Effective Change Management is Required in your CRM Strategy

One sure fire way to make this easier is to build the correct CRM realignment team. This will help you a) incorporate the resistance into the movement and b) identify other CRM risk in the form of possible push back, or other roadblocks to success. Knowing where the friction will exist early in the process will allow you to define the process for dealing with it.

Protecting Turf - This can really become a problem as you begin realigning your company based on customer related information flow. If your company had silos along departmental lines, or product lines, managers will begin seeing processes they own change, disappear or migrate to another authority. Ouch. Don't leave this person on the outside looking in or they may feel their job slipping away, or subordinate jobs being cut or reallocated. Effective change management needs to address managers who may feel their importance diminishing or changing.

Protecting Work Processes - Individuals may take pride in work processes that tend to disappear as workflow is realigned and the tasks they perform each day become automated, if they aren't eliminated from the new workflow completely. Your CRM team should have representative (non managers) from each functional area of your business so they can take ownership of the new way of doing things.

Increased efficiency doesn't mean you have to cut staff. It can also be used to grow your business without adding expense. Effective change management can be used to address the way office workers will react to their changing roles.

Communicating Change Internally - Not everyone can be on the team. Strong leadership requires dedication and great communication skills. However, if you've ever worked in a large company and heard your fearless leader address you from a podium, you know that the snickering can begin. So, it's important that your CRM project team address how its representative core members can shape the opinions, and address the fears, of their peers.

Communicating Change to Customers - Effective change management also relates to your customers. It may be that your new customer focused efforts is so fantastic that it speaks for itself. But, just in case, you had better ask yourself how your customers will deal with any hiccups as the changes begin. After that, they should be thrilled because I know that you came up with a strategy, realigned workflows to support the strategy and used technology to make the process brilliant.

 I worked with a company once that decided to start emailing their customers customer service updates. Unfortunately, this customer base, small businesses, at the time were still relying on fax technology. You'll each have your own challenges here.

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