How to build a business-wide collaboration strategy
Collaboration tools have, quite rightly, been at the forefront of discussions around improving sales and business performance, with the key being how to best record and utilise information across the organisation. Research suggests that up to 70% of businesses expect to invest in collaboration tools in the near future (source; Enterprise Times) and never has this subject been more important than today, where most members of an organisation are operating in separate physical locations. This could be the case for the foreseeable future and the blueprint for a more flexible future way of working.
The obvious drawback of a more flexible, remote working environment is the inevitable reduction of information-sharing which can take place in a physical office environment, such as, impromptu discussions at desks, at the coffee machine as well as before and after meetings. This is by no means the best way to record and share information, with the CRM being the default location for recording pertinent data.
Therefore, CRM integrated collaboration tools have seen an increased degree of interest as businesses wish to ensure colleagues are working together effectively and sharing information across departments. The danger here is that collaboration tools have, in many cases, morphed into a process of sharing as much information with as many people as possible, which can often be a step back as opposed to embracing technology to move forward. This process can create sterile data which, in most cases, is worse than no data; working with out-of-date, unvalidated data can be a dangerous situation for any business.
The best results come from sharing short, structured and concise information with key groups of colleagues — this data can be grouped and aggregated in order to draw true insight to assist decision-making. The real challenge with using collaboration tools effectively is ensuring that there is;
Agreed data points that are to be collected with assigned responsibility
Discipline on the frequency and process to record agreed data points and
Agreed metrics on what will be reported and how this will be used to improve business performance.
Note: This use case is mainly focused on qualitative data as opposed to pipeline, forecasting and opportunity management
It is imperative to keep the process simple and tied into the users’ daily workflows as much as possible (e.g. no spreadsheets). The goals associated with collaboration need to be clear and transparent with minimal key data points in order to accurately normalise this data for use in reporting. For example, you may task your sales team with collecting structured feedback on competitor activity and in order to effectively achieve this, setting a small subset of key data points and an easy to use data input will exponentially increase the chances of a successful outcome.
The key element of an effective collaboration strategy, which is often overlooked, is ensuring buy-in across the organisation; from commercial teams, who are regularly interacting with clients and prospects, to senior decision-makers who are shaping the future strategy of the business. Decision-makers, who require this data, need to be seen to be utilising and reacting to this feedback, otherwise the process will fall down, no matter how robust the process or how slick the technology.
Commercial teams are one of the best sources of information an organisation has at its disposal, however, the key to creating an effective process involves ensuring all parties benefit, which will, in time, turn this process from ‘CRM Administration’ to information gathering and collaboration.
Book an Asensus demo at www.asensus.io and see how our software can re-engage front line teams, improve existing business processes and unlock true insight from your CRM strategy.
…
Paul Smillie, Founder of Asensus
