CRM - training for failure?

06
Nov
2008

Chris Davies

CRM is a hot topic in many firms at the moment, particularly in the current economic climate. This is not a new phenomenon. CRM has been around for a while now, but the question many people are asking is why it so often fails to take off. Ok, I accept that comment could be perceived as being a little harsh. Howard Hughes famously created the world biggest aircraft called the Spruce Goose. It cost a fortune, many thought it would never work, it sped along for an age before taking off only a few feet before gliding gently back to earth. CRM systems can be a bit like this. It's a massive undertaking and a real change for many people. The momentum takes a long time to build and take-off is extremely hard to achieve. See, no cynicism here!

Maybe I am a little cynical. I've been involved with three CRM system launches in three different firms. I have also shared experiences with friends/ex-colleagues (who work for other firms) that paint a similar picture. CRM seems to be hard work, even though it should be a no-brainer. But why? Let's discuss a few issues.

Client Relationship Management versus Contact Relationship Management
When many Fee Earners think about CRM, they often think about clients and not contacts. Client Relationship Management is an important selling point of a CRM system. Client care, event management and joined-up thinking between departments are just some of the advantages. But, you could argue that Client Relationship Management generally maintains value. Contact Relationship Management is the real value adding aspect of a CRM system – for example; who knows whom, targeted event management & marketing, winning new business and cross selling. Some feel these two should be separated out in terms of the approach taken to launch a CRM system.

We want you to use this…but you don't have to…
Almost every Fee Earner can see the benefit in a CRM system, but that doesn't mean they will use it. There are certain systems most Fee Earners have to use, like the time recording system and email for example, but they don't have to use the CRM system. It doesn't enable them (directly) to do their day-to-day work and at the same time it doesn't stop them. We just want them to use it. This is the major issue that many firms overlook. Evangelical presentations, high-impact internal advertising, quality training and Managing Partner buy-in are great, but often not enough. CRM needs to be part of the role of a Fee Earner. At Partner level this is usually the case already, but at lower levels it may not be so true.

Many CRM systems are launched with a big fanfare and everyone receives training. What happens then? Is their performance monitored, and by whom? Are the users given CRM objectives/targets? Should we just rely on people to do what we want them to do and is this realistic?

Ownership of contact data is also an issue. Some Fee Earners believe they are valuable to the firm because of who they know. What's the incentive to share?

CRM and Business Development objectives
The firm has them. Departments have them. Some Fee Earners have them. Are they the same and should they be? Many CRM systems are implemented with the firms' CRM & business development goals in mind. The way Fee Earners win business can differ from department to department. Do these goals conflict or support each other? Are they clearly defined? Who will monitor progress? I believe strongly that these questions need to be explored before a CRM system is launched. It's much harder to retrospectively apply objectives and goals.

CRM is about people, not technology
At no point in this article do I mention the name of a CRM product. I believe CRM is 25% technology and 75% business processes & goals. Obviously the technology needs to deliver the functionality required, but these systems merely provide the tools for effective CRM. It's people who make the real difference. Like any shared database, if you put trash in you'll get trash out. Data validation can be put in place, but essentially we still rely on the users to do the work.

This leads me back to a few points I've already raised. How do we monitor performance? Whose responsibility is it? Who owns the data? As a Training Manager I can offer guidance to a user based on firm policy and best practice, but I certainly cannot tell Partners how to do their job.

Problems and no solutions
There are solutions, but it would be arrogant of me to think they would be right for every firm. All I can do is call on my personal experiences and what I feel has been successful.

People need to be aware of what their CRM role is and what their responsibilities are. What is the CRM role of a Client Partner, an assistant Fee Earner, a Trainee Solicitor and a Secretary? They are not the same, and therefore a framework of CRM roles and responsibilities should be developed to reflect this. Consult with each department. How do they approach CRM and what are their goals and requirements? What is it we want them to do? Why is it important? How often, and in what circumstances do we want them to do it?

The majority of questions IT Training receive relate to business processes - the 'why' and 'when' questions. People need the answers to these questions - to enable them to anchor business processes to the technology. I have lost count of the amount of people who turn up for CRM training with no idea what the system is, what they need to do and why it's important. All of this needs to be taken care of before they enter the training room. IT Training should be allowed to concentrate on the mechanics of aligning their CRM roles and responsibilities to the technology.

Managing Partner and Head of Department support is essential, but what does this actually entail? The odd supportive email will not cut the mustard. The business needs to own CRM and drive it from within. Equity Partners need to set objectives for their team and monitor progress.

In terms of training (finally) all of the above has a direct impact on the training approach. Many firms have run 'sheep-dip' sessions that cover the same content for every user. I have heard stories of three hour training sessions from many firms. The mind boggles. I have first-hand experience of this kind of approach and I know it doesn't work. Go to see a three hour movie and afterwards try to recite every line of dialogue. If you can't do that, try to write down a general description of every scene. It's an impossible task, yet we expect people to be able to do something similar after a three hour training session. As I always say, it's important to separate what's essentials from what's nice to know. I think it's unrealistic, based on my experience, to expect people to take in so much information in one session.

I would even go further by suggesting project (and training) phases. Phase one should deal with the business processes, departmental consultancy, roles and objectives discussed above. Phase two could concentrate on getting data onto the system, data validation and promoting the new system as the primary way to manage your contacts. The following phases can then concentrate on topping up knowledge and introducing new features/objectives like event & marketing management, CRM goals and gathering business intelligence, for example. This is an approach similar to the one employed in my firm. I think it has been very successful and we're now starting to see an exciting change in how Fee Earners approach CRM. Yes it takes longer. Yes it involves more work. But it's worth it.

Chris Davies
November 2008