Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Learning objectives

Describe the benefits of virtual teams.

Create a plan for adopting effective management practices and setting clear expectations with virtual teams.

Identify potential solutions to the challenges of managing performance and developing members of virtual teams.

Create an action plan to increase effectiveness in managing virtual teams.

Target audience

People managers who manage or plan to manage virtual teams.

Training length

Two three-hour sessions

Training material

• Use the speaker’s notes in the notes pane section of each slide to plan and practice the training session.
• Activity slides are scattered throughout this training deck and are clearly numbered in the slide title.
• Notes in italics are written to the facilitator and are not meant to be read aloud.
• Download the Workbook for participants to use.

Suggested materials for activities:

• Index cards or sticky notes
• Markers
• Whiteboard/large table space/flip chart

Agenda & activities

Recommended Customization

Review all slides and adjust the language or content as needed to suit your organizational context and culture.

The pencil icon to the left denotes slides requiring customization of the slide and/or the speaker’s notes, e.g. adding in an organization-specific process.

Customization instructions are found in the notes pane.

Tips

• Adjust the speaker’s notes on the slides before (or after) any slides you modify or delete to ensure logical transitions between slides.
• Update the agenda to reflect new timings if major modifications are made.
• Even seasoned leaders need to be reminded of the basics now and again. Rather than delete more basic slides, cut back on the amount of time spent covering them and frame the content as a refresher.

• Participant Workbooks
• Relevant organization-specific documents (see side panel)
• Training Session Feedback Form

Required Information

• Communication guidelines for managers (e.g. cadence of manager interactions)
• Performance management process and guidelines
• Employee development guidelines
• List of available resources (e.g. social collaboration tools)

Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Section 1.1

Practical foundations for managing teams in a remote environment

Feasibility of virtual IT teams

Most organizations are planning some combination of remote and onsite work in 2022.

Source: IT Talent Trends, 2022; n=199

Speaker’s Notes:

Most organizations are planning some combination of remote and onsite work in 2022 – the highest reported plans for WFH were hybrid, balanced, and partial work-from-home. This builds on our findings in the IT Talent Trends 2022 report.

Feasibility of virtual IT teams

What percentage of roles in IT are capable of being performed remotely permanently?

Approximately what percentage of roles in IT are capable of being performed remotely permanently?

IT Talent Trends, 2022; n=207

Speaker’s Notes:

80% of respondents estimated that 50 to 100% of IT roles can be performed remotely.

Virtual teams take all kinds of forms

A virtual team is any team that has members that are not colocated and relies on technology for communications.

Speaker’s Notes:

Before we start, it will be useful to review what we mean by the term “virtual team.” For our purposes we will be defining a virtual team as any team that has members that are not colocated and relies on technology for communications.

There are a wide variety of virtual work arrangements and a variety of terms used to describe them. For example, some common terms include:

• “Flexible work arrangements”: Employees have the option to work where they see fit (within certain constraints). They may choose to work from the office, home, a shared office space, the road, etc.
• “Remote work,” “work from home,” and “telecommuting”: These are just various ways of describing how or where people are working virtually. They all share the idea that these kinds of employees are not colocated.
• “Multi-office team”: the team members all work in office environments, but they may not always be in the same office as their team members or manager.

Our definition of virtual work covers all of these terms. It is also distance neutral, meaning that it applies equally to teams that are dispersed globally or regionally or even those working in the same cities but dispersed throughout different buildings. Our definition also applies whether virtual employees work full time or part time.

The challenges facing managers arise as soon as some team members are not colocated and have to rely on technology to communicate and coordinate work. Greater distances between employees can complicate challenges (e.g. time zone coordination), but the core challenges of managing virtual teams are the same whether those workers are merely located in different buildings in the same city or in different buildings on different continents.

1.1 What kind of virtual team do you lead?

15 Minutes

Working on your own, take five minutes to figure out what kind of virtual team you lead.

1. How many people on your team work virtually (all, most, or a small percentage)?
2. How often and how regularly do they tend to work virtually (full time, part time regularly, or part time as needed)?
3. What kinds of virtual work arrangements are there on your team (multi-site, work from home, mobile employees)?
4. Where do your workers tend to be physically located (different offices but in the same city/region or globally dispersed)?
5. Record this information in your workbook.
6. Discuss as a group.

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• Size of virtual team
• Current remote work practices

Output

• Documented list of current state of remote work

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Advantages

Speaker’s Notes:

Remote work arrangements are becoming more and more common, and for good reason: there are a lot of benefits to the organization – and to employees.

#1: Save Money

Perhaps one of the most common reasons for opting for remote-work arrangements is the potential cost savings. One study found that organizations could save about $11,000 per employee working from home half the time (Global Workplace Analytics, 2021).

#2 Increased Attraction

In addition, supporting remote-work arrangements can attract employees. One study found that 71% of employees would likely choose one employer over another based on WFH offerings (Owl Labs, 2019).

#3 Improve productivity.

There are also improvements to productivity. Fifty percent of employees report they would maintain or increase their productivity while working from home (Glassdoor Team, 2020).

Remote work also has benefits to employees.

#1: Save Money

As with organizations, employees also benefit financially from remote work arrangements, saving between $2,500 and $4,000 and on average 11 working days while working from home half of the time.

#2: Improved Wellbeing

Most employees agree that working from home makes them happier, reduces stress, and provides an improved work-life balance through increased flexibility.

Challenges

Organizations

• Concerns that WFH may stifle innovation (Scientific American, 2021), likely due to the potential lack of collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Fewer organic opportunities for informal interaction between employees working from home means active efforts are required to foster organizational culture.

Leaders

• 42% of managers believe that monitoring the productivity of their direct reports is a top challenge of WFH (Ultimate Software, 2019).
• The lack of in-person supervision compounded with a lack of trust in employees leads many leaders to believe that WFH will result in a drop in productivity.

Employees

• 20% of employees report collaboration/communication as their top struggle with WFH (Owl Labs, 2021).
• Employees often experience burnout from working longer hours due to the lack of commute, blurring of work and home life, and the perceived need to prove their productivity.

Many of these barriers can be addressed by changing traditional mindsets and finding alternative ways of working, but the traditional approach to work is so entrenched that it has been hard to make the shift.

Speaker’s Notes:

Many organizations are still grappling with the challenges of remote work. Some are just perceived challenges, while others are quite real.

Limited innovation and a lack of informal interaction are a potential consequence of failing to properly adapt to the remote-work environment.

Leaders also face challenges with remote work. Losing in-person supervision has led to the lack of trust and a perceived drop in productivity.

A study conducted 2021 asked remote workers to identify their biggest struggle with working remotely. The top three struggles remote workers report facing are unplugging after work, loneliness, and collaborating and/or communicating.

Seeing the struggles remote workers identify is a good reminder that these employees have a unique set of challenges. They need their managers to help them set boundaries around their work; create feelings of connectedness to the organization, culture, and team; and be expert communicators.

1.2 Virtual teams: benefits and challenges

20 Minutes

1. Discuss and list:
   1. Any positives you’ve experienced since managing virtual employees.
   2. Any challenges you’ve had to manage connected to managing virtual employees.
2. Record information in the workbook.

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• Personal experiences managing remote teams

Output

• List of benefits and challenges of remote work

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Section 1.2

Laying the foundations for a virtual team

The 3i’s: Inform, interact, and involve your way to effective management:

Speaker’s Notes:

Effectively managing a virtual team really comes down to adopting management approaches that will engage virtual employees.

Managing a virtual team does not actually require a new management style. The basics of effective management are the same in both colocated and virtual teams; however, the emphasis on certain behaviors and actions we take often differs. Managing a virtual team requires much more thoughtfulness and planning in our everyday interactions with our teams as we cannot rely on the relative ease of face-to-face interactions available to colocated teams.

The 3i’s Engaging Management Model is useful when interacting with all employees and provides a handy framework for more planful interactions with virtual employees.

Think of your management responsibilities in these three buckets – they are the most important components of being an effective manager. We’re first going to look at inform and involve before moving on to interact.

Inform: Relay information down from senior management and leaders to employees. Communicate the rationale behind decisions and priorities, and always explain how they will directly affect employees.

Why is this important? According to McLean & Company’s Engagement Survey data, employees who say their managers keep them well informed about decisions that affect them are 3.4 times more likely to be engaged (Source: McLean & Company, 2020; N=77,363). Your first reaction to this might be “I already do this,” which may very well be the case. Keep in mind, though, we sometimes tend to communicate on a “need-to-know basis,” especially when we are stressed or short on time. Engaging employees takes more. Always focus on explaining the “why?” or the rationale behind business decisions.

It might seem like this domain should be the least affected, since important company announcements probably continue in a remote environment. But remember that information like that also flows informally. And even in formal settings, there are question-and-answer opportunities. Or maybe your employee might come to your office to ask for more details. Virtual team members can’t gather around the watercooler. They don’t have the same opportunities to hear information in passing as people who are colocated do, so managers need to make a concerted effort to share information with virtual team members in a clear and timely way.

Swinging over to the other end, we have involve: Involve your employees. Solicit information and feedback from employees and collaborate with them.

However, it’s not enough to just solicit their feedback and input; you also need to act on it.

Make sure you involve your employees in a meaningful way. Such collaboration makes employees feel like a valued part of the team. Not to mention that they often have information and perspectives that can help make your decisions stronger!

Employees who say their department leaders act on feedback from them are 3.9 times more likely to be engaged than those whose leaders don’t. (Source: McLean & Company, 2020; N=59,779). That is a huge difference!

Keeping virtual employees engaged and feeling connected and committed to the organization requires planful and regular application of the 3i’s model.

Finally, Interact: Connect with employees on a personal level; get to know them and understand who they are on a personal and professional level.

Why? Well, over and above the fact that it can be rewarding for you to build stronger relationships with your team, our data shows that human connection makes a significant difference with employees. Employees who believe their managers care about them as a person are 3.8 times more likely to be engaged than those who do not (Source: McLean & Company, 2017; N=70,927).

And you might find that in a remote environment, this is the area that suffers the most, since a lot of these interactions tend to be unscripted, unscheduled, and face to face.

Typically, if we weren’t in the midst of a pandemic, we’d emphasize the importance of allocating some budget to travel and get some face-to-face time with your staff. Meeting and interacting with team members face to face is crucial to building trusting relationships, and ultimately, an effective team, so given the context of our current circumstances, we recommend the use of video when interacting with your employees who are remote.

Relay information down from senior management to employees.

Ensure they’ve seen and understand any organization-wide communication.

Share any updates in a timely manner.

Connect with employees on a personal level.
Ask how they’re doing with the new work arrangement.
Express empathy for challenges (sick family member, COVID-19 diagnosis, etc.).
Ask how you can support them.
Schedule informal virtual coffee breaks a couple of times a week and talk about non-work topics.

Get information from employees and collaborate with them.
Invite their input (e.g. have a “winning remotely” brainstorming session).
Escalate any challenges you can’t address to your VP.
Give them as much autonomy over their work as possible – don’t micromanage.

1.3 Identify behaviors to inform, interact with, and involve team members

20 Minutes

Individually:

1. Identify one behavior for each of Inform, Interact, and Involve to improve.
2. Record information in the workbook.

As a group:

1. Discuss behaviors to improve for each of Inform, Interact, and Involve and record new ideas to incorporate into your leadership practice.

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• 3i's Model
• Current leadership behaviors to improve

Output

• List of behaviors to better inform, interact, and involve team members

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Laying the foundation: Set clear expectations

Tasks

• What are the daily and weekly team activities? How do they affect one another?

Goals

• Clarify any adjustments to strategy based on the situation; clarify metrics.

Communication

• How often and when will you check in? What should they come to you for? What modalities will you use and when?

Roadblocks

• Involve your team in deciding how to handle roadblocks and challenges.

Speaker’s Notes:

Clear expectations are important in any environment, remote or not. But it is much harder to do in a remote environment. The barrier to seeking clarification is so much higher (For example, email vs. catching someone in hallway, or you can’t notice that a colleague is struggling without them asking).

Communication – This is one area where the importance actually changes in a remote context. We’ve been talking about a lot of practices that are the same in importance whether you’re in an office or remote, and maybe you just enact them differently. But clarity around communication processes is actually tremendously more important in a remote environment.

Adopt a five-step process to set specific and documented expectations

1. Check in with how your team member is doing on a daily basis. Don’t forget to ask how they are doing personally.
2. Follow up on previously set expectations. Ask how things are going. Discuss if priorities or expectations have changed and update expectations accordingly.
3. Ask if they are experiencing any roadblocks and collaborate to find solutions.
4. Provide feedback and recognition as appropriate.
5. Document newly set expectations – either through a collaboration tool or through email.

Speaker’s Notes:

Suggested best practices: Hold daily team check-ins and hold separate individual check-ins. Increase frequency of these.

During Check-in

1. Set up a running Teams chat for your team.

• This is your community. You must be the biggest cheerleader and keep the team feeling like they are contributing. Make sure everyone is involved.

• Ask: What are you working on today? What will your momentum metrics be? What do you need from me?

After a Check-in

1. Be accessible:
   • Ensure your team knows the best way to get in touch with you.
   • Email is not ideal for informal, frequent contact – use messaging instead.
2. Be available:
   • Keep a running conversation going in Teams.
   • Respond in a timely manner; address issues quickly so that your team has what they need to succeed.
   • Let your team know if you’ll be away/offline for longer than an hour during the workday and ask them to do the same (e.g. for an appointment).
   • Help address roadblocks, answer questions, clarify priorities, etc.

Define communication requirements

• Set up an ongoing communication with your team.
  • E.g. a running conversation on Slack or Teams
• Schedule daily virtual meetings and check-ins.
  • This can help to maintain a sense of normalcy and conduct a pulse check on your team.
• Use video for important conversations.
  • Video chat creates better rapport, shows body language, and lessens feelings of isolation, but it can be taxing.
• Set expectations about communication.
  • Differentiate between day-to-day communication and updates on the state of events.
• Clearly communicate the collaboration toolkit.
  • What do we have available? What is the purpose of each?

Speaker’s Notes:

With organizational expectations set, we need to establish team expectations around how we collaborate and communicate.

Today there is no lack of technology available to support our virtual communication. We can use the phone, conference calls, videoconferencing, Skype, instant messaging, [insert organization-specific technological tools.], etc.

However, it is important to have a common understanding of which tools are most appropriate when and for what.

What are some of the communication channel techniques you’ve found useful in your informal interactions with employees or that you’ve seen work well between employees?

[Have participants share any technological tools they find useful and why.]

Check in with your team on communication requirements

• Should we share our calendars, hours of availability, and/or IM status?
• How often should we meet as a team and one on one? Should we institute a time when we should not communicate virtually?
• Which communication channel should we use in what context? How should we decide which communication method to use?
• Should I share guidelines for email and meeting etiquette (or any other communication methods)?
• Should we establish a new team charter?
• What feedback does the team have regarding how we’ve been communicating?

Speaker’s Notes:

Whenever we interact, we make the following kinds of social exchanges. We exchange:

• Information: Data or opinions
• Emotions: Feelings and evaluations about the data or opinions
• Motivations: What we feel like doing in response to data or opinions

We need to make sure that these exchanges are happening as each team member intends. To do this, we have to be sensitive to what information is being conveyed, what emotions are involved in the interaction, and how we are motivating each other to act through the interaction. Every interaction will have intended and unintended effects on others. No one can pay attention to all of these aspects of communication all the time, but if we develop habits that are conducive to successful exchanges in all three areas, we can become more effective.

In addition to being mindful of the exchange in our communication, as managers it is critical to build trusting relationships and rapport with employees as we saw in the 3i's model. However, in virtual teams we cannot rely on running into someone in the kitchen or hallway to have an informal conversation. We need to be thoughtful and deliberate in our interactions with employees. We need to find alternative ways to build these relationships with and between employees that are both easy and accepted by ourselves and employees. Because of that, it is important to set communication norms and really understand each other’s preferences. For example:

• Timing of responses. Set the expectation that emails should be responded to within X hours/days unless otherwise noted in the actual email.
• When it’s appropriate to send an email vs. using instant messaging.
• A team charter – the team’s objectives, individual roles and responsibilities, and communication and collaboration guidelines.

1.4 Identify and share ways you prefer to communicate for different activities

20 Minutes

1. Brainstorm and list the different types of exchanges you have with your virtual employees and they have with each other.
2. List the various communication tools in use on your team.
3. Assign a preferred communication method for each type of exchange

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• Current types of exchanges on team
• Communication methods used

Output

• Defined ways to communicate for each communication method

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Section 2.1
Balancing wellbeing and performance in a virtual team context

The pandemic has taken a significant toll on employees’ mental wellbeing

44% of employees reported declined mental wellbeing since the start of the pandemic.

