The fear of a failed implementation of customer support software is nearly as bad as the fear of selecting the wrong software. We have read in the newspapers and heard on the news about various disastrous software implementations – companies that purchased expensive software with wonderful promises and then it failed to function correctly or failed to be accessible to the right personnel or took training that was not included in the cost. Because of all the unknowns and problems inherent in purchasing and implementing any new software, many companies struggle with using their old software for far longer than its usefulness.

Are you afraid to implement new customer support software? In order to have a smooth and successful software implementation, one has to understand some of the reasons these implementations go awry.

• Assigning the wrong people to the company’s implementation team
• Changing too much or doing it too fast
• Attempting to re-create the old application
• Failing to work with the implementation provider

In this blog post, I will discuss the first two of these reasons. In my next post, I will discuss the last two. All four are equally important in order to avoid a disaster in implementing new Customer Support Software.

Assigning the wrong people to the company’s implementation team

A company’s executives must understand fully the strategic importance of the customer support software and its implementation. Without that appreciation, a number of things can go wrong. The worst thing that can happen is that the wrong people will be assigned to the implementation team.

This can be junior people without the authority, experience, or understanding needed. Companies hesitate to assign top human resources for a period of time to a “non-critical function,” but it is important to see the customer support software as a critical function which demands the best resources in terms of people and time.

On the opposite end of this problem is the company that does understand the importance of functionality, so they load the team with executives. However, these people are not involved in the day-to-day operations, so cannot answer questions about how processes are actually accomplished within the company. That creates a void when discussing how the software needs to integrate with those processes or execute those processes.

Who should be assigned to the implementation team? Choose middle managers who are key users of the software and have extensive knowledge of both company strategy and detailed processes. Take the necessary steps to help them help the implementation to be successful.

• Empower them to make decisions regarding implementation.
• Give them access to executives that need to buy-in.
• Allow them to have the key in-put for determining how the Customer support software will be used.
• Assign them the responsibility of determining the business’ process flows in regard to the software.
• Create the time they need to work on this important project by backfilling their regular duties.

Changing Too Much or Doing It Too Fast

Companies that have more than one Help Desk – say for different products or for different geographical areas – often try to implement new customer support software at all locations simultaneously. This can be overwhelming and cause a large-scale breakdown.

Another way in which companies try to do too much is by choosing to implement a Customer support software that is drastically different from what they have been using or is not aligned well to the company’s culture and long-term goals. Customer support software is closely tied to the way in which the company does business – both its philosophy and its functionality. It may be good to make changes for the long term, but trying to make large changes all at once may be very frustrating for company personnel – even if they have bought into the purpose.

How can disruption due to large changes or very quick changes be avoided? Very often, Customer support software can be implemented in steps, creating a more gradual process. This may cost a bit more in terms of integration by steps, but the lack of total disruption and the greatly improved morale of the personnel results in a better outcome and satisfied customers. Even training can be done in steps as the various modules are implemented. This helps the personnel to feel better supported and gain confidence in the use of each module before having to learn even more new things.