Accidental CRM Admins: How to Survive Post-Implementation (Part 2)
So you’ve met kickoff day and you’re to the races with your new software. The end users are trained and working in the system, now what?
(Click here for Part 1 of this series)
I hope you laughed at that and thought, “Now what?! What do you mean now what?! Now I’m met with a bunch of user questions and this list of asks…It’s like I’m starting all over again!”
Ah yes, I’ve been there, too. Just because you implemented doesn’t mean the work is done. In project management, they call this stage a “program” where it is handed off from the project manager to a designated lead who will be responsible for the program’s maintenance and operation in the future.
But hey, you’re an accidental admin, so you’re likely in charge of it all! And, heck, you’re likely an end user, too!
How do you keep up with your new responsibilities? In this second part of the series, I want to dive in to your next steps as an admin. Mastering these areas help you manage the day to day work as well as plan for the future. It’ll also help you sweep up a few loose ends from implementation and make sure you’re continuing to get the most out of your new system.
Know Your Options
When you first implement, you don’t have time to figure out functionality of your system much further than what’s needed for implementation. So soon after, it’s important to know what options you have to refine fields, settings, permissions, and how to get support from the software company after you separate from your implementation manager.
When we implemented, our focus was on our basic sales processes to get a lead from the quote-to-cash. Makes sense right? That’s the most important pathway for the sales team. We didn’t have time, however, to think about how to manage customer records if a merger happened or how to clean up the system if a contact was no longer with a company (delete it? inactivate it?). Knowing these options and how each one affects the system as a whole is a natural next step in admin responsibilities.
Another key part to knowing your options is knowing how to get help. If you’re solely relying on the software company themselves for support, you’ll want to start searching elsewhere so you have multiple support options. For example, it’s good to find alliances with other end-users of the software you can check in with, learn new ways of using the software, and bounce questions off of (does your team inactivate or delete old contacts?). It’s also smart to find a consultant who works on the software separate from the company. Oftentimes, they have a rich history working in the system and have more flexibility to help you solve problems fast. If you’re lucky, they can be cheaper as well and often can point you in the right direction if the project is beyond their means.
Understand How One Department’s Processes Affect Others
CRM is traditionally used by the sales team, and maybe the service and marketing teams. However, there are many parts of CRM that affect other departments. For example, customer contact information will likely be used by departments like finance and shipping down the line. That means, salesmen’s accuracy up front will impact accounting in the long term.
As an admin, you’ll want to start to understand how the processes of your users affect other departments. Sometimes this may mean adjusting processes you implemented originally to account for what another department might need. I remember an issue that arose between my customer support and finance teams. When we helped customers, we tied a sales order to every service request that needed to be invoiced, even if we didn’t bill the client. This led to a huge bottleneck for the finance team, as they got bogged down processing $0 orders just to clear them out of the system. We had to re-evaluate the goal of the process and prioritize which actions delivered on that goal. Turns out, creating extra paperwork for everyone wasn’t the end goal we wanted and our process changed for the better.
Ask Too Many Questions
After implementation, there’s usually a bit of peace and quiet while users try to figure out the basics of the system and practice. However, don’t assume because they’re not saying anything that things are going smoothly!
Let’s say you trained support users on how to create cases for customer issues during implementation. Excellent, now they’re logging important customer info! Post-implementation, now those users need to close out cases, how do they do this? Your users might clue you in with the question, but more than likely, they’ll find their own solution.
This is why it’s important to check in with your users and ask questions — How are you adopting to the new system? Any areas unclear? What is a pain in the neck to do? Any areas we can improve? Why are you still logging into the old system? What are you using a spreadsheet for? How many times do you click to find what you’re looking for? Etc…
As you learn about the functionality available in your new CRM, pay mind to any holes taht may exist from training. Most likely there are some related to how to manage the data — updating, closing out, handing off, etc. These are great places to start for follow up training and reviews.
Keep Up the Momentum!
Being a software admin is not a title you hold for the short term! It’s an ongoing responsibility. When done well, it is beneficial for a business. Admins like you, who care, make the most of their software and help their users love it (or at least use it), which helps the company get the anticipated ROI from the investment.
And for you, dear accidental admin? Well, you get the experience of managing your users through change and proving out that ROI of a software investment, both vital skills for the future of work.
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The Complete Accidental Admin Series By Courtney Cerniglia:
