Use Organizational Change Management (OCM) To Spur Adoption of Microsoft Dynamics CRM

For most companies, implementing and deploying a solution like Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the easy part. The difficulty comes in convincing users to take advantage of it.

One way to improve user adoption of Dynamics CRM is by employing the principles of organizational change management (OCM), said John Long, Dynamics CRM practice lead at Emtec, during a recent MSDynamicsWorld.com webcast, which is now available on demand.

OCM is the process of planning and designing a solution by first focusing on the overall business impact in such a way as to minimize employee resistance and cost while simultaneously maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort, Long said.

Establish a CRM Vision

The first thing a company has to do is ensure the business is ready to engage with OCM. And that means defining its vision for implementing CRM in general.

"A well defined CRM vision acts as a guidepost to ensure that requirements are aligned to your overall objects, and is a critical component for gaining stakeholder support," said Dave Green, Emtec's director of Organization Change Management.

And that starts with executive stakeholders, Green said.

"Getting executives to align with the vision and [help] cascade that message to their functional business unit and then continuing with that message throughout the build and design and deployment of the CRM program, increases user adoption," he said.

Drive Requirements with Good Governance

Starting with a vision for Dynamics CRM is a critical first step, he said. Companies need a governance structure to unlock user adoption and drive the program through business engagement. The business engagement and governance model establishes ...