• 44% of those who work from home.
• 34% of those who have other work arrangements (i.e. onsite).
  (Qualtrics, 2020)

"If one of our colleagues were to fall, break their leg, and get a cast, colleagues would probably rally around that person signing their cast. But, really, we don’t view the health of our brain the same as we do the health of our body."
– Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Employee

Speaker’s Notes:

Despite being over two years into the pandemic, we are still seeing its effect on the physical and mental health of employees.

The mental health aspect has been often overlooked by organizations, but in order to have a safe, happy, and productive team, you need to give mental health the same level of focus as physical heath. This requires a change in mindset in order for you as a leader to support your team's mental wellbeing during the pandemic and beyond.

Employees are reporting several key mental wellbeing challenges

Stress: 67%

Employees report increasingly high levels of stress from the onset of COVID-19, stating that it has been the most stressful time in their careers.
(Qualtrics, 2020)

Anxiety: 57%

Similarly, employees’ anxiety levels have peaked because of the pandemic and the uncertainty it brings.
(Qualtrics, 2020)

Four main themes surrounding stress & anxiety

• Fear of contracting COVID-19
• Financial pressures
• Job security and uncertainty
• Loneliness caused by social isolation

Speaker’s Notes:

The stress and uncertainty about the future caused by the pandemic and its fallout are posing the biggest challenges to employees.

Organizations shutting down operations, moving to fully remote, or requiring some of their employees to be on site based on the current situation causes a lot of anxiety as employees are not able to plan for what is coming next.

Adding in the loss of social networks and in-person interactions exacerbates the problem employees are facing. As leaders, it is your job to understand and mitigate these challenges wherever possible.

Re-examine your workplace barriers to mental wellbeing

Key considerations:

• Work Environment
  • Accessibility of mental wellbeing programs and initiatives
• Organizational Culture
  • Modeling of wellbeing
  • Paid time off
  • Discussions around mental wellbeing
• Total Rewards
  • Benefits coverage
  • Employee assistance programs (EAPs)
  • Manager knowledge

Speaker’s Notes:

Organizational barriers to mental wellbeing are sadly not new. Workloads, stigma around mental health, lack of sick days, and limits to benefits for mental health supports were challenges before the pandemic. Adding in the new barriers can very easily result in a tipping point for many employees who are simply not equipped to deal with or supported in dealing with the added burden of remote work in a post-pandemic world.

To provide the needed support to your employees, it’s important to be mindful of the key considerations.

Holistic employee wellbeing has never been more critical than it is right now

Employee Wellbeing

Physical

The physical body; ensuring a person has the freedom, opportunities, and resources needed to sustainably maintain bodily health.

Mental

The psychological ability to cope with information, emotions, desires, and stressors (e.g. change, threats, etc.) in a healthy and balanced way. Essential for day-to-day living and functioning.

Social

The state of personal and professional relationships, including personal and community engagement. The capability for genuine, authentic, and mutually affirming interactions with others.

Financial

The state of a person’s finances; ensuring that a person feels capable to handle their financial situation and behaviors. The ability to live productively without the weight of financial stress.

Speaker’s Notes:

As a manager, you need to be mindful of all of these. Create an atmosphere where people are able to come to you for help if they are struggling in one of these areas. For example, some people might be more comfortable raising physical safety or comfort concerns (personal protective equipment, ergonomics) than concerns about mental health. Or they might feel like their feelings of loneliness are not appropriate to bring into their professional life.

Wellbeing is a delicate subject, and most of the time, people are reluctant to talk about it. It requires vulnerability. And here’s the thing about it: Your staff will not drive a change in your team around making these topics more acceptable. It has to be the manager. You have to be the one to not just tell but show them that it’s OK to talk about this

Encourage human-centered workplace behaviors

Promote empathy as a focus value

• Listen and show compassion.
• Allow room for emotions.

Encourage social connection

• Leverage networks.
• Infuse fun where possible.
• Encourage community and sense of joint purpose.

Cultivate a growth mindset

• Encourage mindfulness and resilience.
• Express gratitude.

Empower others

• Ask employees what they need and co-create solutions.
• Integrate needs of personal and family life with work life.
• Be clear on accountability.

Speaker’s Notes:

As a leader, your focus should be on encouraging the right behaviors on your team and in yourself.
Show empathy; allowing room for emotion and showing you are willing and able to listen goes a long way to establishing trust.

A growth mindset applies to resilience too. A person with a growth mindset is more likely to believe that even though they’re struggling now, they will get through it.

Infuse fun – schedule social check-ins. This is not wasted time, or time off work – it is an integral part of the workday. We have less of it now organically, so you must bring it back deliberately. Remember that theme? We are deliberately reinfusing important organic elements into the workday.

The last item, empowerment, is interesting – being clear on accountability. Have clear performance expectations. It might sound like telling people what to do would be disempowering, but it’s the opposite. By clarifying the goals of what they need to achieve, you empower them to invent their own “how,” because you and they are both sure they will arrive at the place that you agreed on. We will talk more about this in performance management.

Emphasize the importance of wellbeing by setting the tone for the team

Managers must…

• LEAD BY EXAMPLE
  • Employees look to their managers for cues about how to react in a crisis. If the manager reacts with stress and fear, the team will follow.
• ENCOURAGE OPEN COMMUNICATION
  • Frequent check-ins and transparent communication are essential during a time of crisis, especially when working remotely.
• ACKNOWLEDGE THE SITUATION
  • Recognizing the stress that teams may be facing and expressing confidence in them goes a long way.
• PROMOTE WELLBEING
  • Managers who take care of themselves can better support their teams and encourage them to practice good self-care too.
• REDUCE STIGMA
  • Reducing stigma around mental health encourages people to come forward with their struggles and get the support they need.

Speaker’s Notes:

Emphasize the importance of wellbeing with what you do. If you do not model self-care behavior, people will follow what you do, not what you say.

Lead by example – Live the behaviors you want to see in your employees. If you show confidence, positivity, and resiliency, it will filter down to your team.

Encourage open communication – Have regular meetings where your team is able to set the agenda, or allow one-on-ones to be guided by the employee. Make sure these are scheduled and keep them a priority.

Acknowledge the situation – Pretending things are normal doesn’t help the situation. Talk about the stress that the team is facing and express confidence that you will get through it together.

Promote wellbeing – Take time off, don’t work when you’re sick, and you will be better able to support your team!

Reduce stigma – Call it out when you see it and be sure to remind people of and provide access to any supports that the organization has.

Conduct dedicated conversations around wellbeing

1. Check in with how each team member is doing frequently and ask how they are doing personally.
2. Discuss how things are going. Ask: “How is your work situation working out for you so far? Do you feel supported? How are you taking care of yourself in these circumstances?”
3. Ask if there are any stressors or roadblocks that they have experienced and collaborate to find solutions.
4. Provide reassurance of your support and confidence in them.
5. Document the plan for managing stressors and roadblocks – either through a collaboration tool or through email.

Speaker’s Notes:

Going back to the idea of a growth mindset – this may be uncomfortable for you as a manager. So here’s a step-by-step guide that over time you can morph into your own style.

With your team – be prepared to share first and to show it is OK to be vulnerable and address wellbeing seriously.

1. Make sure you make time for the personal. Ask about their lives and show compassion.
2. Give opportunities for them to bring up things that might stay hidden otherwise. Ask questions that show you care.
3. Help identify areas they are struggling with and work with them to move past those areas.
4. Make sure they feel supported in what they are going through and reassured of their place on the team.
5. Roll wellbeing into your planning process. This signals to team that you see wellbeing as important, not just a checklist to cover during a team meeting, and are ready to follow through on it.

Recognize when professional help is needed

Speaker’s Notes:

As a leader, it is important to be on the lookout for warning signs of burnout and know when to step in and direct individuals to professional help.

Poor work performance – They struggle to maintain work performance, even after you’ve worked with them to create coping strategies.

Overwhelmed – They repeatedly tell you that they feel overwhelmed, very stressed, or physically unwell.

Frequent personal disclosure – They want to discuss their personal struggles at length on a regular basis.

Trouble sleeping and focusing – They tell you that they are not sleeping properly and are unable to focus on work.

Frequent time off – They feel the need to take time off more frequently.

Strained relationships – They have difficulty communicating effectively with coworkers; relationships are strained.

Substance abuse – They show signs of substance abuse (e.g. drunk/high while working, social media posts about drinking during the day).

Keeping an eye out for these signs and being able to step in before they become unmanageable can mean the difference between keeping and losing an employee experiencing burnout.

Remember: Managers also need support

• Added burden
• Lead by example
• Self-care

Speaker’s Notes:

If you’ve got managers under you, be mindful of their unique stressors. Don’t forget to check in with them, too.

If you are a manager, remember to take care of yourself and check in with your own manager about your own wellbeing.

2.1 Balance wellbeing and performance in a virtual team context

30 Minutes

1. Brainstorm and list current practices and challenges connected to wellbeing on your teams.
2. Choose one or two wellbeing challenges that are most relevant for your team.
   
3. Discuss as a group and identify one solution for each challenge that you can put into action with your own virtual team. Document this under “Action plan to move forward” on the workbook slide “2.1 Balancing wellbeing and performance in a virtual team context.”

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• Current practices and challenges connected to wellbeing

Output

• Action plan for each challenge listed

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Section 2.2

Managing performance in a virtual team context

Virtual employees are craving more meaningful interactions with their managers

A survey indicated that, overall, remote employees showed less satisfaction with manager interactions compared to other non-remote employees.

1. 16% less likely to strongly agree their manager involves them in setting goals at work.
2. 28% less likely to strongly agree they continually work with their manager to clarify work priorities.
3. 29% less likely to strongly agree they have reviewed their greatest successes with their manager in the last six months.
4. 30% less likely to strongly agree they have talked with their manager about progress toward goals in the last six months.

Speaker’s Notes:

In many cases, we have put people into virtual roles because they are self-directed and self-motivated workers who can thrive with the kind of autonomy and flexibility that comes with virtual work. As managers, we should expect many of these workers to be proactively interested in how they are performing and in developing their careers.

It would be a mistake to take a hands-off approach when managing virtual workers. A recent survey indicated that, overall, remote employees showed less satisfaction with manager interactions compared to other non-remote employees. It was also one of the aspects of their work experience they were least satisfied with overall (Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017). Simply put, virtual employees are craving more meaningful conversations with their managers.

While conversations about performance and development are important for all employees (virtual or non-virtual), managers of remote teams can have a significant positive impact on their virtual employees’ experience and engagement at work by making efforts to improve their involvement and support in these areas.

During this module we will work together to identify ways that each of us can improve how we manage the performance of our virtual employees. At the end of the module everyone will create an action plan that they can put in place with their own teams. In the next module, we go through a similar set of activities to create an action plan for our interactions with employees about their development.

Building blocks of performance management

• Goal Setting

• Setting Expectations

• Measuring Progress

• Feedback & Coaching

Speaker’s Notes:

[Include a visualization of your existing performance management process in the slide. Walk the participants through the process to remind them of what is expected. While the managers participating in the training should know this, there may be different understandings of it, or it might just be the case that it’s been a while since people looked at the official process. The intention here is merely to ensure everyone is on the same page for the purposes of the activities that follow.]

Now that we’ve reviewed performance management at a high level, let’s dive into what is currently happening with the performance management of virtual teams.

I know that you have some fairly extensive material at your organization around how to manage performance. This is fantastic. And we’re going to focus mainly on how things change in a virtual context.

When measuring progress, how do you as a manager make sure that you are comfortable not seeing your team physically at their desks? This is the biggest challenge for remote managers.

2.2 Share current performance management practices for virtual teams

30 Minutes

1. Brainstorm and list current high-level performance management practices connected to each building block. Record in your workbook.
2. Discuss current challenges connected to implementing the building blocks with virtual employees.

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• Current performance management practices
• Challenges surrounding performance management

Output

• Current state of virtual performance management defined

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Communicate the “why”: Cascade organizational goals

Speaker’s Notes:

When assisting your employees with their goals, think about the organization’s overall mission and goals to help you determine team and individual goals.

• Organizational goals: Employee goals should align with organizational goals. Goals may cascade down through the organization.
• Department or team goals: Create a clear strategy based on high-level goals for the year so employees can link short-term goals to the larger picture.
• Individual goals: Employees should draw on their individual development plan to help set performance goals.

Sometimes it’s difficult to get employees thinking about goals and they need assistance from managers. It’s also important to be clear on team goals to help guide employees in setting individual ones.

The basic idea is to show people how their individual day-to-day work contributes to the overall success of the organization. It gives them a sense of purpose and a rationale, which translates to motivation. And also helps them problem solve with more autonomy.

You’re giving people a sense of the importance of their own contribution.

How to set clear expectations for job performance

Ensure employees have a clear understanding of what’s expected for their role:

1. Review their metrics so they understand how they’re being evaluated.
2. Outline daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals.
3. If needed, help them plan when and how each part of their job should be done and what to prioritize.
4. Ask them to come to you early if they experience a roadblock so that you can help rather than having them flounder on their own.
5. Document instances where employees aren’t meeting role or performance expectations.

Speaker’s Notes:

Tailor performance goals to address any root causes of poor performance.

For example:

• If personal factors are getting in the way, work with the employee (and HR if necessary) to create a strategy to address any impediments to performing in the role.

Tips for managing performance remotely

• Reflect on one key question: What needs to happen for my direct reports to continue their work while working remotely?
• Manage for results – not employee visibility at the office.
• Use metrics to measure performance. If you don’t have any, define tasks and deliverables as clearly as possible and conduct regular check-ins.
• Work with the employee to set goals and metrics to measure progress.

Focus on results: Be flexible about how and when work gets done, as long as team members are hitting their targets.

• For example, if they have childcare duties from 3 to 5pm during school closures and want to work later in the evening to make up the time, that’s fine – as long as the work gets done.
• Set clear expectations about which work must be done during normal work hours (e.g. attend team meetings, client calls) and which can be done at other hours.
• Team members must arrange with you any nonstandard working hours before they start using an altered schedule. It is your responsibility to keep track of hours and any alternate arrangements.
• Don’t make team members feel constantly monitored (i.e. “Where were you from 10 to 11am?”); trust them until you have reason not to.

Encourage your team members to unplug: If they’re sending you emails late at night and they haven’t made an alternate work hours agreement with you, encourage them to take time away from work.

• It’s harder to unplug when working at home, and everyone needs a break to stay productive.

Avoid micromanagement with holistic performance measures

Quality

How well tasks are accomplished

Behavior

Related to specific employee actions, skills, or attitudes

Quantity

How much work gets done

Holistic measures demonstrate all the components required for optimal performance. This is the biggest driver in having comfort as a manager of a remote team and avoiding micromanagement. Typically these are set at the organizational level. You may need to adjust for individual roles, etc.

Speaker's Notes:

Metrics come in different types. One way to ensure your metrics capture the full picture is to use a mix of different kinds of metrics.

Some metrics are quantitative: they describe quantifiable or numerical aspects of the goal. This includes timeliness. On the other hand, qualitative metrics have to do with the final outcome or product. And behavioral metrics have to do with employees' actions, skills, or attitudes. Using different kinds of metrics together helps you set holistic measures, which capture all the components of optimal performance toward your goal and prevent gaming the system.

Let's take an example:

A courier might have an objective to do a good job delivering packages. An example of a quantitative measure might be that the courier is required to deliver X number of packages per day on time. The accompanying metrics would be the number of packages delivered per day and the ratio of packages delivered on time vs. late.

Can you see a problem if we use only these quantitative measures to evaluate the courier's performance?

Wait to see if anyone volunteers an answer. Discuss suggestions.

That's right, if the courier's only goal is to deliver more packages, they might start to rush, may ruin the packages, and may offer poor customer service. We can help to guard against this by implementing qualitative and behavioral measures as well. For example, a qualitative measure might be that the courier is required to deliver the packages in mint condition. And the metric would be the number of customer complaints about damaged packages or ratings on a satisfaction survey related to package condition.

For the behavioral aspect, the courier might be required to provide customer-centric service with a positive attitude. The metrics could be ratings on customer satisfaction surveys related to the courier's demeanor or observations by the manager.

Managing poor performance virtually: Look for key signs

It’s crucial to acknowledge that an employee might have an “off week” or need time to balance work and life – things that can be addressed with performance management (PM) techniques. Managers should move into the process for performance improvement when:

1. Performance fluctuates frequently or significantly.
2. Performance has dropped for an extended period of time.
3. Expectations are consistently not being met.

