Measure User Adoption of CRM

John Eccles, 17 November 2013

In an earlier blog - User Adoption of CRM – The Key Issue - I laid out the evidence for user adoption of the new system being critical to its success.

“By far the most important factor for realizing value from software is effective user adoption.”   

If this is true (and it is) then measurement of user adoption is the best way to know early on whether the new system will be successful.

There are a number of ways to do this.  Here are just a few:

  •  Ask users, “Are you using the system?” or “What do you think of the new system?”
  •  Look over people’s shoulders to check they are using the system.
  •  Get reports from the system to confirm that data is being entered.
  •  Check to see who is requesting support for the system

Another way is to use the CRM system itself to monitor and report on system usage.

A CRM Usage Dashboard for Dynamics CRM

A client was very aware of the historical failure rate of CRM systems and wanted to ensure that implementation of their system was successful.  So they decided to run a Pilot programme with users selected from different parts of the business. And they engaged Magnetism to design and conduct training of the pilot users and a series of follow-up exercises to reinforce the training and help the users interact with the system.

Magnetism had just developed a CRM User Dashboard to measure and report on CRM usage so we deployed the dashboard to the pilot system.

It proved to be very helpful as Craig Gillett, the Learning and Organisational Development Manager from Harrison Grierson explains:

“We have been piloting the introduction of CRM into our organisation and have been using the CRM Usage dashboard to track the progress of our pilot participants following classroom training. The CRM Usage dashboard enables us to proactively and instantly, identify individuals and teams across the business who need additional support. We can then respond immediately. The Usage Dashboard enables ‘real-time’ reporting for our key stakeholders and has become the primary evaluation tool we use to measure the effectiveness of the implementation into our business.”

The dashboard monitors the usage of all users and includes drillable charts. It shows a system wide view as well as a personal view for every user.

More details about Magnetism’s CRM Usage Dashboard are available in a blog by Colin Maitland: Microsoft Dynamics CRM – CRM Usage Tool

An Integral Part of a CRM Implementation

We think measurement of system usage in the early stages of a CRM implementation is essential. So Magnetism plans to install the CRM Usage Dashboard into every new system implementation as part of our standard process. (It will be a managed solution so it can be removed when it is no longer necessary.

By providing our clients with a powerful toolset to monitor usage of their CRM system, we believe we will make a significant contribution towards the success of the implementation.

* Image 1 from: http://www.slideshare.net/newtonsoftware/7-tips-for-promoting-applicant-tracking-software-user-adoption-4774727