Overcoming critical barriers to CRM adoption - Part #3: "How Will I Benefit?"

This blog series summarise the three barriers identified in a recent “High Impact CRM” blog post, and provides ways businesses can overcome them. You can read the full blog post here.

Part #3: “How will I benefit?”
“If employees feel that using the software is not helping them or consider it as a policing tool, they will be reluctant to use it.”

In order to give your business the best chance of success with regards to user adoption employees should be involved in the CRM planning and implementation right from the beginning. One of the best ways you can do this is by asking your employees to identify features and processes that would make their life easier. Remember it is these people that will be responsible for entering and maintaining the integrity of the data and these suggestions, in conjunction with the key objectives, should become the basis for evaluating your CRM options.

Once the business has selected the CRM it is important that you inform your employees on why the decision was made and what suggestions and business processes can (and will) be implemented as a result. It is useful to have these documented in a Policies and Procedures Manual which can be used in the future to re-educate existing staff, and also as a resource for new employees.

During the implementation phase businesses also need to get employees familiar with the idea that they will have to do things differently, by reinforcing the value that these new processes will bring to the organisation. These values should also be reinforced during training.

Listening and responding to your employees in this way will make them feel valued, and will give them a more positive attitude towards change which should ultimately increase end user adoption. However it is important to remember that this is a continuous process and businesses must make an effort to constantly monitor and evaluate the value that the CRM is bringing to the organisation. This feedback will enable you to refine your business processes and provide additional education and training to staff.