Key signs to look for:

• PM data/performance-related assessments
• Continual absences
• Decreased quality or quantity of output
• Frequent excuses (e.g. repeated internet outages)
• Lack of effort or follow-through
• Missed deadlines
• Poor communication or lack of responsiveness
• Failure to improve

Speaker’s notes:

• Let’s talk more about identifying low performance.
• Everybody has off days or weeks. And what if they are new to the role or new to working remotely? Their performance may be low because they need time to adjust. These sort of situations should be managed, but they don’t require moving into the process for performance improvement.
• When managing employees who are remote or working in a hybrid situation, it is important to be alert to these signs and check in with your employees on a regular basis. Aim to identify and work with employees on addressing performance issues as they arise rather than waiting until it’s too late. Depending on your availability, the needs of the employee, and the complexity of their role, check-ins could occur daily, weekly, and/or monthly. As I mentioned, for remote employees, it’s often better to check-in more frequently but for a shorter period of time.
• You want to be present in their work life and available to help them manage through roadblocks and stay on track, but try to avoid over-monitoring employees. Micromanaging can impact the manager-employee relationship and lead to the employee feeling that there is a lack of trust. Remember, the employee needs to be responsible for their own performance and improvement.
• Check-ins should not just be about the work either. Take some time to check in personally. This is particularly important when managing remotely. It enables you to build a personal relationship with the employee and also keeps you aware if there are other personal issues at play that are impacting their work.
• So, how do you know what does require performance improvement? There are three key things that you should look for that are clear signals that performance improvement is necessary:
  1. Their performance is fluctuating frequently or significantly.
  2. Their performance has dropped for an extended period of time.
  3. Expectations are consistently not being met.
• What do you think are some key signs to look for that indicate a performance issue is occurring?

Managing poor performance virtually: Conducting remote performance conversations

Video calling

Always use video calls instead of phone calls when possible so that you don’t lose physical cues and body language.

Meeting invitations

Adding HR/your leader to a meeting invite about performance may cause undue stress. Think through who needs to participate and whether they need to be included in the invite itself.

Communication

Ensure there are no misunderstandings by setting context for each discussion and having the employee reiterate the takeaways back to you.

Focus on behavior

Don’t assume the intent behind the behavior(s) being discussed. Instead, just focus on the behavior itself.

Policies

Be sure to adhere to any relevant HR policies and support systems. Working with HR throughout the process will ensure none are overlooked.

Speaker’s notes:

There are a few best practices you should follow when having performance conversations:

• First, if you are in a different work environment than your employee, always use video calls instead of phone calls whenever possible so that you don’t miss out on physical cues and body language. If videoconferencing isn’t the norm, encourage them to turn on their video. Be empathic that it can feel awkward but explain the benefits, and you will both have an easier time communicating and understanding each other.
• As I’ve mentioned, be considerate of the environment they are in. If they are in the office and you are working remotely, be sure to book a private meeting room for them to go to for the conversation. If they are working from home, be sure to check that they are prepared and able to focus on the conversation.
• Next, carefully consider who you are adding to the meeting invite and whether it’s necessary for them to be there. Adding HR or your leader to a meeting invite may cause undue stress for the employee.
• Consider the timing of the invite. Don’t send it out weeks in advance. When a performance problem exists, you’ll want to address it as soon as possible. A day or two of notice would be an ideal approach because it gives them a heads up but will not cause them extended stress or worrying.
• Be considerate about the timing of the meeting and what else they may have scheduled. For example, a Friday afternoon before they are heading off on vacation or right before they are leading an important client call would not be appropriate timing.
• As we just mentioned clear communication is critical. Ensure there are no misunderstandings by setting context for each discussion and having the employee reiterate takeaways back to you.
• Focus on the behavior and don’t assume their intent. It can be tempting to say, “I know you didn’t mean to miss the deadline,” but you don’t know what they intended. Often people are not aware of the impact their behavior can have on others.
• Lastly, be sure to adhere to any relevant HR policies and support systems. Working with HR throughout the process will ensure nothing is overlooked.

2.3 Identify challenges of current practices and propose solutions

30 Minutes

1. Select one or two challenges from the previous activity.
2. Identify one solution for each challenge that you can put into action with your own virtual team. Document in the workbook.

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• Current performance management practices
• Challenges surrounding performance management

Output

• Action plan to move forward

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Optional Section

Employee development in a virtual team setting

There are three main development approaches for both colocated and virtual employees

Speaker’s Notes:

As we have seen, our virtual employees crave more meaningful interactions with their managers. In addition to performance conversations, managers should also be having regular discussions with their employees about their employee development plans. One key component of these discussions is career planning. Whether you are thinking shorter term – how to become better at their current role – or longer term – how to advance beyond their current role – discussions about employee development are a great way to engage employees. Employees are ultimately responsible for creating and executing their own development plans, but managers are responsible for making sure that employees have thought through these plans and helping employees identify opportunities for executing those plans.

To help us think about our own employee development practices, identify challenges they pose when working with virtual employees, and create solutions to these challenges, it is useful to think about employee development opportunities according to three types:

1. The first kind of development opportunity is formal training. Formal training is organized and has a clearly defined curriculum and desired outcome. It usually takes the form of a group training session (like this one) or training videos or materials that employees can watch individually and on their own time. These opportunities usually end with a test or assignment that can be used to evaluate the degree to which the participant achieved the desired learning outcomes.
2. The second kind of development opportunity is relational learning. Perhaps the most common form of this type of learning is coaching or mentoring. By establishing a long-term work relationship, checking in with employees about their daily work and development goals, and sharing their own experiences and knowledge, mentors help employees reflect and draw out learning from everyday, on-the-job development activities. Other examples include a peer support group or communities of practice. In these group settings peers share best practices and work together to overcome challenges.
3. The third kind of development opportunity is experiential learning. This kind of opportunity provides employees the chance to work on real work problems, and the output of the development work can directly benefit the organization. Most people learn best by doing. On-the-job experiences that are challenging or new can force people to use and develop new skills and knowledge based on what worked effectively and what failed. Examples of experiential learning are on-the-job learning for new hires, stretch assignments, or special projects that take the employee beyond their daily routine and allow them to try new activities and develop competencies that they would not have the chance to develop as part of their regular job.

According to McLean & Company, organizations should use the “70-20-10” rule as a rough guideline when working with employees to create their development plans: 10% of the plan should be dedicated to formal training opportunities, 20% to relational learning, and 70% to experiential learning. Managers should work with employees to identify their performance and career goals, ensure that their development plans are aligned with these goals, and include an appropriate mixture of all three kinds of development opportunities.

To help identify challenges and solutions, think about how virtual work arrangements will impact the employee’s ability to leverage each type of opportunity at our organization.

Here are some examples that can help us start thinking about the kinds of challenges virtual employees on our team face:

Career Planning

• One challenge can be identifying a career path that is consistent with working virtually. If switching from a virtual arrangement to an onsite arrangement is not a viable option for an employee, some career paths may not feasibly be open to them (at least as the company is currently organized). For example, if an employee would eventually like to be promoted to a senior leadership role in their business function but all senior leaders are required to work onsite at corporate headquarters, the employee will need to consider whether such a move is possible for them. In some cases employees may be willing to do this, but in others they may not. The important thing is to have these conversations with virtual employees and avoid the assumption that all career paths can be done virtually, since that might not be the case

Formal Training

• This is probably the least problematic form of employee development for virtual employees. In many cases this kind of training is scheduled well in advance, so virtual employees may be able to join non-virtual employees in person for some group training. When this is not possible (due to distance, budget, or time zone), many forms of group training can be recorded and watched by virtual employees later. Training videos and training materials can also easily be shared with virtual employees using existing collaboration software.

Relational Learning

• One major challenge here is developing a mentoring relationship virtually. As we discussed in the module on performance management, developing relationships virtually can be challenging because people cannot rely upon the kind of informal and spontaneous interactions that occur when people are located in the same office. Mentors and mentees will have to put in more effort and planning to get to know each other and they will have to schedule frequent check-ins so that employees can reflect upon their progress and experience (with the help of their mentors) more often.
• Time zones and technology may pose potential barriers for certain candidates to be mentors. In some cases, employees that are best qualified to be mentors may not be as comfortable with collaborative software as other mentors or their mentees. If there are large time zone differences, some people who would otherwise be interested in acting as a mentor may be dissuaded. Managers need to take this into consideration if they are connecting employees with mentors or if they are thinking of taking on the mentor role themselves.

Experiential Learning

• Virtual employees risk being overlooked for special projects due to the “out of sight, out of mind” bias: When special projects come up, the temptation is to look around the room and see who is the best fit. The problem is, however, that in some cases the highest performers or best fit may not physically be in the room. In these cases it is important for managers to take on an advocate role for their employees and remind other managers that they have good virtual employees on their team that should be included or contacted. It is also important for managers to keep their team informed about these opportunities as often as possible.
• Sometimes certain projects or certain kinds of work just cannot be done virtually in a company for a variety of reasons. The experiential learning opportunities will not be open to virtual employees. If such opportunities are open to the majority of other workers in this role (potentially putting virtual employees’ career development at a disadvantage relative to their peers), managers should work with their virtual employees to identify alternative experiences. Managers may also want to consider advocating for more or for higher quality experiential learning opportunities at the organization.

Now that we have considered some general examples of challenges and solutions, let’s look at our own employee development practices and think about the practical steps we can take as managers to improve employee development for our virtual employees.

Employee development basics

• Career planning & performance improvement
• Formal training
• Relational learning
• Experiential learning

Speaker’s Notes:

[Customize this slide according to your organization’s own policies and processes for employee development. Provide useful images that outline this on the slide, and in these notes describe the processes/policies that are in place. Note: In some cases policies or processes may not be designed with virtual employees or virtual teams in mind. That is okay for the purposes of this training module. In the following activities participants will discuss how they apply these policies and processes with their virtual teams. If your organization is interested in adapting its policies/processes to better support virtual workers, it may be useful to record those conversations to supplement existing policies later.]

Now that we have considered some general examples of challenges and solutions, let’s look at our own employee development practices and think about the practical steps we can take as managers to improve employee development for our virtual employees.

2.4 Share current practices for developing employees on a virtual team

30 Minutes

1. Brainstorm and list current high-level employee development practices. Record in your workbook.
2. Discuss current challenges connected to developing virtual employees. Record in your workbook.
3. Identify one solution for each challenge that you can put into action with your own virtual team.
4. Discuss as a group.

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• Current employee development practices
• Challenges surrounding employee development

Output

• Action plan to move forward

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Refine Action Plans

2.5 Refine your action plan and commit to implementing it

30 Minutes

1. Review your action plans for consistency and overlap. Highlight any parts you may struggle to complete.
2. Meeting with your group, summarize your plans to each other. Provide feedback and discuss each other’s action plans.
3. Discuss how you can hold each other accountable.

Download the Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Input

• Action items from previous activities.

Output

• Action plan to move forward

Materials

• Workbook: Equip Managers to Effectively Manage Virtual Teams

Participants

• All managers with direct reports working virtually

Summary of Accomplishment

• We do not need to go out and learn a new set of manager responsibilities to better manage our virtual teams; rather, we have to “dial up” certain responsibilities we already have or adjust certain approaches that we already take.
• It is important to set clear expectations. While managers are ultimately responsible for making sure expectations are set and are clearly communicated, they are not the only ones with responsibilities. Employees and managers need to work together to overcome the challenges that virtual work involves.
• Virtual employees crave meaningful interactions with their managers and team. Managers must take charge in fostering an atmosphere of openness around wellbeing and establish effective performance management strategies. By being proactive with our virtual teams’ wellness and mindful of our performance management habits, we can take significant steps toward keeping these employees engaged and productive.
• Effective management in virtual contexts requires being more deliberate than is typical in non-virtual contexts. By working as a group to identify challenges and propose solutions, we have helped each other create action plans that we can use going forward to continually improve our management practices.

If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through an info-tech workshop or guided implementation.

Contact your account representative for more information

workshops@infotech.com

1-888-670-8889

Speaker’s Notes:

First, let’s take a moment to summarize the key things we have learned today:

1. We do not need to go out and learn a new set of manager competencies to better manage our virtual teams; rather, we have to “dial up” certain competencies we already have or adjust certain approaches that we already take. In many cases we just need to be more aware of the challenges that virtual communication poses and be more planful in our approaches.
2. It is important to set clear expectations. While managers are ultimately responsible for making sure expectations are set and clearly communicated, they are not the only ones with responsibilities. Employees and managers need to work together to overcome the challenges that virtual work involves. Making sure that teams have meaningful conversations about expectations, come to a shared understanding of them, and record them will create a firm foundation for all other interactions on the virtual team.
3. Virtual employees crave meaningful interactions with their managers related to performance and employee development. By creating action plans for improving these kinds of interactions with our teams, we can take significant steps toward keeping these employees engaged and productive.
4. Effective performance management and employee development in virtual contexts require more planfulness than is required in non-virtual contexts. By working as a group to identify challenges and propose solutions, we have helped each other create action plans that we can use going forward to continually improve our management practices.

Is there anything that anyone has learned that is not on this list and that they would like to share with the group?

Finally, were there any challenges identified today that were not addressed?

[Note to facilitator: Take note of any challenges not addressed and commit to getting back to the participants with some suggested solutions.]

Additional resources

Manager Training: Lead Through Change

Train managers to navigate the interpersonal challenges associated with change management and develop their communication and leadership skills. Upload this LMS module into your learning management system to enable online training.

Manager Training: Build a Better Manager: Manage Your People

Management skills training is needed, but organizations are struggling to provide training that makes a long-term difference in the skills managers use in their day to day.

Many training programs are ineffective because they offer the wrong content, deliver it in a way that is not memorable, and are not aligned with the IT department’s business objectives.

Blueprint: Manage Poor Performance While Working From Home

Assess and improve remote work performance with our ready-to-use tools.

Works Cited

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Banerjea, Peter. “5 Powerful Strategies for Managing a Remote Sales Team.” Badger - Maps for field sales, n.d. Web.

Bibby, Adrianne. “5 Employers’ Awesome Quotes about Work Flexibility.” FlexJobs, 9 January 2017. Web.

Brogie, Frank. “The 14 KPIs every field sales rep should strive to improve.” Repsly, 2018. Web.

Dunn, Julie. “5 smart tips for leading field sales teams.” LevelEleven, March 2015. Web.

Edinger, Scott. “How great sales leaders coach.” Forbes, 2013. Web.

“Employee Outlook: Employee Views on Working Life.” CIPD, April 2016. Web.

Hall, Becki. “The 5 biggest challenges facing remote workers (and how to solve them).” interact, 7 July 2017. Web.

Hofstede, Geert. “National Cultural Dimensions.” Hofstede Insights, 2012. Web.

“Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2014 (EPA 430-R-16-002).” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 15 April 2016.

“Latest Telecommuting Statistics.” Global Workplace Analytics, June 2021. Web.

Knight, Rebecca. “How to manage remote direct reports.” Harvard Business Review, 2015. Web.

“Rewards and Recognition: 5 ways to show remote worker appreciation.” FurstPerson, 2019. Web.

Palay, Jonathan. "How to build your sales management cadence." CommercialTribe, 22 March 2018. Web.

“Sales Activity Management Matrix.” Asian Sales Guru, 2019. Web.

Smith, Simone. “9 Things to Consider When Recognizing Remote Employees.” hppy, 2018. Web.

“State of Remote Work 2017.” OWL Labs, 2021. Web.

“State of the American Workplace.” Gallup, 2017. Web.

“Telework Savings Potential.” Global Workplace Analytics, June 2021. Web.

“The Future of Jobs Employment Trends.” World Economic Forum, 2016. Web.

“The other COVID-19 crisis: Mental health.” Qualtrics, 14 April 2020. Web.

Thompson, Dan. “The straightforward truth about effective sales leadership.” Sales Hacker, 2017. Web.

Tsipursky, Gleb. “Remote Work Can Be Better for Innovation Than In-Person Meetings.” Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2021. Web.

Walsh, Kim. “New sales manager? Follow this guide to crush your first quarter.” HubSpot, May 2019. Web.

“What Leaders Need to Know about Remote Workers: Surprising Differences in Workplace Happiness and Relationships.” TINYpulse, 2016.

Zenger, Jack, and Joe Folkman. “Feedback: The Leadership Conundrum.” Talent Quarterly: The Feedback Issue, 2015.

Contributors

Anonymous CAMH Employee

Select an Enterprise Application

Selecting a best-fit solution requires balancing needs, cost, and vendor capability.

Analyst Perspective

A foundational EAS strategy is critical to decision-making.

Enterprise application software (EAS) is a core tool that a business leverages to accomplish its goals. An EAS that is doing its job well is invisible to the business. The challenges come when the tool is no longer invisible. It has become a source of friction in the functioning of the business.

EAS systems are expensive, their benefits are difficult to quantify, and they often suffer from poor user satisfaction. Post-implementation, technology evolves, organizational goals change, and the health of the system is not monitored. This is complicated in today’s digital landscape with multiple integration points, siloed data, and competing priorities.

