CRM governance: why it matters and what it looks like
CRM fit vs CRM governance
Bolder Options, a youth mentorship organization, realized they had outgrown their current CRM. They selected a new platform and made a tentative decision to move. But as they prepared their data and learned more about the new system, questions began to arise.
Did the new system lack some of the capabilities they needed?
Did the old system have helpful features they weren’t using?
Was the core problem not strictly about features, but something more complex that included configuration and user adoption?
It turned out that the answer to all of these questions was yes.
Over almost two decades of growth and change, the CRM no longer reflected current needs. But we started to suspect that, whether we replaced it or not, establishing strong CRM governance practices would be key to getting the most out of the organization's software.
What happens when CRM governance is absent
To put it simply, if CRM governance is weak, you’ll have problems. For example:
A database that’s bloated with inactive records
Automations that no longer match current workflows
Outdated and unused fields and dropdown choices
Data points with no logical home
Duplicate data entry into supplementary spreadsheets
Cumbersome data entry processes requiring pages of instructions
Little understanding of past system configuration choices
Together, these issues hurt staff productivity, degrade participants’ experiences, and limit leadership’s ability to make data informed decisions.
Strengthening CRM governance
CRM governance practices can prevent problems and improve your software’s return on investment. Of course, it’s ideal to establish technology governance from the start. But it’s never too late to reset.
Bolder Options made some smart decisions, such as creating a role focused on data and evaluation and promoting an internal staff member, TyTeeona Howard, into that position. TyTeeona learned about the current CRM tools and needs, provided crucial management of the software and its use, trained staff, and established standard procedures around data.
“It's no such thing as a perfect database, you'll always find something that doesn't quite meet your needs,” explained TyTeeona. She continued, "Training really impacts the employee's perspective of the database. Even though our database is not perfect, once we developed a system our new employees were more pleased with the system regardless of its imperfections."
The organization also sought external expertise (me) which confirmed their instincts that the software choice was worth reconsidering and helped them tune in to signals that CRM governance needed to be stronger.
Elements of CRM governance
Do you have a shared understanding of the purpose of the CRM? Start here. Clarify what you want the CRM to accomplish, what success looks like, and what it is not meant to do. Make sure everyone understands its importance to the organization and its role in your work.
You will need policies and protocols for CRM management, access, data retention, user adoption, and change requests.
CRM management - Assign responsibility to an internal CRM owner who is your system manager, internal expert, and provider liaison. You may also want a CRM steering committee that represents different types of users and advocates for their needs, and an executive sponsor who is ultimately accountable for the CRM’s success. As Brian Pickett of North Peak explained, “CRM is the single most critical tool for operating efficiently and having data to inform decision-making, and it must be treated as a strategic priority.”
Access management - For the sake of security and privacy, define which users require access to which data and features, and set permissions appropriately. (The way you configure your system could make this easier or harder.)
Data retention - Set guidelines for how long you will keep data and what you will do with it when it’s no longer needed in your CRM. Excess data equals clutter, and it becomes a liability if you ever experience a breach. However, you may be legally required to keep certain data for a minimum period.
User adoption - Establish procedures for onboarding and ongoing training. Define how you will monitor CRM utilization, identify and address barriers to adoption, and reward appropriate usage. Approach this thoughtfully, since as Debbie McCann of W4Sight pointed out, “metrics become a way to game the system, especially if people are rewarded or punished based on these numbers.” She suggests combining usage metrics with other user feedback on the CRM’s usefulness.
Change requests - Provide a transparent process for users to request system changes or enhancements, clear criteria for deciding which are implemented, and consistent communication about updates. Maintain a roadmap for major upgrades and changes. Brian underlined the importance of this, stating, “Organizations that responsibly plan for updates to their system, are able to keep the system relevant and avoid the pitfalls of a bloated system and users starting to keep data outside in spreadsheets.”
Documentation is another aspect of CRM governance. Whether you are responding to a small change request or doing a system overhaul, your future colleagues or successors will thank you for documenting key decisions, processes, and the rationale for configuration choices. I like to write down or draw processes in the form of user stories. Some organizations also create an internal user guide to supplement materials from the software vendor.
Data quality suffers without attention. Accurate, complete data builds trust and ensures reliable reporting. Create standards for what data you collect, when and how you enter it, how long you retain it, and how you purge or archive older records. Routinely run clean-up processes such as identifying and combining duplicate records.
Last but certainly not least, conduct periodic CRM reviews to keep your CRM relevant and effective. An annual review might include:
Analyzing utilization data, support requests, and feature requests to discover trends and needs
Seeking user input to assess ROI and identify gaps
Reviewing integrations to ensure they function properly and meet needs
Checking in with the provider to learn about their product roadmap and get their suggestions for how you could get more out of the system
Setting priorities for the next cycle regarding gaps and milestones
Many organizations also do a formal CRM market scan and fit review every four-to-five years, to see if alternative products might better suit their needs.
Worth the effort
Does this sound like a lot of work? It’s far less than the effort and disruption of replacing your CRM entirely. Putting these governance components in place will get your CRM working better for you and unlock more value from investments you have already made. And if you do switch products–not because you’re running away from a mess, but because you’ve found a better fit–your established CRM governance practices will make the transition smoother and help you enjoy the benefits sooner.
“Every step in this process, even the ones that seem like steps backwards, are building internal capacity for our organization—e.g., empowering staff to manage data confidently and creating a shared understanding of why we track the data we do,” said April Riordan of Bolder Options. “Because of this process, we have improved data quality, clearer reporting, and are better able to use our data to improve programming.”
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I’m grateful to Bolder Options for collaborating on this project and allowing me to recount part of our shared learning process. It’s an exciting time to work with them as a technology advisor, as the organization expands its mentoring model to support youth through college and/or career.
