Teamwork is essential - not because it allows you to blame someone else, but because it is virtually impossible for anyone to do anything without the efforts of other people. This is especially true when it comes to business. If you want to succeed, every individual in your organization must be committed to the efforts of the group.
A shared commitment drives success, innovation and growth. If you are just beginning, come together. If you are progressing, stay together. If you want to succeed, work together.
I refuse to believe that CRM success is just a buzzword used by marketing professionals to sell software. When I think about CRM success I think in practical terms, not in abstractions. Having a relationship management system in place has made me a more valuable worker by giving me easy access to business-related information and allowing me an effective method of interacting and collaborating with members of our team. It also enables me to leverage the work of our team in order to benefit my growth as an individual as well as the overall objectives of our organization.
CRM success is not some far-off concept that is hidden in a cloud. It is the tangible experience of using a combination software and business strategy to benefit business outcomes. The job of a CRM system is to centralize access to operational information so that people can work together and succeed as a team. Whether or not the parties will work together and succeed as a team is a different story.
TEAM means Together Everyone Achieves More
One of the most common challenges that a business encounters when implementing a CRM system is the issue of keeping users engaged. The typical CRM user is either a communicator or a supporter of communications. These people are creative and drive energy into situations but they also tend to be solo players, relying on their own skills and personality to drive success. These are valuable members of the team because they are geared toward helping others attain goals and are focused on successful outcomes.
Unfortunately for the CRM system (and the organization), these folks have tendency to view achievement as an individual affair and overlook more holistic, team-based understandings of success. In order for them to realize the value and purpose of contributing to a team-centric system, they must see the benefit for themselves.
What’s in it for me?
Ultimately the best way to encourage engagement is by opening up the lines of communication to allow people the time and space to express their opinions about CRM. Soliciting feedback on what they find useful and valuable as well as what part of their work is cumbersome will help you understand their personal needs. This will enable you to explain how the system can improve or make things easier for them specifically (and it also helps to expose any trends that can be acted upon to make further improvements to the system.)
Time spent assisting and educating users brings long-term value to your CRM investment. If it can become a trusted “go-to place” for information that is convenient and helpful, people will naturally be more inclined to assist their colleagues in making use of the CRM system, even if it takes them a few more minutes each day. If you can get individual users to understand the value of the CRM system and the reasons why they should engage with it, your whole team will be better off.
As author and management expert Ken Blanchard so eloquently put it,
“None of us are as smart as all of us.”