Too often organizations jump into selecting replacement systems without understanding the needs of the organization. Alignment between business and IT is just one part of the overall strategy. Identifying key pain points and opportunities, assessed in the light of organizational strategy, will provide a strong foundation to the transformation of the EAS system. Learning about different vendor product offerings with a rigorous approach and evaluation framework will pave way for a better selection outcome.

Hong Kwok
Research Director
Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

Info-Tech Insight
Accountability for EAS success is shared between IT and the business. There is no single owner of an EAS. A unified approach to building your strategy promotes an integrated roadmap so all stakeholders have clear direction on the future state.

You are not just picking a piece of software, you are choosing a long-term technology partner

Decision making in selection often stands on functional fit; don’t forget to consider vendor fit.

As the ERP technology market becomes increasingly saturated and difficult to decode, vendors are trying to get ahead by focusing on building a partnership, not just making a sale.

68 % of organizations are satisfied with the overall ERP vendor experience, up from 54% in 2017.

Panorama Consulting Solutions, “Report,” 2018

What is an Enterprise Application?

Our Definition: Enterprise Application Software (EAS) is a large software system that provides a broad and integrated set of features which supports a range of business operations and processes across an organization. The system is broadly deployed, provides a unified interface and data structure, allowing for higher business productivity and reporting efficiencies. Best known EAS solutions include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Human Resource Information System (HRIS), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

More focused EAS solutions may also bring benefits to your organization, depending on the scale of operations, complexity of operations, and functions. Here are some examples:

PSA: Professional Services Automation
SCMS: Supply Chain Management System
WMS: Warehouse Management System
EAM: Enterprise Asset Management
PIMS: Product Information Management System
MES: Manufacturing Execution System
MA: Marketing Automation

Our other Selection Framework

When selecting personal or commodity applications, or mid-tier applications with spend below $100,000, use our Rapid Application Selection Framework.

Download this tool

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

What is EPR

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems facilitate the flow of information across business units. They allow for the seamless integration of systems and create a holistic view of the enterprise to support decision making.

In many organizations, the ERP system is considered the lifeblood of the enterprise. Problems with this key operational system will have a dramatic impact on the ability of the enterprise to survive and grow.

An ERP system:

• Automates processes, reducing the amount of manual, routine work.
• Integrates with core modules, eliminating the fragmentation of systems.
• Centralizes information for reporting from multiple parts of the value chain to a single point.

Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

What is HRIS?

An HRIS is used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute information regarding an organization’s human resources. HRIS covers the entire employee lifecycle from recruit to retire.

An HRIS:

• Retains employee data in a single repository.
• Enhances employee engagement through self-service and visibility into their records.
• Enhances data security through role-based access control.
• Eliminates manual processes and enables workflow automation.
• Reduces transaction processing time and HR administrative tasks.
• Presents an end-to-end, comprehensive view of all HR processes.
• Reduces exposure to risk with compliance to rules and regulations.
• Enhances the business’s reporting capability on various aspects of human capital.

Customer relationship management (CRM)

What is CRM?

A CRM platform (or suite) is a core enterprise application that provides a broad feature set for supporting customer interaction processes, typically across marketing, sales and customer service. These suites supplant more basic applications for customer interaction management (such as the contact management module of an ERP or office productivity suite).

A CRM suite provides many key capabilities, including but not limited to:

• Account management
• Order history tracking
• Pipeline management
• Case management
• Campaign management
• Reports and analytics
• Customer journey execution

A CRM provides a host of native capabilities, but many organizations elect to tightly integrate their CRM solution with other parts of their customer experience ecosystem to provide a 360-degree view of their customers.

The good EAS numbers

There are many good reasons to support EAS implementation and use.

92% of organizations report that CRM use is important for accomplishing revenue objectives.
Source: Validity, 2020

Almost 26% of companies implement HRIS is to obtain greater functionalities, while other main reasons are to increase efficiencies, support growth, and consolidate systems.
Source: SoftwarePath, 2022

Functionality of an ERP is believed to be the most important aspect by almost 40% of companies.
Source: SelectHub, 2022

The ugly EAS numbers

Risks are high in EAS projects.

Statistical analysis of ERP projects indicates rates of failure vary from 50 to 70 percent. Taking the low end of those analyst reports, one in two ERP projects is considered a failure.
Source: Electric Journal of Information Systems Evaluation.

46% of HR technology projects exceed their planned timelines.
Source: Unleash, 2020

Almost 70% of all CRM implementation projects do not meet expected objectives.
Source: Future Computing and Informatics Journal

Enterprise Application dissatisfaction

Finance, IT, Sales, HR, and other users of the Enterprise Application system can only optimize with the full support of each other. Cooperation between departments is crucial when trying to improve the technology capabilities and customer interaction.

Info-Tech Insight
While technology is the key enabler of building strong customer experiences, there are many other drivers of dissatisfaction. IT must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the business to develop a technology framework for Enterprise Applications.

Case Study

Align strategy and technology to meet consumer demand.

NETFLIX

INDUSTRY
Entertainment

SOURCE
Forbes, 2017

Info-Tech’s methodology for selecting an Enterprise Application

Blueprint deliverables

Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

ERP/HRIS/CRM Requirements Template

Accelerate your requirement gathering with a pre-compiled list of common requirements.

RFx Demo Scoring Tool

Quickly compare the vendors who respond to the RFx to identify the best fit for your needs.

Key deliverable:

RFx templates

Use one of our templates to build a ready-for-distribution implementation partner RFx tailored to the unique success factors of your implementation.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options

Guided Implementation

A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

A typical GI is between six to ten calls over the course of four to six months.

What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

Workshop Overview

Contact your account representative for more information.
workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

Phase 1

Build alignment and assemble the Team

Phase 1
1.1 Enterprise Application Landscape
1.2 Validate Readiness
1.3 Determine Resourcing

Phase 2
1.1 Capability Mapping
1.2 Requirements Gathering Data Mapping
1.3 Requirements Prioritizing

Phase 3
3.1 Understanding Product Offerings
3.2 RFP & Demo Scripts
3.3 Evaluation
Select and Negotiate

Phase 4
4.1 Prepare for Implementation

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

Gain an understanding of recent EAS technology.

Validate readiness before starting EAS selection.

Assemble EAS selection team through identification of key players.

This phase involves the following participants:

Key stakeholders from the various areas of the business that will support the project, including:

• CxO (e.g. CIO, CFO)
• Departmental leaders
• Project management team
• Subject matter experts

Select an Enterprise Application

Create a compelling case that addresses strategic business objectives

When someone at the organization asks you WHY, you need to deliver a compelling case. The ERP project will receive pushback, doubt, and resistance; if you can’t answer the question WHY, you will be left back-peddling.

When faced with a challenge, prepare for the WHY.

• Why do we need this?
• Why are we spending all this money?
• Why are we bothering?
• Why is this important?
• Why did we do it this way?
• Why did we choose this vendor?

Most organizations can answer “What?”

Some organizations can answer “How?”

Very few organizations have an answer for “Why?”

Each stage of the project will be difficult and present its own unique challenges and failure points. Re-evaluate if you lose sight of WHY at any stage in the project.

Ensure you have completed the necessary prerequisites for EAS selection

Prior to embarking on selection, ensure you have set the right building blocks and completed the necessary prerequisites: your strategy and roadmap, and business case.

STRATEGY & ROADMAP
Whatever EAS is required, take the time to align your strategy and roadmap to business priorities. Right-size a technology strategy by assessing deployment model alternatives and future-state options with your EAS vision, operating model, and current-state assessment as inputs. Put your strategy to action with a living roadmap by following Info-Tech’s blueprint, Develop an Actionable Strategy and Roadmap.

EAS BUSINESS CASE
Use a business case to justify the business need for your EAS project and secure funding for moving forward with the proposal. A business case will further provide executive decision makers with the tools to compare and prioritize initiatives. Drive a consistent approach to promoting successful initiatives and holding the organization accountable to the projected benefits with Info-Tech’s blueprint, Reduce Time to Consensus With an Accelerated Business Case.

Align the EAS strategy with the corporate strategy

Info-Tech Insight
EAS projects are more successful when the management team understands the strategic importance and the criticality of alignment. Time needs to be spent upfront aligning business strategies with EAS capabilities. Effective alignment between IT and the business should happen daily. Alignment doesn’t just to occur at the executive level alone, but at each level of the organization.

Understand how EAS fits into your wider IT organization

Identify the IT drivers and opportunities to take advantage of when embarking on your EAS project.

Greenfield or brownfield: Do you currently have an EAS? Do you have multiple EASs? What is the history of your EAS deployment? How customized is it?

End of life: What lifecycle stage is it in?

Utilization: Are there point solutions in your application portfolio that support some EAS capabilities? Is functionality duplicated and/or underutilized?

Reason for change: What are your organizational drivers for this EAS project (e.g. acquisition/merger)?

APPLICATION PORTFOLIO STRATEGY

Business leaders need application managers to do more than support business operations. Applications must drive business growth, and application managers need their portfolios to be current and effective and to evolve continuously to support the business or risk being marginalized. Rationalize your applications with a roadmap that propels the business forward.

Go to this link

Before switching vendors, evaluate your existing EAS to see if it’s being underutilized or could use an upgrade

The cost of switching vendors can be challenging, but it will depend entirely on the quality of data and whether it makes sense to keep it.

• Achieving success when switching vendors first requires reflection. We need to ask why we are dissatisfied with our incumbent software.
• If the product is old and inflexible, the answer may be obvious, but don’t be afraid to include your incumbent in your evaluation if your issues might be solved with an upgrade.
• Look at your use-case requirements to see where you want to take the EAS solution and compare them to your incumbent’s roadmap. If they don’t match, switching vendors may be the only solution. If your roadmaps align, see if you’re fully leveraging the solution or will be able to start working through process improvements

Fully leveraging your current software now will have two benefits:

Source: SoftwareReviews, 2020; N=45,027

Info-Tech Insight
Switching vendors won’t improve poor internal processes. To be fully successful and meet the goals of the business case, new software implementations must be accompanied by process review and improvement.

Familiarize yourself with the EAS market

Info-Tech Insight
Evaluating the EAS vendor landscape is becoming increasingly difficult as the playing field evens out in terms of functionality offerings. As such, it is becoming increasingly important to more meticulously evaluate vendors themselves as part of the selection process. This is especially important in EAS projects, as they tend to be multi-year in nature and result in long-term vendor partnerships.

What types of Enterprise solutions are at my disposal?

IT leaders typically compare EAS on-premises with SaaS options, but there are actually four different deployment scenarios.

Info-Tech Insight
Cloud may apply in other ways to the EAS implementation. Most vendors offer particular EAS services delivered via the cloud. For example, some vendors offers CRM, project management, and payroll self-service as cloud-based options to augment on-premises ERP solutions.

Know when to adopt and when to bypass cloud EAS

Use the following guidelines to determine if your organization will benefit from the cloud, or if you should stick to a more traditional delivery model.

Info-Tech Insight
Knowing when to choose a cloud EAS deployment comes down to two main factors: knowing the level of complexity required by the business, and knowing the available IT resources that can be dedicated to support and manage EAS.

Consider 3 classic scenarios when evaluating cloud EAS

Cloud EAS should be considered by all organizations, but these scenarios present the strongest opportunity.

Make sure you are ready to proceed with selection

Organizational readiness is essential for maximizing the benefits realized from your ERP. Cover all critical elements of pre-work, resources, buy-in, and strategy and planning before embarking on ERP selection and/or implementation.

Pre-work
Current State Understanding
Business Process Improvement
Future State Vision

Resources
Project Team
Governance Structures
Third-Party Partners
Cost and Budget

Buy-in
Goals and Objectives
Exec Business Sponsorship
Stakeholder Engagement
Change Management

STRATEGY and PLANNING
ERP Strategy & Roadmap
Risk Management
Project Metrics

Without a preparedness assessment, organizations end up wasting a lot of time on resolving gaps in planning that could have been mitigated upfront, which ultimately makes the implementation project more challenging.
– Suanne McGrath-Kelly, President & Principal Consultant, Plan in Motion Inc., interviewed by Info-Tech, 2019.

Assess your EAS readiness before moving forward

To avoid common project pitfalls, complete the necessary prerequisites before proceeding with EAS. Consider whether the risks of proceeding unprepared fall within your organization’s risk tolerance. If they do not, pivot back to strategy.

1.2.1 Assess EAS selection readiness

1 – 2 hours

1. As a group, review Section 1 of the EAS Readiness Assessment Checklist with the core project team and/or project sponsor, item by item. For completed items, tick the corresponding checkbox. Document all incomplete items in the Readiness Remediation Plan table in the first column (“Incomplete Readiness Item”).
2. For each incomplete item, use your discretion to determine whether the completion is critical in preparation for EAS selection and implementation. This may vary given the complexity of your EAS project. If the item is critical to the project, indicate this with “Y” in the second column (“Criticality (Y/N)”).
3. For each critical item, reflect on the barriers that have prevented or are preventing its completion. Possible barriers include incomplete task dependencies, low value to effort determination, lack of organizational knowledge or resources, pressure of deadlines, etc. Document these barriers in the third column (“Barriers to Completion”).
4. Determine a remediation approach for each barrier identified. Document the approach in the fourth column (“Remediation Approach”).
1. For each remediation activity, designate a due date and remediation owner. Document this in the fifth column (“Due Date and Owner”).
2. Carry out the remediation of critical tasks and return to this blueprint to kick-start your selection and implementation project.

Download the EAS Readiness Assessment Checklist

Build a well-balanced core team to see the project through

Have a cross-departmental team define goals and objectives in order to significantly increase EAS success and improve communication.

• Hold a meeting with Finance, Operations, and IT stakeholders. The overall objective of the meeting is to confirm that all parties agree on the goals and metrics that gauge success of the EAS project.
• The kick-off process will significantly improve internal communications. Invite all impacted internal groups to work as a team to address any significant issues before the application process is formally activated.
• Set up a quarterly review process to understand changing needs. This will change the way the EAS system will be utilized.

“Each individual should understand at least one business area and have a hand in another.”
– Mark Earley
Senior Research Director,
Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Insight
An EAS selection and implementation requires more than just a procurement team. The core EAS project team should be cross-functional. .

Be ready with a resourcing strategy for your EAS project

EAS selection and implementation is a giant undertaking that can rarely be supported by internal resources alone.

It is important to understand where your organization’s resourcing gaps are when embarking on a selection and implementation project. Once gaps are identified, the amount of external support needed from vendor(s), consultants, or system integrators can be determined.

Select from the three most commonly used resourcing strategies for EAS selection and implementation projects:

• Implement in-house using your own staff.
• Implement using a combination of your own staff and professional services from the vendor(s) and/or system integrator (SI).
• Implement using professional services.

Build your implementation team

Prioritize members from your core selection team. They will have strong insight into the tool and its envisioned position in the organization.

General Roles

1. Integration Specialists
2. Solution or Enterprise Architects
3. QA Engineer
4. IT Service Management Team

External Roles

1. Vendor’s Implementation Team or Professional Services
2. Systems Integrator (SI)

Right-size the EAS selection team to ensure you get the right information but are still able to move ahead quickly

Full-Time Resourcing: At least one member of these five team members must be allocated to the selection initiative as a full-time resource.

Info-Tech Insight
It is critical for the selection team to determine who has decision rights. Organizational culture will play the largest role in dictating which team member holds the final say for selection decisions. For more information on stakeholder management and involvement, see this guide.

Complete the project timeline required during your selection phase

Include as many steps as necessary to understand, validate, and compare vendor solutions so you can make a confident, well-informed decision.

Use Info-Tech’s 15-Step Selection Process:

1. Initiate procurement.
2. Select procurement manager.
3. Prepare for procurement; check that prerequisites are met.
4. Select appropriate procurement vehicle (RFI, RFP, RFQ, etc.).
5. Assemble procurement teams.
6. Create procurement project plan.
7. Identify and notify vendors about procurement.
8. Configure procurement process.
9. Gather requirements.
10. Prioritize requirements.
11. Build the procurement documentation package.
12. Issue the procurement.
13. Evaluate proposals.
14. Evaluate vendor demos and reference checks.
15. Recommend a vendor.

Strengthen your procurement. If your organization lacks a clear selection process, refer to Info-Tech's Implement a Proactive and Consistent Vendor Selection Process research to help construct a formal process for procuring application technology.

Download the Implement a Proactive and Consistent Vendor Selection Process

Visualize what success looks like

Understand how success metrics are relevant at each stage of strategy formation by keeping the end in mind. Apply a similar thought model to your other success metrics for a holistic evaluation of your strategy.

Prove the value of your EAS through metrics

Establish baseline metrics early and measure throughout the project can iteratively prove the value of your EAS.

