It All Starts Here

A CRM installation has little chance to succeed unless all of the business functions are documented in detail.

It’s like a house without a foundation

It’s like flying a plane without an instrument panel

If a business process is not documented and used by all the employees, there is no process. Bold statement you say. Try to implement a workflow written in prose like a nonfiction book. It becomes a Standard Operation Procedures manual (SOP) sitting on a shelf.

What are some symptoms of a business without detailed process charts?

• 70 % of work time spent in frequent meetings making decisions about handling the latest crisis.
• Managers having to spend most of their time putting out fires
• An executive spending 14 hours a day at work since “the place will fall apart if I’m not there”. He/she is stressed because the family is ignored and taking some quality time off is a fantasy
• The boss has to micromanage to get something done correctly.
• Ask three people how a simple process is done and you get three different answers
• Frequently having IT change programs and systems

You get the idea. So how do you do it? First, someone has to have the responsibility and the time to do it. This Process Manager (PM) must first interview the C-Level Executives

You won’t get the detail needed but you will get a 100,000 foot level of how a department works and interfaces with other functions. You will also get goals, objectives, current problems, and a “wish list” for the CRM system. The documentation will include process charts (usually done in something like Microsoft Visio). A chart for each business function is drawn. It includes the tasks that must be done by whom and any interaction between different people involved. Examples include processes of selling, reimbursing employees for expenses, taking an order and following what happens all the way to shipping the product or providing the service, and handling complaints. The first drafts of these “as-is” processes are reviewed with each executive and revised until the executive says “that’s the way we work.” Also write down the goals, objectives, and a wish list and review it until the executive says “if we can get that, we will increase profits, streamline our operations, and save money thereby impacting our bottom line.” Also including target percent increases and decreases documented is valuable.

Lastly, review the charts and documents with each executive including the CEO/Owner as a group. In my experience you will most likely get comments like “I didn’t think we worked like that” or “do we do such and such?” At that point you must get a consensus of opinion and start to build the “to-be” charts.

The next blog will cover getting down to the detail level.

You can get started today. Assign a person as PM. I find that a two member team of the PM and someone from the IT department working together is best. If an outside PM is contracted, the internal IT person and PM can still work with together as a team. Also an executive sponsor should be assigned to oversee the process from start to implementation. For example, the internal sponsor can facilitate requiring the necessary managers and employees to be available when needed.

Get started now because you need the resulting documentation to make a decision about which software system to buy, customize, and implement or the one you have already bought as you follow this blog.

Don’t even think about developing it yourself. Current popular systems on the market today are very robust. The last article I read about a midsized company developing a customized system since “we are so unique” spent three years and $250,000 implementing the first release. Some time ago, IBM with all its resources, tried to do the same thing. After two years and $2 million dollars in costs with nothing to show for it, some executive finally said “stop this nonsense. We better buy something and customize it.”

So, whom do you have in mind for your Executive Sponsor? When will you start?

Questions and comments are always welcomed.