Boosting CRM time to value with InsideBoard

In 2019 the Board of an international professional services company decided to launch an ambitious customer-centricity program. They needed to respond to growing market competition which included the need to enable customized business offerings. The main objectives of the program were client intimacy, boosting cross-sell and customer satisfaction. The customer lifecycle was redesigned entirely from Awareness all the way to Retention. The program scope included process optimization, deploying a new CRM, a new Experience Management Platform, new ways of working. The project impacted a majority of the employees and therefore a full set of communication material was developed. This included developing very rapidly training, documentation and coaching from CX coaches.

A year after launch, 16% of employees had adopted the new processes and tools (early adopters). 68% of employees had carefully followed training and felt overwhelmed by the new responsibilities. They didn’t see any positive impact on their day-to-day activities (pragmatics & conservatives). Finally, 16% of employees were sitting on the sidelines waiting to see concrete results from others before engaging (skeptics).

The program was simply not delivering the expected value from a financial or operational point of view.

This short customer story is anything but an exception! 75% of transformation programs involving human beings follow the pattern described above.

Here are a few more data points pertaining specifically to CRM transformations: typically less than 20% of activities are logged in the CRM application (source: Salesforce) and 88% of sales representatives admit they don’t fill in contact information properly (source: Introhive).

One could say it is a matter of not having the time to fulfill these tasks, but in reality, it is a matter of perceived value. In other words, employees need to understand that data quality not only maximizes their own incentives but it also has a positive impact on other business indicators. For example, with better data quality marketing campaigns effectiveness will increase and it will also be easier to build action plans that will increase win rates.

Additionally, in a CRM application data quality is a key ingredient in producing reliable forecasts. Without clear vision of the pipeline it is difficult to:

• rely on automation (Sales process, Customer experience, Marketing automation)
• • have the right level of territory management 
• support business excellence.

Creating Business Value: Start on the Fast Track, but Go Far

In a white paper published in October 2021 titled “Future of Work Trends: The Agile Learning Imperative”, Gartner explains “employees will have to upskill continuously and reskill more frequently to survive and thrive amid future-of-work trends from hybrid working to hyperautomation. Agile learning is indispensable to executive leaders for future-proofing employees and the enterprise.”

In a white paper published in October 2021 untitled “Future of Work Trends: The Agile Learning Imperative”, Gartner explains “employees will have to upskill continuously and reskill more frequently to survive and thrive amid future-of-work trends from hybrid working to hyperautomation. Agile learning is indispensable to executive leaders for future-proofing employees and the enterprise.”

An Agile Change Model

On top of Agile Learning, Agile Change is a mindset and method of continuous adoption. It provides iterative short bursts, applied while achieving longer term outcomes. It is able to dynamically adjust with changing needs. Most importantly, it connects motivated and self-directed employees to the enterprise’s strategic outcomes.

Agile Change is based on 4 pillars: 

• Business outcomes over knowledge gained
• Growth mindset over fixed mindset
• Real-time embedded over dedicated self-development timeframe
• Community compounding over individual practice

Nourishing employee adoption journeys becomes part of operations and rituals.

Business or area leaders prioritize business and operational outcomes for the coming period. They then deploy the adequate combination of success boosters which will foster best practices inside social communities.

Achievements are periodically measured and fed into the program’s value score

The “All-In-One-Place” Platform For Agile Change Execution

InsideBoard matches the right change booster at the right time with the right employee, leader or program ambassador. It nudges employees to stay on track and enables desired outcomes. It is scalable and personalized to reach everyone. AI and microlearning modules will automatically tailor learning programs for each employee.

With its open API, InsideBoard communicates with existing business platforms (CRM, Experience Management Platform, Learning Management Systems, Business Intelligence…) to improve individual performance and promote collective intelligence.

In the next episodes, we will focus on several of InsideBoard’s success boosters: 

• Cooperation between InsideBoard, Learning Management System, Guidance andCommunication 
• Key Success Indicators
• Success Communities, Engagement and Employee Centricity
• AI Engine for Employee Engagement
• Gamification & Engagement