Improve baseline metrics through…

1. Increased help desk efficiency. Through training of personnel and increased efficiency of processes.
2. Increased level of self-service for end users. Implementation of functionality that matches business needs will increase the efficiency of functional business tasks.
3. Decreased time to escalation. Knowing when to escalate tasks sooner can decrease wasted effort by tier-one workers.
4. Automation of simple, repetitive tasks. Automation frees time for more important tasks.

1.3.1 Assemble EAS selection team

1 hour

1. Working as a group, list key players in the organization that should be in EAS selection team.
2. Determine the role of each member.
3. Define the level of commitment each member can have on the EAS selection team. Keep in mind their availabilities during the selection process.
4. Determine who has decision rights.

Phase 2

Define your EAS

Phase 1
1.1 Enterprise Application Landscape
1.2 Validate Readiness
1.3 Determine Resourcing

Phase 2
2.1 Capability Mapping
2.2 Requirements Gathering Data Mapping
2.3 Requirements Prioritizing

Phase 3
3.1 Understanding Product Offerings
3.2 RFP & Demo Scripts
3.3 Evaluation
Select and Negotiate

Phase 4
4.1 Prepare for
Implementation

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

Identifying business processes , inventory applications and data flows, gathering requirements and prioritizing them.

This phase involves the following participants:

Key stakeholders from the various areas of the business that will support the project including:

• CxO (e.g. CIO, CFO)
• Departmental leaders
• Project management team
• Subject matter experts
• Core project team

Select an Enterprise Application

Leverage Info-Tech’s requirements gathering framework to serve as the basis for capturing your CRM requirements

Info-Tech’s Requirements Gathering Framework is a comprehensive approach to requirements management that can be scaled to any size of project or organization. This framework ensures that the application created will capture the needs of all stakeholders and deliver business value. Don’t treat elicitation, analysis, and validation in isolation: planning, monitoring, communicating, and managing must permeate all three stages in order to avoid makeshift solutions.

Capability vs. process vs. feature

Understanding the difference

When examining HRMS optimization it is important to approach it from the appropriate layer.

Capability:

• The ability of an entity (e.g. organization or department) to achieve its objectives (APQC, 2017).
• An ability that an organization, person, or system possesses. They are typically expressed in general and high-level terms and typically require a combination of organization, people, processes, and technology to achieve (TOGAF).

Process:

• Processes can be manual or technology enabled. A process is a series of interrelated activities that convert inputs into results (outputs).
• Processes consume resources, require standards for repeatable performance, and respond to control systems that direct the quality, rate, and cost of performance. The same process can be highly effective in one circumstance and poorly effective in another with different systems, tools, knowledge, and people (APQC, 2017).

Feature:

• A distinguishing characteristic of a software item (e.g. performance, portability, or functionality) (IEEE, 2005).

In today’s complex organizations, it can be difficult to understand where inefficiencies stem from and how performance can be enhanced.

To fix problems and maximize efficiencies, organizations must examine business capabilities and processes to determine gaps and areas of lagging performance.

Info-Tech’s HRIS framework and industry tools such as the APQC’s Process Classification Framework can help make sense of this.

Process inventory

Business capability map (Level 0)

If you do not have a documented process model, you can use the APQC Framework to help define your inventory of business processes.
APQC’s Process Classification Framework is a taxonomy of cross-functional business processes intended to allow the objective comparison of organizational performance within and among organizations.

In business architecture, the primary view of an organization is known as a business capability map.

A business capability defines what a business does to enable value creation rather than how.

Business capabilities:

• Represent stable business functions.
• Are unique and independent of each other.
• Will typically have a defined business outcome.

A business capability map provides details that help the business architecture practitioner direct attention to a specific area of the business for further assessment.

EAS process mapping

The operating model

An operating model is a framework that drives operating decisions. It helps to set the parameters for the scope of EAS and the processes that will be supported. The operating model will serve to group core operational processes. These groupings represent a set of interrelated, consecutive processes aimed at generating a common output.

The value stream

Value stream defined:

Value streams connect business goals to the organization’s value realization activities in the marketplace. Those activities are dependent on the specific industry segment in which an organization operates.

There are two types of value streams: core and support.

• Core value streams are mostly external-facing. They deliver value to either external or internal customers and they tie to the customer perspective of the strategy map.
• Support value streams are internal-facing and provide the foundational support for an organization to operate.

An effective method for ensuring all value streams have been considered is to understand that there can be different end-value receivers.

2.1.1 List your key processes

1-3 hours

1. As a group, discuss the business capabilities, value streams, and business processes.
2. For each capability determine the following:
1. Is this capability applicable to our organization?
2. What application, if any, supports this capability?
3. Are there any missing capabilities to add?

Activity 2.1.1 – Process inventory

Gaining Enterprise Architecture Oversight during application selection yields better user satisfaction results

High satisfaction was defined as a response of 8, 9, or 10 from the overall recommendation question. Low satisfaction was 7 or less.

Source: SoftwareReviews, 2018

Map data flow

Example ERP data flow

When assessing the current application portfolio that supports your EAS, the tendency will be to focus on the applications under the EAS umbrella. These relate mostly to marketing, sales, and customer service. Be sure to include systems that act as input to, or benefit due to outputs from EAS or similar applications.

Be sure to include enterprise applications that are not included in the EAS application portfolio. Popular systems to consider for POIs include billing, directory services, content management, and collaboration tools.

Integration is paramount: your EAS application often integrates with other applications within the organization. Create an integration map to reflect a system of record and the exchange of data. To increase customer engagement, channel integration is a must (i.e. with robust links to unified communications solutions, email, and VoIP telephony systems).

Enterprise application landscape

2.1.2 Inventory applications and interactions

1-3 hours

1. Individually list all electronic systems involved in the EAS function of the organization.
2. Document data flows into and out of each system to the EAS. Refer to the example on the previous slides (ERP data flow) and sample Enterprise Application map.
3. Review the processes in place (look at each functional area, including data moving into and out of systems.) Document manual processes. Identify integration points. If flow charts exist for these processes, it may be useful to provide these to the participants.
4. If possible, diagram the system. Include information direction flow.

Understand how to navigate the complex web of stakeholders in ERP requirements gathering

Identify which stakeholders to include and what their level of involvement should be during requirements elicitation based on relevant topic expertise.

Stakeholder influence vs. interest

Large-scale EAS projects require the involvement of many stakeholders from all corners and levels of the organization, including project sponsors, IT, end users, and business stakeholders. Consider the influence and interest of stakeholders in contributing to the requirements elicitation process and involve them accordingly.

Extract functional and non-functional requirements from the customer interaction business process diagrams

Once the most significant processes have been mapped, the business requirements must be extracted from the maps and transformed into functional and non-functional requirements. The example below illustrates how to extract requirements from an insurance claim process for the Record Claim step.

2.2.1 Capture your EAS requirements

Time required varies

1. Focus groups of 10-20 individuals may be the best way to ensure complete coverage of business requirements for EAS. This group should be cross-functional, with manager- or director-level representation from the departments that have a vested interest in the EAS project.
2. Use your organization’s standard internal tools or download Info-Tech’s ERP Requirements Template, HRIS Requirements Template, or CRM Requirements Template.
3. Document the requirements from the elicitation sessions.

• The core team of business analysts should be present throughout, and the sessions should be led by an experienced facilitator (such as a senior business analyst).
• Requirements for EAS should focus on achieving the future state rather than replicating the current state.
• The facilitator should steer the team toward requirements that are solution-agnostic (i.e. not coached in terms of a particular vendor or product). Focus on customer and internal personas to help drive requirements.

Prioritize your EAS requirements to assist with the selection

Requirements prioritization ensures that the ERP selection project team focuses on the right requirements when putting together the RFP.

Prioritization is the process of ranking each requirement based on its importance to project success. Hold a meeting for the domain SMEs, implementation SMEs, project managers, and project sponsors to prioritize the requirements list. At the conclusion of the meeting, each requirement should be assigned a priority level. The implementation SMEs will use these priority levels to ensure efforts are targeted toward the proper requirements and to plan features available on each release.

Use the MoSCoW Model of Prioritization to effectively order requirements.

The MoSCoW model was introduced by Dai Clegg of Oracle UK in 1994. MindTools.

Base your prioritization on the right set of criteria

Effective prioritization criteria

2.3.1 Prioritize your solution requirements

Time required varies

1. Consolidate all duplicate requirements to form a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of functional and non-functional requirements.
2. Identify the significance of each requirement for your solution evaluation according to the MoSCoW model. Control the number of mandatory requirements you document. Too many mandatory requirements could create an unrealistic framework for evaluating solutions.
3. Categorize your requirements and delineate between functional (i.e. capabilities the system will be able to perform) and non-functional (i.e. environmental conditions of the system, such as technical and security requirements).

Identify which vendors’ product and capabilities meet your must-have requirements

Highlight must-haves in the RFP

• Once you have prioritized your business requirements for the EAS initiative, it is time to package them into an RFP.
• It is critical to highlight must-have requirements in the RFP document. Doing so immediately eliminates vendors who do not feel that their products are suitable for your needs.

WATCH OUT!

Many vendors will try to stretch their capabilities to fit your must-have requirements. Leverage vendor demos in the next stage of selection to quickly rule out products that do not cover your critical requirements.

Identify key process areas where you require vendor knowledge

Completing a process inventory and a list of EAS requirements often shows process areas that need updates and improvement. Take this opportunity to highlight areas where you would benefit from knowing about most recent best practices and technologies.

Inquire about these when engaging the vendor to know their level of knowledge and how their products work best in your industry.

General product knowledge requests are not enough. Be specific.

Determine the product knowledge areas that are specific to your implementation.

Identify the product knowledge that is required in relation to your implementation. This can include core product knowledge and should be related to larger infrastructure and organizational requirements.

More than just functional requirements

Info-Tech Insight
Be wary of sunsetting products! Selecting the EAS based on a good knowledge of the vendor’s roadmap allows for business operations to continue without having to repeat a selection and implementation project in the near future.

Dominant use-case scenarios for potential ERP solutions

While an organization may be both product- and service-centric, most organizations fall into one of the two categories.

Use case: Public sector

The service-centric ERP use case is suitable for most organizations in the public sector. With that in mind, consider ERP solutions that offer grant disbursements, fleet management, and staffing/resourcing capabilities.

EAS table stakes vs differentiating features

Make sure features align with your objectives first.

What are table stakes / standard features?

• For every type of EAS, such as ERP, HRIS, and CRM, certain features are standard, but that doesn’t mean they are all equal.
• The existence of features doesn’t guarantee quality or functionality to the standards you need. Never assume that yes in a features list means you don’t need to ask for a demo.

What is differentiating/additional feature?

• Differentiating features take two forms:
• Some platforms offer differentiating features that are vertical specific.
• Other platforms offer differentiating features that are considered cutting edge. These cutting-edge features may become table stakes over time.
• These features may increase productivity but also require process changes.

Info-Tech Insight
If table stakes are all you need from your EAS solution, the only true differentiator for the organization is price. Otherwise, dig deeper to find the best price to value for your needs. Remove the product from your shortlist if table stakes are not met!

Reign-In Ballooning Scope for EAS Selection Projects

Stretching the EAS beyond its core capabilities is a short-term solution for a long-term problem. Educate stakeholders about the limits of EAS technology.

Common pitfalls for EAS selection

• Tangential capabilities may require separate solutions. It is common for stakeholders to list features such as content management as part of the new EAS platform. While content management goes hand in hand with the EAS’s ability to manage customer interactions, document management is best handled by a standalone platform.

Keeping stakeholders engaged and in line

• Ballooning scope leads to stakeholder dissatisfaction. Appeasing stakeholders by over customizing the platform will lead to integration and headaches down the road.
• Make sure stakeholders feel heard. Do not turn down ideas in the midst of an elicitation session. Once the requirements gathering sessions are completed, the project team has the opportunity to mark requirements as “out of scope”, and communicate the reasoning behind the decision.
• Educate stakeholders on the core functionality of EAS. Many stakeholders do not know the best-fit use cases for EAS platforms. Help end users understand what EAS is good at, and where additional technologies will be needed.

Phase 3

Engage, Evaluate, and Finalize Selection

Phase 1
1.1 Enterprise Application Landscape
1.2 Validate Readiness
1.3 Determine Resourcing

Phase 2
2.1 Capability Mapping
2.2 Requirements Gathering Data Mapping
2.3 Requirements Prioritizing

Phase 3
3.1 Understanding Product Offerings
3.2 RFP & Demo Scripts
3.3 Evaluation Select and Negotiate

Phase 4
4.1 Prepare for Implementation

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

In this phase of the project, you will review your RFx and build an initial list of vendors/implementors to reach out to. The final step is to build your evaluation checklist for rating the incoming responses.

This phase involves the following participants:

Key stakeholders from the various areas of the business that will support the project including:

• Evaluation team
• Vendor management team
• Project management team
• Core project team

Select an Enterprise Application

Products and vendors demystified

Knowing who can provide the solution will shorten the selection process and provide the most suitable set of features.

Info-Tech Insight
Selecting an Enterprise Application is much more than just selecting a software or product; it is selecting a long-term platform and partner to help achieve long-term strategic goals. Refer to our blueprint Select an ERP Implementation Partner.

Consolidating the vendor shortlist up-front reduces downstream effort

Put the “short” back in shortlist!

• Radically reduce effort by narrowing the field of potential vendors earlier in the selection process. Too many organizations don’t funnel their vendor shortlist until near the end of the selection process. The result is wasted time and effort evaluating options that are patently not a good fit.
• Leverage external data (such as SoftwareReviews) and expert opinion to consolidate your shortlist into a smaller number of viable vendors before the investigative interview stage, and eliminate time spent evaluating dozens of RFP responses.
• Having fewer RFP responses to evaluate means you will have more time to do greater due diligence.

Review your use cases to start your shortlist

Your Info-Tech analysts can help you narrow down the list of vendors that will meet your requirements.

Next steps will include:

1. Reviewing your requirements.
2. Checking out SoftwareReviews.
3. Creating the RFP.
4. Conducting demos and detailed proposal reviews.
5. Selecting and contracting with a finalist!

Evaluate software category leaders through vendor rankings and awards

SoftwareReviews

The Data Quadrant is a thorough evaluation and ranking of all software in an individual category to compare platforms across multiple dimensions.

Vendors are ranked by their Composite Score, based on individual feature evaluations, user satisfaction rankings, vendor capability comparisons, and likeliness to recommend the platform.

The Emotional Footprint is a powerful indicator of overall user sentiment toward the relationship with the vendor, capturing data across five dimensions.

Vendors are ranked by their Customer Experience (CX) Score, which combines the overall Emotional Footprint rating with a measure of the value delivered by the solution.

Speak with category experts to dive deeper into the vendor landscape

Fact-based reviews of business software from IT professionals.

Product and category reports with state-of-the-art data visualization.

Top-tier data quality backed by a rigorous quality assurance process.

User-experience insight that reveals the intangibles of working with a vendor.

SoftwareReviews is powered by Info-Tech.

Technology coverage is a priority for Info-Tech, and SoftwareReviews provides the most comprehensive unbiased data on today’s technology. The insights of our expert analysts provide unparalleled support to our members at every step of their buying journey.

CLICK HERE to access SoftwareReviews

Comprehensive software reviews to make better IT decisions.

We collect and analyze the most detailed reviews on enterprise software from real users to give you an unprecedented view into the product and vendor before you buy.

Case Study

Manufacturer and retailer utilizes Info-Tech for goal of unifying four separate ERP systems

INDUSTRY
Manufacturing

SOURCE
Info-Tech Consulting

Strengthen your RFP process with a thorough review

Drive better sourcing outcomes.

A quality SOW is the result of a quality RFI/RFP (RFx).

Use Info-Tech’s RFP Review as a Service to review key items and ensure your RFP will generate quality responses and SOWs.

• Is it well structured, with a consistent use of fonts and bullets?
• Is it laid out in sections that are easily identifiable and that progress from high-level to more detailed information?
• Can a vendor quickly identify the ten (or fewer) things that are most important to you?

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3.2.1 Prepare the RFP

1-2 hours

1. Download Info-Tech’s ERP Request for Proposal Template or prepare internal best-practice RFP tools.
2. Build your RFP.
1. Complete the statement of work and general information sections to provide organizational context to your long-listed vendors.
2. Outline the organization’s procurement instructions for vendors, including due diligence, assessment criteria, and dates.
3. Input the business requirements document as created in Activity 1.3.1.
4. Create a scenario overview to provide vendors with an opportunity to give an estimated price.
3. Obtain approval for your RFP. Each organization has a unique procurement process; follow your own organization’s process as you submit your RFPs to vendors. Ensure compliance with your organization’s standard and gain approval for submitting your RFP.

