The Uncertainty Phase of the
Transformational Change Cycle and CRM

The Uncertainty Phase of the CRM transformational change cycle speaks for itself. It is here where the resolve and commitment to doing things right is tested. It is very easy to accept hiccups and move on, ignore potential hurdles or take shortcuts to save immediate dollars at the expense of long term budgets and a good Return On Investment (ROI).

It is generally during the middle of this phase that your CRM ‘system’ is rolled out. Remember, your CRM philosophy and strategy, if you have been following the TCC model would have been clearly communicated to the organisation during the Initiation Phase. The communication process is also an ongoing one, it never stops. By rolled out we mean that the end users are trained on the utilisation of the technology and how this system affects changes to their (and others) daily / weekly / monthly / quarterly / annual roles and processes. If your selection process for technology has been thorough

then the business strategy will determine what the technology must provide, not the other way round. This is not a technology project; it is a business initiative and must be led by the business.

It is in this phase that there is an interpretation of the strategy but at a tactical level. This means that all relevant strategies from a high level business perspective to marketing, sales, customer service, finance, logistics etc must be developed and the tactical implementations thereof considered in relation to the technology and the non-technological components e.g. reporting processes. It is also where the metrics for the various expected outcomes/ benefits, need to be further developed so that ROI can be measured.

It is in the very early stages of this phase that new, refined or tweaked processes involving both technological and non-technological aspects need to be experimented with in order to arrive at some form of best practice for the organisation that will deliver both the tactical and strategic objectives. This does not mean that the company needs to accept what is generically found in their chosen software as best practice.

Most successful companies have been successful because they already have many elements of best practice. Wherever possible the best practices of the software should be merged with those of the company. This means that the organisation, the project team and the software have to be flexible to put in place the best possible best practice (there may be more than one option). This flexibility and openness to try and accept new ways of doing things has to be down to a user level as they may face enormous change in how, what and why they do things.

ROI should not only be developed from the standpoint of "proving that the investment that has been made was worthwhile" but "to gain even more support for future initiatives". If you do not have metrics and you want to extend the program into other un-scoped areas, how do you think you will secure funding from Senior Management if you have no proof of what impact the CRM system has had to date?

The project team must always involve people from different levels and roles throughout the organisation. They are the ones that have the knowledge of how, what and why they do things a certain way now and who, after sufficient education, brainstorming and up skilling will start to see new ways of doing things more effectively and more efficiently.

It is not necessary to have all of these people at every meeting but plan and communicate when and why they will be needed. Ignore this imperative at your peril! Not only can they help you get a lot of what is required right, but they are also potential champions that can spread the good word prior to and after launch.

It is in this phase that the system is technologically scoped and developed to specified requirements. Once developed it must be adequately tested in a number of steps. As a first step we would suggest User Acceptance Testing (UAT) where those involved in the development of the technology and non-technological elements, test the system and related best practices.

It is no good having a system that works in a technical sense but still fails to deliver what is really required because the supporting elements are wrong. Examples of issues may be in terms of defining or segmenting customers in an intelligible, practical way for both users and management, or opportunity pipeline definitions that clash with existing protocols.

Once UAT has been signed off, that is; necessary changes made, re-tested and approved, the next step is to take it to a Pilot Phase. The Pilot Phase should include additional users who have not been involved in the project but who have received all of the necessary strategy communications. These people need to be across the entire organisation and they need to be trained in the same manner as will be rolled out to every other person in their role.

Training should be role specific with a very comprehensive overview (with accompanying documentation on and off-line) of what, and how others will be using the system and why. The pilot is not only to test the technology but to provide an opportunity to test the tactical deployment of the CRM strategy. Many companies, in our opinion, let themselves down here. They fail to adequately test everything until it is as right as possible – we did not say "perfect" as we believe that the fluidity that is CRM means that you can only be right for a period of time before it changes, if only in a minuscule way.

The internal dynamics of the organisation will change as a result of the introduction of the system and it is important to think outside of the square as far as the impact the roll out will have on non-users of the system. How will providing this new technology affect the internal and external relationships of all members of staff and their roles, regardless whether they are a direct user or not. It will have an impact, what you have to do is determine how and what the impact is and how to manage it.

This highlights the need for change management as it is never just the users of a CRM system that have to face change, it is the organisation as a whole and that means that everyone will be affected in some form and change management has to be incorporated for optimum results to be achieved.

Once the system, technical and non-technical has been tested, reviewed, changed and repiloted, it is time to roll out to the balance of the organisation.

All potential users need to have received, understood and had the chance to discuss in some form, the new CRM strategy and how it will impact them and the organisation prior to roll out and Best Practice Training. If this communication has not been carried out, pause the project, complete it first before moving on. Remember it should have been started in the Initiation Phase.

Ensure training sessions are small, no more than 6 in a group. It is often good to have had the line managers trained separately ahead of their team members and then have them participate in the sessions with their team. This way they can answer, describe or relate the non-technical best practices that have been introduced thus ensuring that the training is holistic and not just a technical "how to".

Do not overload the users with too much information in the first training session, split it up if possible into two sessions a month or so apart. This way the users can practice the basics and then have a more advanced session later on.

Assess the competency of those who attended the session. It is no good spending 6 to 8 hours conducting a session without checking to see that everyone has achieved the minimum level of skill and understanding. If they do not reach a set benchmark then have a contingency plan to follow up with these individuals to ensure that they do reach this level. Would you let someone fly a plane without ensuring they passed the appropriate tests? If you did, the result is likely to be the same - "crash and burn".

It is also important that the users and non-users are aware of the short, medium and longterm objectives that have been set for them to achieve in terms of data capture, review and utilisation. These then need to be measured from day one after training and reviews provided in the form of documented feedback from the end of month one. There may be a number of different aspects to measure ranging from synchronisation rates to profiling of customers. The reviews of set objectives will help populate the CRM system with required data so that tactical and strategic objectives can be met, they will also help identify where users may be

having adoption issues which require some form of remedial action. Rolling out a system without a planned, synchronised and pertinent measurement system is like sending a pilot to a new destination without a map and co-ordinates to know where they are!

Summary

The Uncertainty Phase is just that, uncertain. It is for this reason that all possible steps need to be taken to ensure that it does not become the Fall Over Phase, it is here that you will reap the rewards for complete CRM implementation planning, both technical and non-technical. It is in this phase that patience goes a long way, be wary the project that is guided solely on timelines rather than achieving set and measurable objectives for optimum results! See figure 2 above.