Now that many delayed or postponed CRM/CMS projects are resuming with pace, we wanted to focus on topic that we see many organisations are under estimating – Project Management!
Allocating adequate time to rolling out a CRM/website project can get overlooked and deprioritised; when you have put substantial time into planning and tendering this is a very common and substantial mistake.
This is a digital transformation after all, one that you have just committed a sizable budget too and generally has a sense of urgency , therefore it requires coordination to ensure its success. A CRM/ Website project roll out is the last mile, but you do still need ensure that sufficient time is allocated to keep the organisational teams working together – even in fairly small organisations this needs adequate focus. Herding cats is an analogy we’ve heard used may times for getting different people to work together, but perhaps a conductor of an orchestra better describes a project management role, without a conductor keeping time and pace, all instruments fall out of line and work as individual areas.
Here are a few key areas to consider when building your project plan.
1. Ensure you have an experienced dedicated digital project manager, keeping the project to time and the cross organisation teams fully engaged. Adding the project management role to an existing member of staff is not always the best option and can cause conflict in priorities and the ultimate success of the project. While this is not always a full-time role it’s an important one and needs planning and consideration.
2. Don’t underestimate the content and data resource demands on the internal team of a new CRM/Website project, business lines often think ‘great someone else is leading this, I don’t need to worry for now’, we have seen this happen many times. In fact, the opposite is true – teams need to be engaged and proactive. While they may not be involved all the time, they need to know what, and most importantly, when something is expected of them so that they don’t delay other areas….just like an orchestra.
3. Create a clear project plan, with a core team and accountable owners and roles for each area – make sure they understand the success criteria and are involved. You will be working with external suppliers during this process, ensure that you have the project leads as part of this team.
4. It’s good to try to arrange a phased project release with your suppliers, this maintains the excitement and buzz of the project. Waiting 12 months for one big release can cause some loss in momentum and lack of engagement. Give your organisation something to keep excited about.
Managing a systems deployment properly can be make or break for the project, as we all know first impressions are important. When your organisation is on board and engaged you will likely have a successful roll out.
If you’re considering a change to your CRM/Website or are in the middle of a project and have a question, just ask, we are always happy to have a chat. If you’d like to read about some of the about experiences from your peers, just click here.
If you need any help with the next steps in your journey, please call Ben Sturt on 07469 768990 or email [email protected]
Chrysalis Digital provides a digital transformation service designed to help build a more agile, efficient, and innovative organisation. With its broad cross-sector experience Chrysalis has helped many organisations map their digital path and through careful planning and assessment, choose the right technology partners. Chrysalis Digital is 100% agnostic when recommending CMS and CRM suppliers to its clients.
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