Download the ERP Request for Proposal Template

Streamline your evaluation of vendor responses

Use Info-Tech’s ERP Vendor Response Template to standardize vendor responses.

• Vendors tend to use their own standard templates when responding, which complicates evaluations.
• Customize Info-Tech’s ERP Vendor Response Template to adjust for the scope and content of your project; input your organization’s procurement process and ERP requirements.
• The template is meant to streamline the evaluation of vendor responses by ensuring you achieve comprehensiveness and consistency across all vendor responses. The template requires vendors to prove their organizational viability, understanding of the problem, and tested technology and implementation methodologies.

Sections of the tool:

1 Executive Summary

2 About the Vendor

3 Understanding of the Challenge

4 Methodology

5 Proposed Solution

6 Project Plan and Timeline

7 Vendor Qualifications

8 References

9 Additional Value-Added Services

10 Additional Value-Added Goods

For an explanation of how advanced features are determined, see Information Presentation – Feature Ranks (Stoplights) in the Appendix.

What to look in vendor responses

Vendor responses to an RFP can be very revealing about whether their product offering aligns with your EAS roadmap.

Validate the vendor responses so that there are no misunderstandings with their offer. Here are key items to validate.

3.2.2 Build a vendor response template

1-2 hours

1. Download Info-Tech’s ERP Vendor Response Template.
2. Validate that the provided template is comprehensive and will collect the information necessary for your organization to effectively evaluate the product and vendor and will inform a decision to invite the vendor in for a demonstration.
3. Make the small customizations necessary to tailor the template to your organization (i.e. swap out “[Company X]” for your organization’s name).

Download the ERP Vendor Response Template

3.2.3 Evaluate RFP responses

Varies

1. Customize Info-Tech’s EAS RFP and Demonstration Scoring Tool to build a vendor and product evaluation framework for your EAS selection team.
2. Review all RFP responses together with the core project team and stakeholders from procurement (if necessary).
3. Input vendor solution information into the EAS RFP and Demonstration Scoring Tool.
4. Analyze the vendors against your evaluation framework by paying specific attention to costing, overall score, and evaluation notes and comments.
5. Identify vendors with whom you wish to arrange vendor demonstration.
6. Contact vendors and arrange briefings.

Download the EAS RFP and Demonstration Scoring Tool

Identify specific use cases and develop demonstration scenarios

These techniques can be used to gather requirements now and for vendor demos during the evaluation stage.

Describe use cases to indicate how the various processes will operate. This technique can help end-users describe what the solution must do without needing to know how to describe requirements. Outline scenarios based on these use cases for vendors to demonstrate how their solution can fulfill business requirements.

Define
Define objectives for each specific use case.

Explore
Explore the various process paths and alternate outcomes for each use case.

Build
Build the details of the scenarios to describe the roles of the people involved and the detailed process steps to be accomplished.

Use
For each scenario, outline the expected outputs and variations.

Info-Tech Insight
Do not exceed three vendors when selecting participants for a product demonstration. Each vendor demonstration should last between one day and one week, depending on the scope of the project. Exceeding the threshold of three vendors can be massively time consuming and yield diminishing returns.

Conduct vendor demos that extend beyond baseline requirements

• Demo scripts should focus on differentiating vendor processes and capabilities that contribute to achieving your business’ strategic objectives.
• You want vendors to show you what differentiates them and what can they do that is specific to your industry.
• Avoid focusing on baseline EAS capabilities. While this may drive consistency across demonstrations, you will not get a clear picture of how one vendor may align with your unique business needs.
• Ask the vendor questions pertaining to the differentiating factors listed below. Consider if the differentiating factors are worthwhile over the baseline capabilities shown.

Add your scenarios to Info-Tech’s sample EAS demo script

Take a holistic approach to vendor and product evaluation

Almost – or equally – as important as evaluating vendor feature capabilities is the need to evaluate vendor viability and non-functional aspects of the EAS solution. Include an evaluation of the following criteria in your vendor scoring methodology.

Info-Tech Insight
Evaluating the vendor capabilities, not just product capabilities, is particularly important with EAS solutions. EAS solutions are typically long-term commitments; ensure that your organization is teaming up with a vendor or provider that you feel you can work well with and depend on.

Case Study

Structured RFP and demo processes ease the pain of vendor evaluations during the selection phase.

INDUSTRY
Automotive

SOURCE
Research Interview

3.2.4 Build a demo script for product demonstration evaluation

1-2 hours

1. With the EAS selection team, use Info-Tech’s ERP Vendor Demonstration Script, HRIS Vendor Demonstration Script, or CRM Vendor Demonstration Script to write a demo script that reflects your organization’s EAS needs.
2. Outline the logistics of the demonstration in the Introduction section of the template. Be sure to outline the total length of the demo and the amount of time that should be dedicated to the following:
1. Product demonstration in response to the demo script.
2. Showcase of unique product elements, not reflective of the demo script.
3. Question and answer session.
4. Breaks and other potential interruptions.
3. Provide prompts for the vendor to display the capabilities by listing and describing usage scenarios by functional area. For example, when asking a vendor to demonstrate financial and accounting management capabilities, you may break scenarios out by task (e.g. general ledger, accounts payable) or user role (e.g. finance manager, administrator).

Info-Tech Insight
Challenge vendor project teams during product demonstrations. Asking the vendor to make adjustments or customizations on the fly will allow you to get an authentic feel for product capability and flexibility and for the degree of adaptability of the vendor project team. Ask the vendor to demonstrate how to do things not listed in your user scenarios, such as change system visualizations or design, change underlying data, add additional data sets, demonstrate collaboration capabilities, or trace an audit trail.

3.2.4 Build a demo script for product demonstration evaluation

Before the actual demonstrations, remember to communicate to the team the scenarios to be covered. Distribute the scripts ahead of the demonstrations so that the evaluation team know what is expected from the vendors.

A vendor scoring model provides a clear anchor point for your evaluation of EAS vendors based on a variety of inputs

A vendor scoring model is a systematic method for effectively assessing competing vendors. A weighted-average scoring model is an approach that strikes a strong balance between rigor and evaluation speed.

Info-Tech Insight
Even the best scoring model will still involve some “art” rather than science – scoring categories such as vendor viability always entail a degree of subjective interpretation.

Establish vendor evaluation criteria

Vendor demonstrations are an integral part of the selection process. Having clearly defined selection criteria will help with setting up relevant demos and informing the vendor scorecards.

Vendor evaluation criteria (weight)

Info-Tech Insight
Do not buy something that does not fit your functional needs just because it is the cheapest. ERP is a massive, long-term investment. If you purchase a system that does not contain the functionality that meets the organization’s business needs, not only will you face issues with user adoption, but you may also face having to revisit your ERP project down the road. In the end, this will cost you more than it will save you.

Conduct client reference interviews to identify how other organizations have successfully used the vendor’s solution

Request references from the vendors. Make sure the vendors deliver what they promise.

Vendors are inevitably going to provide references that will give positive feedback, but don’t be afraid to dig into the interviews to understand some of the limitations related to the solution.

• Even if a vendor is great for one client doesn’t necessarily mean it will fit for you. Ask the vendor to provide references from organizations in your own or a similar industry or from someone who has automated similar business processes or outlined similar expectations.
• Use these reference calls as an opportunity to gain a more accurate understanding of the quality of the vendor’s service support and professional services.
• If you are looking to include a high level of customization in your EAS solution, pay particular attention to this step and the client responses, as these will help you understand how easy a vendor is to work with.
• Make the most of your client reference interviews by preparing your questions in advance and following a specific script.

Sample Reference Check Questions

Use Info-Tech’s Sample Reference Check Questions to provide a framework and starting point for your interviews with a vendor’s previous clients. Review the questions and customize to fit your needs.

Determine costs of the solution

Ensure the business case includes both internal and external costs related to the new EAS platform, allocating costs of project managers to improve accuracy of overall costs and level of success.

EAS solutions include application costs and costs to design processes, install, and configure. These start-up costs can be a significant factor in whether the initial purchase is feasible.

Bring in the right resources to guarantee success. Work with the PMO or project manager to get creating the SOW.

60% of IT projects are not finished “mostly or always” on time (Wellingtone, 2018).

55% of IT personnel feel that the business objectives of their software projects are clear to them (Geneca, 2017).

Download the blueprint Improve Your Statements of Work to Hold Your Vendors Accountable to define requirements for installation and configuration.

3.3.1 Establish your evaluation criteria

Time required varies

Customize Info-Tech’s RFP and Demonstration Scoring Tool to build an evaluation framework for vendor responses based on set criteria rather than relative comparisons.

This tool allows you to evaluate whether your organization’s requirements have been met by the vendor RFP response and provides a location for comprehensive documentation of the RFP response and demonstration details, including costing and availability/quality of product features, architecture, and vendor support.

Finally, the tool gives you the ability to evaluate your shortlisted vendors’ demonstrations.

3.3.1 Establish your evaluation criteria

Time required varies

1. With the EAS selection team, brainstorm a list of criteria against which you are going to evaluate each vendor and product.
2. Categorize each criteria into four to eight groups.
3. Assign ranked weightings to each category of evaluation criteria. The weightings should add up to 100%. Be sure to identify which criteria are most important to your team by assigning higher weightings to those criteria. If you are having trouble assigning ranked weightings to criteria, take your team through an exercise of ranking pairs. For example, if deciding on the ranked importance of cost, ease of use, and vendor support, break down the discussion by addressing just two criteria at a time: “Between cost and ease of use, which is more important?” If cost is selected… “Between cost and vendor support, which is more important?” If cost is selected again, decide on your second and third rankings by addressing the remaining two criteria… “Between vendor support and ease of use, which is more important?”
4. Document the final output from this activity as an input to your EAS selection. Optionally, record it in Info-Tech’s EAS RFP and Demonstration Scoring Tool.

Download the EAS RFP and Demonstration Scoring Tool

Info-Tech Insight
Do not reveal your evaluation criteria to vendors. Allowing vendors to see what matters most to your organization may sway their response and/or demo. Avoid this by keeping your decided evaluation criteria and weightings among your selection team only.

3.3.2 Evaluate vendor product demonstrations

Time required varies

1. Using the demonstration script and vendor criteria previously established, customize Info-Tech’s EAS RFP and Demonstration Scoring Tool to build a scorecard that quickly evaluates vendor product demonstrations.
2. Distribute the scorecard to every member of the team who is evaluating a particular demonstration.
3. Evaluate each vendor product demonstration using the tool.
4. Average all scores from each vendor demonstration to inform your selection decision. Note that the vendor with the highest overall score may not necessarily be the best fit for your organization.

Download the EAS RFP and Demonstration Scoring Tool

Decision Point: Select the Finalist

After reviewing all vendor responses to your RFP, conducting vendor demos, and running a pilot project (if applicable) – the time has arrived to select your finalist.

All core selection team members should hold a session to score each shortlisted vendor against the criteria enumerated on the previous slide, based on an in-depth review of proposals, the demo sessions, and any pilots or technical assessments.

The vendor that scores the highest in aggregate is your finalist.

Congratulations – you are now ready to proceed to final negotiation and inking a contract. This blueprint provides a detailed approach on the mechanics of a major vendor negotiation.

Get the best value out from your EAS vendor. Negotiate on your own terms.

Here are a few tips common to EAS vendors and its offerings.

Vendors will give time-limited discounts to obtain your buy-in.

• Depending on your procurement process, it is good practice to have at least two competing vendors in the running to obtain the best value.
• Make sure that the package offered is coherent – that there are no gaps in the product offering.
• Ask for access to a higher level of customer care or even developers to obtain quicker, specific support
• Inquire about specific support and patching service, especially if you have customizations.
• Ask for additional hours for training and support, pre- and post- implementation.
• Think long-term – you want to have a good working relationship over the long haul, with a vendor that fits with your overall strategy, and not have to repeat and negotiate often.

Use Info-Tech’s vendor services

Info-Tech’s vendor management services has price benchmarks as well knowledgeable advisors who can help evaluate proposals to obtain the best value

Speak to a vendor management services’ advisor today.

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Communicate to the vendor whether they were accepted or rejected

Communicate with each vendor following the demonstration and product evaluation. Ask follow-up questions, highlight areas of concern, and inform them of their status in the selection process.

The RFP process is a standard business practice. As a customer, you are not under any obligation to educate the vendor as to the details of acceptance or rejection. However, consider every point of contact as an opportunity to build a strong network of potential vendors to help you acquire the best products for your organization.

Use Info-Tech’s Vendor Communication Set template to communicate with the vendor following the demonstration and product evaluations. This set includes:

Rejection Notice: Inform the vendor that they are no longer under consideration and highlight opportunities for future debrief.

Approval Notice: Inform the vendor of its progress to the next stage of selection and identify next steps.

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Phase 4

Prepare for Implementation

Phase 1
1.1 Enterprise Application Landscape
1.2 Validate Readiness
1.3 Determine Resourcing

Phase 2
2.1 Capability Mapping
2.2 Requirements Gathering Data Mapping
2.3 Requirements Prioritizing

Phase 3
3.1 Understanding Product Offerings
3.2 RFP & Demo Scripts
3.3 Evaluation Select and Negotiate

Phase 4
4.1 Prepare for Implementation

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

Discussion on what it takes to transition to a proper implementation.

Key stakeholders from the various areas of the business that will support the project including:

• Project management team
• Core project team

Select an Enterprise Application

Leverage Info-Tech’s research to plan and execute your EAS implementation

Use Info-Tech Research Group’s three-phase implementation process to guide your own planning.

Assess

Prepare

Govern and course correct

Establish and execute an end-to-end, agile framework to succeed with the implementation of a major enterprise application.

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External resources are available for implementations

Organizations rarely have sufficient internal staffing to resource an EAS project on their own. Consider the options for closing the gap in internal resource availability.

The most common project resourcing structures for enterprise projects are:

Consider the following:

Internal vs. External Roles and Responsibilities

Clearly delineate between internal and external team responsibilities and accountabilities, and communicate this to your technology partner upfront.

Internal vs. External Accountabilities

Accountability is different than responsibility. Your vendor or SI partner may be responsible for completing certain tasks, but be careful not to outsource accountability for the implementation – ultimately, the internal team will be accountable.

Partner Implementation Methodologies

Often vendors and/or SIs will have their own preferred implementation methodology. Consider the use of your partner's implementation methodology; however, you know what will work for your organization.

Info-Tech Insight
When contemplating a resourcing structure, consider:

• Availability of in-house implementation competencies and resources.
• Timeline and constraints.
• Integration environment complexity.

Review your options for external resources

Narrow your search for a management consultant, vendor consultant, or system integrator partner by understanding under which circumstances each would be most appropriate.

Info-Tech Insight
Depending on your internal resourcing constraints and IT maturity, you may need to work with multiple partners. If this is the case, just be aware that working with multiple partners can complicate vendor relationship management and makes having a dedicated vendor or partner relationship manager even more important.

4.1.1 Establish team composition

1 – 2 hours

Utilize Info-Tech’s Governance and Management of Enterprise Software Implementation to establish your team composition. Within that blueprint:

1. Assess the skills necessary for an implementation. Inventory the competencies required for the implementation project team. Map your internal resources to each competency as applicable.
2. Select your internal implementation team. Determine who needs to be involved closely with the implementation. Key stakeholders should also be considered as members of your implementation team.
3. Identify the number of external consultants/support required for implementation. Consider your in-house skills, timeline considerations, integration environment complexity, and cost constraints as you make your team composition plan. Be sure to dedicate an internal resource to managing the vendor and partner relationships.
4. Document the roles and responsibilities, accountabilities, and other expectations of your team as they relate to each step of the implementation.

Governance and Management of Enterprise Software Implementation

Follow our iterative methodology with a task list focused on the business must-have functionality to achieve rapid execution and to allow staff to return to their daily work sooner.

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Ensure your implementation team has a high degree of trust and communication

If external partners are needed, dedicate an internal resource to managing the vendor and partner relationships.

Create a formal communication process throughout the EAS implementation

Establish a comprehensive communication process around the EAS enterprise roll-out to ensure that end users stay informed.

The EAS kick-off meeting(s) should encompass:

• Target business-user requirements
• Target quality of service (QoS) metrics
• Other IT department needs
• Special consideration needs
• Tangible business benefits of application
• The high-level application overview

The overall objective for inter-departmental EAS kick-off meetings is to confirm that all parties agree on certain key points and understand platform rationale and functionality.

The kick-off process will significantly improve internal communications by inviting all affected internal IT groups, including business units, to work together to address significant issues before the application process is formally activated.

Department groups or designated trainers should take the lead and implement a process for:

• Scheduling EAS platform roll-out/kick-off meetings.
• Soliciting preliminary input from the attending groups to develop further training plans.
• Establishing communication paths and the key communication agents from each department who are responsible for keeping lines open moving forward.

