiatives lays with the initiating business not IT. CRM is more about people and process than technology. CRM requires continuous human interaction and is not just like putting in another accounting or inventory management suite of software! The process underlying the business must be optimized not just automated. For the programme to be judged a success, the actual customer must also see some benefits and or some positive experience.
The people issues that any organisation faces at the inception of a new change initiative are that individuals do not like uncertainty and always fear the unknown. People create relationships, not technology and as such will make or break any technological solution that so it pays to them in the loop. Individuals want their voice to be heard and can adjust to changes in process as long as they can see there is something in for them. Often if a metric is adjusted in favour of the new process and or systems then new potentially positive behaviours will ensue. The people side of the equation is often the hardest to solve. There is no simple set formula but there are ways of reducing fear and uncertainty and helping the individuals embrace the inevitable changes that will take place.
A step-by-step approach that has found success in a number of companies once the go ahead to plan is given is: meet and create rapport with executive sponsors, get the management team who may be advocates and champions on side and talking a common language. Gain clarity about the drivers for change so that the common language seminars that allow all team members understand the themes. Move to workshops where the overall vision is outlined followed by workshops where the incremental step approach is identified and buy in is sought and gained. Throughout this Fair Process is adhered to.
The concept of fair process is both judicial and humanistic. By involving individuals in the process of change your let their voice be heard. You actively involve them in the changes and enable their ideas to be put on the table so engaging them as real people not mere cogs in the wheel. Senior management and facilitators help the individuals affected to understand what is happening and why, and how the decisions both positive and negative, were arrived at (keeping them in loop). Once a decision is made then any expectations of process changes and or metrics are clearly articulated and communicated. Trust is a currency easily devalued in a modern business yet, employees will support almost any management decision, as long as they believe that the approach used to make it is just. Researchers W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne claim that this premise holds true even for decisions that may not be in the employee's best interest. New methods of working that may reduce headcount or alter work practices are more readily accepted when the process appears just and participatory.
Organisations still have some problems with their choice of metrics regarding their call/contact centres. Often there are conflicting objectives especially where there is a confusion regarding operational effectiveness and the actual needs of the end customer. It might occur where you want to use the system to reduce costs whilst the customer sees the need for help and a personable business relationship. Any approach must identify what is in it for the employee, the customer, what process must change and how will this all be measured. Getting the teams involved, using fair process and identifying team champions is a route towards getting the metrics right and motivating the teams to perform. Facilitated workshops that are goal oriented and fully egalitarian makes a positive change from the tablets of stone being hurled at the feet of the ‘reluctant and petulant’ employee. As always, people want to succeed and take the easy route to that success but they can help the business achieve their goals if there is some flexibility in managements approach. The teams will help you devise the right measures that are:
• Simple to understand
• Easy to measure
• Drive the right behaviours
• Can be identified by the real world customer
• Are associated with accountability
• Support the overall business strategies
The above can be applied across CRM solutions and processes whether its sales force automation, direct marketing or any relationship based innovation. Any service-oriented organisation creating or improving their service operation as part of a CRM initiative could follow some simple rules that support employees’ interactions with customers. These rules are summed up in a statement of intent. Once more, the people who work in your organisation can help you pen this. If they do help pen the statement there will a greater sense of pride and a wish to live up the statement they created.
I often wonder if the way some organisations choose to support their customers could also help them get the people part of the internal business equation right. The way a business communicated with its external customers should normally follow this pattern.
• Build rapport with customers
• Empathise with their problems
• Create a lasting positive impression
• Be demonstrable with your appreciation
• Find ways of helping your customer succeed
• Attempt to understand them and add to your store of customer knowledge
• Actively listen to what they are actually saying
• Build long-term relationships based on trust
What if you applied the above rules internally when you are considering the introduction of new processes and technologies? Maybe even your IT teams could apply some above ideas to you the business customer (not ‘user’) and a new term is born I-CR (internal customer relationships).
Any journey that admits to be CRM based must adhere to the simple principals of action envisaged in CURARE that involve the customer: Cross-sell, Up-sell, Retention, Acquisition, Resuscitation and Experience. These are the basics for any CRM initiative - people make happen, not technology. Treat them as people and you may be surprised at just how successful you can be.
Oh by the way good luck!
Fair Process: Managing in the Knowledge Economy was first published in Harvard Business Review in 1997 and in the January 2003 Special Motivational Issue
Michael Meltzer, Managing Partner, Active Management Techniques
Michael Meltzer is a managing partner of Active Management Techniques that specialises in advising organisations on the use and the benefits of information to support relationship management in all its forms. He is a hands on partner who has experience spanning financial services, telecommunications, education and retailing. He has specialised in uses of information to support internal and external customer relationship management, e-business, customer knowledge and building organisations where innovation and learning can flourish. He is a respected author, sought after speaker, educator, consultant and experienced business manager.
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