Plan for your implementation of EAS based on deployment model

Place your EAS solution into your IT landscape by configuring and adjusting the tool based on your specific deployment method.

Integration is a top IT challenge and critical to the success of the EAS solution

EAS solutions are most effective when they are integrated with ERP, HRIS, and CRM solutions.

Scenario: Failure to address EAS data integration will cost you in the long run

A company spent $15 million implementing a new CRM system in the cloud and decided NOT to spend an additional $1.5 million to do a proper cloud DI tool procurement. The mounting costs followed.

Custom integration is costing this organization $300,000/year for one SaaS solution.

The proposed integration solution would have paid for itself in 3-4 years and saved exponential costs in the long run.

Proactively address data quality in the EAS during implementation

Data quality is a make-or-break issue in an EAS platform; garbage in is garbage out.

• EAS solutions are one of the leading offenders for generating poor quality data. As such, it’s important to have a plan in place for structuring your data architecture in such a way that poor data quality is minimized from the get-go.
• Having a plan for data quality should precede data migration efforts; some types of poor data quality can be mitigated prior to migration.
• There are five main types of poor-quality data found in EAS platforms.
• Duplicate data: Duplicate records can be a major issue. Leverage dedicated de-dupe tools to eliminate them.
• Stale data: Out-of-date customer information can reduce the usefulness of the platform. Use automated social listening tools to help keep data fresh.
• Incomplete data: Records with missing info limit platform value. Specify data validation parameters to mandate that all fields are filled in.
• Invalid and conflicting data: Can create cascading errors. Establishing conflict resolution rules in ETL tools for data integration can reduce issues.

Info-Tech Insight
If you have a complex EAS environment, appoint data stewards for each major domain and procure a de-dupe tool. As the complexity of EAS system-to-system integrations increase, so will the chance that data quality errors will crop up – for example, bi-directional POI with other sources of customer information dramatically increase the chances of conflicting/duplicate data.

Profile data, eliminate dead weight, and enforce standards to protect data

Info-Tech Insight
Data quality concerns proliferate with the customization level of your platform. The more extensive the custom integration points and module/database extensions that you have made, the more you will need to have a plan in place for managing data quality from a reactive and proactive standpoint.

Ensure requirements are met with robust user acceptance testing

User acceptance testing (UAT) is a test procedure that helps to ensure end-user requirements are met. Test cases can reveal bugs before the suite is implemented.

Five secrets of UAT success

Calculate post-deployment metrics to assess measurable value of the project

Track the post-deployment results from the project and compare the metrics to the current state and target state.

Continue to adapt your governance model

Your EAS and applications environment will continue to evolve. Make sure your governance model is always ready to capture the everchanging needs.

Business needs will not stop changing whether you have an ongoing EAS or other application project. It is thus important to keep your governance efficient and streamlined to capture these needs to then make the EAS continue deliver value and remain aligned to long-term corporate objectives.

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Summary of Accomplishment

Select an Enterprise Application

EAS technology is critical to facilitating an organization’s flow of information across business units. It allows for seamless integration of systems and creates a holistic view of the enterprise to support decision making. Having a structured approach to gathering the necessary resources, defining key requirements, and engaging with the right shortlist of vendors to pick the best finalist is crucial.

This selection guide allows organizations to execute a structured methodology for picking an EAS that aligns with their needs. This includes:

• Alignment and prioritization of key business and technology drivers for an EAS selection.
• Identification and prioritization of the EAS requirements.
• Construction of a robust EAS RFP.
• A strong market scan of key players.
• A survey of crucial implementation considerations.

This formal EAS selection initiative will drive business-IT alignment, identify data and integration priorities, and allow for the rollout of a platform that’s highly likely to satisfy all stakeholder needs.

If you would like additional support, have our analysts guide you through other phases as part of an Info-Tech workshop.

Contact your account representative for more information.
workshops@infotech.com
1-888-670-8889

Research Contributors

Bibliography

“2016 Report on ERP Systems and Enterprise Software.” Panorama Consulting Solutions, 2016. Web.

“2018 Report on ERP Systems and Enterprise Software.” Panorama Consulting Solutions, 2018. Web.

“2022 HRIS Software Report.” SoftwarePath, 2022 . Web

Cross-Industry Process Classification Framework (PCF) Version 7.2.1. APQC, 26 Sept. 2019. Web.

“Doomed From the Start? Why a Majority of Business and IT Teams Anticipate Their Software Development Projects Will Fail.” Geneca, 25 Jan. 2017. Web.

Farhan, Marwa Salah, et al. “A Systematic Review for the Determination and Classification of the CRM Critical Success Factors Supporting with Their Metrics.” Future Computing and Informatics Journal, vol. 3, no. 2, Dec. 2018, pp. 398–416.

Gheorghiu, Gabriel. “ERP Buyer’s Profile for Growing Companies.” SelectHub, 23 Sept. 2022. Web

“Process Frameworks.” APQC, 4 Nov. 2020. Web.

“Process vs. Capability: Understanding the Difference.” APCQ, 2017. Web.

Savolainen, Juha, et al. “Transitioning from Product Line Requirements to Product Line Architecture.” 29th Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC'05), IEEE, vol. 1, 2005, pp. 186-195, doi: 10.1109/COMPSAC.2005.160

Saxena, Deepak, and Joe McDonagh. "Evaluating ERP Implementations: The Case for a Lifecycle based Interpretive Approach." Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation 22.1 (2019): pp29-37.

“SOA Reference Architecture – Capabilities and the SOA RA.” The Open Group, TOGAF, n.d. Web.

Smith, Anthony. “How To Create A Customer-Obsessed Company Like Netflix.” Forbes, 12 Dec. 2017. Web.

"The Moscow Method", MindTools. Web.

“The State of CRM Data Management 2020.” Validity, 2020. Web.

“The State of Project Management Annual Survey 2018.” Wellingtone, 2018. Web.

“Why HR Projects Fail.” Unleash, 2021. Web

Navigate the Digital ID Ecosystem to Enhance Customer Experience

Beyond the hype: How it can help you become more customer-focused?

Executive Summary

Info-Tech Insight

Focusing on customer touchpoints and transforming them is key to excellent user experience and increasing their lifetime value (LTV) to them and to your organization. Digital ID is that tool of transformation.

Analyst Perspective

Digital Identity Ecosystem and vital ingredients of adoption

What is digital identity?

Definitions may vary, depending on the focus.

“Digital identity (ID) is a set of attributes that links a physical person with their online interactions. Digital ID refers to one’s online persona - an online footprint. It touches important aspects of one’s everyday life, from financial services to health care and beyond.” - DIACC Canada

“Digital identity is a digital representation of a person. It enables them to prove who they are during interactions and transactions. They can use it online or in person.” - UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework

“Digital identity is an electronic representation of an entity (person or other entity such as a business) and it allows people and other entities to be recognized online.” - Australia Trusted Digital Identity Framework

A digital identity is primarily an electronic form of identity representing an entity uniquely , while abstracting all other identity attributes of the entity. In addition to an electronic form, it may also exist in a physical form (identity certificate), linked through an identifier representing the same entity.

Digital identity has many dimensions*, and in turn categories

Info-Tech Insight

Digital ID has taken different meanings for different people, serving different purposes in different environments. Based on various aspects of Digital Identification, it can be categorized in several types. However, most of the time when people refer to a form of identification as Digital ID, they refer to a verified id with built-in trust either from the government OR the eco-system.

* Please refer to Taxonomy for the definition of each of the dimensions

Understanding a digital identity ecosystem is key to formulating your approach to adopt it

Info-Tech Insight

Digital identity ecosystems comprise many entities playing different roles, and sometimes more than one. In addition, variations in approach by jurisdictions drive how many active players are in the ecosystem for that jurisdiction.

For example, in countries like Estonia and India, government plays the role of trust and governance authority as well as ID provider, but didn’t start with any Digital ID wallet. In contrast, in Ukraine, Diia App is primarily a Digital ID Wallet. Similarly, in the US, different states are adopting private Digital ID Wallet providers like Apple.

Digital ID ecosystem’s sustainability lies in the key principles it is built on

Social, economic, and legal alignment with target stakeholders
Transparent governance and operation
Legally auditable and enforceable
Robust and Resilient – High availability
Security – At rest, in progress, and in transit
Privacy and Control with users
Omni-channel Convenience – User and Operations
Minimum data transfer between entities
Technical interoperability enabled through open standards and protocol
Scalable and interoperable at policy level
Cost effective – User and operations
Inclusive and accessible

Info-Tech Insight

A transparent, resilient, and auditable digital ID system must be aligned with socio-economic realities of the target stakeholders. It not only respects their privacy and security of their data by minimizing the data transfer between entities, but also drives desired customer experience by providing an omni-channel, interoperable, scalable, and inclusive ecosystem while still being cost-effective for the collaborators.

Source: Adapted from Canada PCTF, UK Trust framework, European Commission, Australia TDIF, and others

Focus on key success factors to drive the digital ID adoption

Digital ID success factors

Legislative regulatory framework – Removes uncertainty
Security & Privacy Assurance- builds trust
Smooth user experience – Drives preferences
Transparent ecosystem – Drives inclusivity
Multi-channel – Drive consistent experience online / offline
Inter-operability thorough open standards
Digital literacy – Education and awareness
Multi-purpose & reusable – Reduce consumer burden
Collaborative ecosystem –Build network effect

Source: Adapted from Canada PCTF, UK digital identity & attributes trust framework , European eIDAS, and others

Info-Tech Insight

Driving adoption of Digital ID requires affirmative actions from all ecosystem players including governing authorities, identity providers, and identity consumers (relying parties).

These nine success factors can help drive sustainable adoption of the Digital ID.

Among many responsibilities the ecosystem players have, identity governance is the key to sustainability

Digital identity provision Creating identity attributes Create a reusable identity and attribute service Create a digital identity Assess and manage quality of an identity and attributes Making identity provision inclusive and accessible Digital identity resolution Enabling inclusive access to products and services through digital identity Authenticate and authorize identity subjects before permitting access to their identity and attributes Digital identity governance Manage digital identity and attributes Make Identity service interoperable, and sharable Recover digital identity and attribute accounts Notifying users on accessing identity or making changes on more attributes Report and audit – exclusion, accessibility Retiring an identity or attribute service Respond to complaints and disputes Enterprise risk management and governance

Privacy and security Use encryption Privacy compliance framework Consumer Privacy Protection laws (CPPA, GDPR etc.) Acquiring and managing user consents & agreements Prohibited processing of personal data Security controls and governance Information management Record management Archival Disposal (on expiry or to comply with regulations) CIA (confidentiality, integrity, availability) Fraud management Fraud monitoring and reporting Fraud intelligence and analysis Sharing threat indicators Legal, policies and procedures for fraud management Incident response Respond to fraud incidents Respond to a service delivery incident Responding to data breaches Performing and participating in investigation

Global evolution of digital ID is following the socio-economic aspirations of countries

Source: Adapted from the book: Identification Revolution: Can Digital ID be harnessed for Development? (Gelb & Metz), 2018

Info-Tech Insight

The world became global a long time ago; however, it sustained economic progress without digital IDs for most of the world's population.

With the pandemic, when political rhetoric pointed to the demand for localized supply chains, economies became irreversibly digital. In this digital economy, the digital ID ecosystem is the fulcrum of sustainable growth.

At a time in overlapping jurisdictions, multiple digital IDs can exist. For example, one is issued by a local municipality, one by the province, and another by the national government.

Global footprint of digital ID is evolving rapidly, but varies in approach

Info-Tech Insight

Countries’ approach to the digital ID is rooted in their socio-economic environment and global aspirations.

Emerging economies with large underserved populations prioritize fast implementation of digital ID through centralized systems.

Developed economies with smaller populations, low trust in government, and established ID systems prioritize developing trust frameworks to drive decentralized full-scale implementation.

There is no right way except the one which follows Digital ID principles and aligns with a country’s and its people’s aspirations.

Estonia's e-identity is the key to its digital agenda 2030

India’s Aadhaar is the foundation of its digital journey through “India stack”

Ukraine’s Diia is a resilient act to preserve their identities during threat to their existence

Canada’s PCTF (Pan Canadian Trust Framework) driving the federated digital identity ecosystem

Regulatory Accountability: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS); Canadian Digital Service (CDS); Office of CIO Standard Setting: Digital Identification and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC)

Frameworks: Treasury Board Directive on Identity Management Pan Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF) Voilà Verified Trustmark Program: ISO aligned compliance certification program on PCTF Governing / Certificate Authority: Trustmark Oversight Board (TOB) and DIACC accredited assessor Operational Governance: Federated between identity providers and identity consumers Identity Providers: Public and Private Sector Other entities involved: Digital ID Lab (Voila Verified Auditor); Kuma (Accredited Assessor)

82% People supportive of Digital ID. 2/3 Canadians prefer public-private partnership for Pan-Canadian digital ID framework. >40% Canadians prefer completing various tasks and transactions digitally. 75% Canadians are willing to share personal information for better experience. >80% Trust government, healthcare providers, and financial institutions with their personal information. Source: DIACC Survey 2021

Uniqueness Although a few provinces in Canada started their Digital ID journey already, federally, Canada lacked an approach. Now Canada is developing a federated Digital ID ecosystem driven through the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF) led by a non-profit (DIACC) formed with public and private partnership.

Australia’s digital id is pivotal to its vision to become one of the Top-3 digital governments globally by 2025*

* Australia Digital Government Strategy 2021

UK switches gear to the Trust Framework approach to build a public-private digital ID ecosystem

Government: Ministry of Digital Infrastructure / Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Governing Body / Certificate Authority / Operational Governance: TBD Approach: Trust Framework-based UK Digital Identity and attributes trust framework (UKDIATF) Identity providers: Transitioning from “GOV.UK Verify” to a federated digital identity system aligned with “Trust Framework” – enabling both government (“One Login for Government”) and private sector identity providers.

Uniqueness UK embarked its Digital ID journey through Gov.UK Verify but decided to scrap it recently. It is now preparing to build a trust framework-based federated digital ID ecosystem with roles like schema-owners and orchestration service providers for private sector and drive the collaboration between industry players.

Digital ID will transform all industries, though financial services and e-governance will gain most

USE CASE

Car rental

INDUSTRY: Travel & Tourism

Source: Info-Tech Research Group

USE CASE

e-Governance public distribution service

INDUSTRY: Government

Source: Info-Tech Research Group

USE CASE

Real-estate investment and sale

INDUSTRY: Asset Management

Source: Info-Tech Research Group

1 Global News (https://globalnews.ca/news/9437913/homeowner-impersonators-lined-32-fraud-cases-ontario-bc/)

2 UK Finance Lobby Group (https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/Half-year-fraud-update-2021-FINAL.pdf)

Adopting digital ID benefits everybody – governments, id providers, id consumers, and end users

Digital ID will transform all industries, though financial services and e-governance will gain most

Digital ID brings end users choice, convenience, control, and cost-saving, driving overall experience

Digital id benefits identity consumers by enhancing multiple dimensions of their value streams

Before embarking on the digital identity adoption journey, assess your readiness

Legislative coverage

Does your target jurisdiction have adequate legislative framework to enable uses of digital identities in your industry?

Trust framework

If the Digital ID ecosystem in your target jurisdiction is trust framework-based, do you have adequate understanding of it?

Customer touch-points

Do you have exact understanding of value stream and customer touch-points where you interact with user identity?

Relevant identity attributes

Do you have exact understanding of the identity attributes that your business processes need to deliver customer value?

Regulatory compliance

Do you have required systems to ensure your compliance with industry regulations around customer PII and identity?

Interoperability with IMS

Is your existing identity management system interoperable with Open-source Digital Identity ecosystem?

Enterprise governance

Have you established an integrated enterprise governance framework covering business processes, technical systems, and risk management?

Communication strategy

Do have a clear strategy (mode, method, means) to communicate with your target customer and persuade them to adopt digital identity?

Security operations center

Do you have security operations center coordinating detection, response, resolution, and communication of potential data breaches?

Ten steps to adopt to enhance the customer experience

Understand and manage the risks and challenges of digital identity adoption

Recommendations to help you realize the potential of digital identity into your value streams

Taxonomy – Digital ID ecosystem

(Alphabetical order)

Continues..

Attributes: An identity attribute is a statement or information about a specific aspect of entity’s identity ,substantiating they are who they claim to be, own, or have.

Attribute (or Credential) provider: An attribute or credential provider could be an organization which issues the primary attribute or credential to a subject or entity. They are also responsible for identity-attribute binding, credential maintenance, suspension, recovery, and authentication.

Attribute (or Credential) service provider: An attribute service provider could be an organization which originally vetted user’s credentials and certified a specific attribute of their identity. It could also be a software, such as digital wallet, which can store and share a user’s attribute with a third party once consented by the user. (Source: UK Govt. Trust Framework)

Attribute binding: This is a process an attribute service providers uses to link the attributes they created to a person or an organization through an identifier. This process makes attributes useful and valuable for other entities using these attributes. For example, when a new employee joins a company, they are given a unique employee number (an identifier), which links the person with their job title and other aspects (attributes) of his job. (Source: UK Govt. Trust Framework)

Authentication service provider: An organization which is responsible for creating and managing authenticators and their lifecycle (issuance, suspension, recovery, maintenance, revocation, and destruction of authenticators). (Source: DIACC)

Authenticator: Information or biometric characteristics under the control of an individual that is a specific instance of something the subject has, knows, or does. E.g. private signing keys, user passwords, or biometrics like face, fingerprints. (Source: Canada PCTF)

Authentication (identity verification): The process of confirming or denying that the identity presented relates to the subject who is making the claim by comparing the credentials presented with the ones presented during identity proofing.

Authorization: The process of validating if the authenticated entity has permission to access a resource (service or product).

Biometrics attributes: Human attributes like retina (iris), fingerprint, heartbeat, facial, handprint, thumbprint, voice print.

Centralized identity: Digital identities which are fully governed by a centralized government entity. It may have enrollment or registration agencies, private or public sector, to issue the identities, and the technical system may still be decentralized to keep data federated.

Certificate Authority (CA or accredited assessors): An organization or an entity that conducts assessments to validate the framework compliance of identity or attribute providers (such as websites, email addresses, companies, or individual persons) serving other users, and binding them to cryptographic keys through the issuance of electronic documents known as digital certificates.

Taxonomy – Digital ID ecosystem

(Alphabetical order)

Continues..

Collective (non-resolvable) attributes: Nationality, domicile, citizenship, immigration status, age group, disability, income group, membership, (outstanding) credit limit, credit score range.

Contextual identity: A type of identity which establishes an entity’s existence in a specific context – real or virtual. These can be issued by public or private identity providers and are governed by the organizational policies. E.g. employee ID, membership ID, social media ID, machine ID.

Credentials: A physical or a digital representation of something that establishes an entity’s eligibility to do something for which it is seeking permission, or an association/affiliation with another, generally well-known entity. E.g. Passport, DL, password. In the context of Digital Identity, every identity needs to be attached with a credential to ensure that the subject of the identity can control how and by whom that identity can be used.

Cryptographic hash function: A hash function is a one-directional mathematical operation performed on a message of any length to get a unique, deterministic, and fixed size numerical string (the hash) which can’t be reverse engineered to get the input data without deploying disproportionate resources. It is the foundation of modern security solutions in DLT / blockchain as they help in verifying the integrity and authenticity of the message.

Decentralized identity (DID) or self-sovereign identity: This is a way to give back the control of identity to the subject whose identity it is, using an identity wallet in which they collect verified information about themselves from certified issuers (such as the government). By controlling what information is shared from the wallet to requesting third parties (e.g. when registering for a new online service), the user can better manage their privacy, such as only presenting proof that they’re over 18 without needing to reveal their date of birth. Source: (https://www.gsma.com/identity/decentralised-identity)

Digital identity wallet: A type of digital wallet refers to a secure, trusted software applications (native mobile app, mobile web apps, or Rivas-hosted web applications) based on common standards, allowing a user to store and use their identity attributes, identifiers, and other credentials without loosing or sharing control of them. This is different than Digital Payment Wallets used for financial transactions. (Source: https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/photos/1440x300/2022/feb/eID_WB_presentation_BS.pdf)

Digital identity: A digital identity is primarily an electronic form of identity representing an entity uniquely , while abstracting all other identity attributes of the entity. In addition to an electronic form, it may also exist in a physical form (identity certificate), linked through an identifier representing the same entity. E.g. Estonia eID , India Aadhar, digital citizenship ID.

Digital object architecture: DOA is an open architecture for interoperability among various information systems, including ID wallets, identity providers, and consumers. It focuses on digital objects and comprises three core components: the identifier/resolution system, the repository system, and the registry system. There are also two protocols that connect these components. (Source: dona.net)

Digital signature: A digital signature is an electronic, encrypted stamp of authentication on digital information such as email messages, macros, or electronic documents. A signature confirms that the information originated from the signer and has not been altered. (Source: Microsoft)

Taxonomy – Digital ID ecosystem

(Alphabetical order)

Continues..

Entity (or Subject): In the context of identity, an entity is a person, group, object, or a machine whose claims need to be ascertained and identity needs to be established before his request for a service or products can be fulfilled. An entity can also be referred to as a subject whose identity needs to be ascertained before delivering a service.

Expiry: This is another dimension of an identity and determines the validity of an ID. Most of the identities are longer term, but there can be a few like digital tokens and URLs which can be issued for a few hours or even minutes. There are some which can be revoked after a pre-condition is met.

Federated identity: Federated identity is an agreement between two organizations about the definition and use of identity attributes and identifiers of a consumer entity requesting a service. If successful, it allows a consumer entity to get authenticated by one organization (identity provider) and then authorized by another organization. E.g. accessing a third-party website using Google credentials.

Foundational identity: A type of identity which establishes an entity’s existence in the real world. These are generally issued by public sector / government agencies, governed by a legal farmwork within a jurisdiction, and are widely accepted at least in that jurisdiction. E.g. birth certificate, citizenship certificate.

Governance: This is a dimension of identity that covers the governance model for a digital ID ecosystem. While traditionally it has been under the sovereign government or a federated structure, in recent times, it has been decentralized through DLT technologies or trust-framework based. It can also be self-sovereign, where individuals fully control their data and ID attributes.

Identifier: A digital identifier is a string of characters that uniquely represents an entity’s identity in a specific context and scope even if one or more identity attributes of the subject change over time. E.g. driver’s license, SSN, SIN, email ID, digital token, user ID, device ID, cookie ID.

Identity: An identity is an instrument used by an entity to provide the required information about itself to another entity in order to avail a service, access a resource, or exercise a privilege. An identity formed by 1-n identity attributes and a unique identifier.

Identity and access management (IAM): IAM is a set of frameworks, technologies, and processes to enable the creation, maintenance, and use of digital identity, ensuring that the right people gain access to the right materials and records at the right time. (Source: https://iam.harvard.edu/)

Identity consumer (Relying party): An organization, or an entity relying on identity provider to mitigate IT risks around knowing its customers before delivering the end-user value (product/service) without deteriorating end-user experience. E.g. Canada Revenue Agency using SecureKey service and relying on Banking institutions to authenticate users; Telecom service providers in India relying on Aadhaar identity system to authenticate the customer's identity.

Identity form: A dimension of identity that defines its forms depending on the scope it wants to serve. It can be a physical card for offline uses, a virtual identifier like a number, or an app/account with multiple identity attributes. Cryptographic keys and tokens can also be forms of identity.

Taxonomy – Digital ID ecosystem

(Alphabetical order)

Continues...

Identity infrastructure provider: Organizations involved in creating and maintaining technological infrastructure required to manage the lifecycle of digital identities, attributes, and credentials. They implement functions like security, privacy, resiliency, and user experience as specified in the digital identity policy and trust framework.

Identity proofing: A process of asserting the identification of a subject at a useful identity assurance level when the subject provides evidence to a credential service provider (CSP), reliably identifying themselves. (Source: NIST Special Publication 800-63A)

Identity provider (Attestation authority): An organization or an entity validating the foundation or contextual claims of a subject and establishing identifier(s) for a subject. E.g. DMV (US) and MTA (Canada) issuing drivers’ licenses; Google / Facebook issuing authentication tokens for their users logging in on other websites.

Identity validation: The process of confirming or denying the accuracy of identity information of a subject as established by an authorized party. It doesn’t ensure that the presenter is using their own identity.

Identity verification (Authentication): The process of confirming or denying that the identity presented relates to the subject who is making the claim by comparing the credentials presented with the ones presented during identity proofing.

Internationalized resource identifier (IRI): IRIs are equivalent to URIs except that IRIs also allow non-ascii characters in the address space, while URIs only allow us-ascii encoding. (Source: w3.org)

Jurisdiction: A dimension of identity that covers the physical area or virtual space where an identity is legally acceptable for the purpose defined under law. It can be global, like it is for passport, or it can be local within a municipality for specific services. For unverified digital IDs, it can be the social network.

Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): Multi-factor authentication is a layered approach to securing digital assets (data and applications), where a system requires a user to present a combination of two or more credentials to verify a user’s identity for login. These factors can be a combination of (i) something you know like a password/PIN; (ii) something you have like a token on mobile device; and (iii) something you are like a biometric. (Adapted from https://www.cisa.gov/publication/multi-factor-authentication-mfa)

Oauth (Open authorization): OAuth is a standard authorization protocol and used for access delegation. It allows internet users to access websites by using credentials managed by a third-party authorization server / Identity Provider. It is designed for HTTP and allows access tokens to be issued by an authorization server to third-party websites. E.g. Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn use Oauth to delegate access.

OpenID: OpenID is a Web Authentication Protocol and implements reliance authentication mechanism. It facilitates the functioning of federated identity by allowing a user to use an existing account (e.g. Google, Facebook, Yahoo) to sign into third-party websites without needing to create new credentials. (Source: https://openid.net/).

Taxonomy – Digital ID ecosystem

(Alphabetical order)

Continues...

Personally identifiable information (PII): PII is a set of attributes which can be used, through direct or indirect means, to infer the real-world identity of the individual whose information is input. E.g. National ID (SSN/SIN/Aadhar) DL, name, date of birth, age, address, age, identifier, university credentials, health condition, email, domain name, website URI (web resolvable) , phone number, credit card number, username/password, public key / private key. (Source: https://www.dol.gov)

Predicates: The mathematical or logical operations such as equality or greater than on attributes (e.g. prove your salary is greater than x or your age is greater than y) to prove a claim without sharing the actual values.

Purpose: This dimension of a digital id defines for what purpose digital id can be used. It can be one or many of these – authentication, authorization, activity linking, historical record keeping, social interactions, and machine connectivity for IoT use cases.

Reliance authentication: Relying on a third-party authentication before providing a service. It is a method followed in a federated entity system.

Risk-based authentication: A mechanism to protect against account compromise or identity theft. It correlates an authentication request with transitional facts like requester’s location, past frequency of login, etc. to reduce the risk of potential fraud.

Scheme in trust framework: A specific set of rules (standard and custom) around the use of digital identities and attributes as agreed by one or more organizations. It is useful when those organizations have similar products, services, business processes. (Source: UK Govt. Trust Framework). E.g. Many credit unions agree on how they will use the identity in loan origination and servicing.

Selective disclosure (Assertion): A way to present one’s identity by sharing only a limited amount information that is critical to make an authentication / authorization decision. E.g. when presenting your credentials, you could share something proving you are 18 years or above, but not share your name, exact age, address, etc.

Trust: A dimension of an identity, which essentially is a belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of that identity. While in the physical world all acceptable form of identities come with a verified trust, in online domain, it can be unverified. Also, where an identity is only acceptable as per the contract between two entities, but not widely.

Trust framework: The trust framework is a set of rules that different organizations agree to follow to deliver one or more of their services. This includes legislation, standards, guidance, and the rules in this document. By following these rules, all services and organizations using the trust framework can describe digital identities and attributes they’ve created in a consistent way. This should make it easier for organizations and users to complete interactions and transactions or share information with other trust framework participants. (Source: UK Govt. Trust Framework)

Taxonomy – Digital ID ecosystem

(Alphabetical order)

Continues...

Uniform resource identifier (URI): A universal name in registered name spaces and addresses referring to registered protocols or name spaces.

Uniform resource locator (URL): A type of URI which expresses an address which maps onto an access algorithm using network protocols. (Source: https://www.w3.org/)

Uniform resource name (URN): A type of URI that includes a name within a given namespace but may not be accessible on the internet.

Usability: A dimension of identity that defines how many times it can be used. While most of the identities are multi-use, a few digital identities are in token form and can be used only once to authenticate oneself.

Usage mode: A dimension of identity that defines the service mode in which a digital ID can be used. While all digital IDs are made for online usage, many can also be used in offline interactions.

Verifiable credentials: This W3C standard specification provides a standard way to express credentials on the Web in a way that is cryptographically secure, privacy-respecting, and machine-verifiable. (Source: https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/)

X.509 Certificates: X.509 certificates are standard digital documents that represent an entity providing a service to another entity. They're issued by a certification authority (CA), subordinate CA, or registration authority. These certificates play an important role in ascertaining the validity of an identity provider and in turn the identities issued by it. (Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/iot-hub/reference-x509-certificates)

Zero-knowledge proofs: A method by which one party (the prover) can prove to another party (the verifier) that something is true, without revealing any information apart from the fact that this specific statement is true. (Source: 1989 SIAM Paper)

Zero-trust security: A cybersecurity paradigm focused on resource protection and the premise that trust is never granted implicitly but must be continually evaluated. It evaluates each access request as if it is a fraud attempt, and grants access only if it passes the authentication and authorization test. (Source: Adapted from NIST, SP 800-207: Zero Trust Architecture, 2020)

Related Info-Tech Research

Build a Zero Trust Roadmap
Leverage an iterative and repeatable process to apply zero trust to your organization.

Assess and Govern Identity Security
Strong identity security and governance are the keys to the zero-trust future.

Adopt Design Thinking in Your Organization
Innovation needs design thinking to ensure customer remains at the center of everything the organization does.

Social Media
Leveraging Social Media to connect with your customers and educate them to drive the value proposition of your efforts.

IT Diversity & Inclusion Tactics
Equip your teams to create an inclusive environment and mobilize inclusion efforts across the organization.

Research Contributors and Experts

	David Wallace Executive Counselor https://tymansgrpup.com/profiles/david-wallace
	Erik Avakian Technical Counselor, Data Architecture and Governance https://tymansgrpup.com/profiles/erik-avakian
	Matthew Bourne Managing Partner, Public Sector Global Services https://tymansgrpup.com/profiles/matthew-bourne
	Mike Tweedie Practice Lead, CIO Research Development https://tymansgrpup.com/profiles/mike-tweedie
	Aaron Shum Vice President, Security & Privacy https://tymansgrpup.com/profiles/aaron-shum

Works Cited

India Aadhaar PMJDY (https://pmjdy.gov.in/account)
Theis, S., Rusconi, G., Panggabean, E., Kelly, S. (2020). Delivering on the Potential of Digitized G2P: Driving Women’s Financial Inclusion and Empowerment through Indonesia’s Program Keluarga Harapan. Women’s World Banking.
DIACC Canada (https://diacc.ca/the-diacc/)
UK digital identity & attributes trust framework alpha v2 (0.2) - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-digital-identity-attributes-trust-framework-updated-version/uk-digital-identity-and-attributes-trust-framework-alpha-version-2)
Australia Trusted Digital Identity Framework (https://www.digitalidentity.gov.au/tdif#changes)
eIDAS (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eidas-regulation)
Europe Digital Wallet – POTENTIAL (https://www.digital-identity-wallet.eu/)
Canada PCTF (https://diacc.ca/trust-framework/)
Identification Revolution: Can Digital ID be harnessed for Development? (Gelb & Metz), 2018
e-Estonia website (https://e-estonia.com/solutions/e-identity/id-card/)
Aadhaar Dashboard (https://uidai.gov.in/)
DIACC Website (https://diacc.ca/the-diacc/)
Australia Digital ID website (https://www.digitalidentity.gov.au/tdif#changes)
UK Policy paper - digital identity & attributes trust framework (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-digital-identity-attributes-trust-framework-updated-version/uk-digital-identity-and-attributes-trust-framework-alpha-version-2)
Ukraine Govt. website (https://ukraine.ua/invest-trade/digitalization/)
Singapore SingPass Website (https://www.tech.gov.sg/products-and-services/singpass/)
Norway BankID Website (https://www.bankid.no/en/private/about-us/)
Brazil National ID Card website (https://www.gov.br/casacivil/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2022/julho/nova-carteira-de-identidade-nacional-modelo-unico-a-partir-de-agosto)
Indonesia Coverage in Professional Security Magazine (https://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/products/id-cards/indonesian-cards/)
Philippine ID System (PhilSys) website (https://www.philsys.gov.ph/)
China coverage on eGovReview (https://www.egovreview.com/article/news/559/china-announces-plans-national-digital-ids)
Thales Group Website - DHS’s Automated Biometric Identification System IDENT (https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/government/customer-cases/ident-automated-biometric-identification-system)
FranceConnect (https://franceconnect.gouv.fr/)
Germany: Office for authorization cert. (https://www.personalausweisportal.de/Webs/PA/DE/startseite/startseite-node.html)
Italian Digital Services Authority (https://www.spid.gov.it/en/)
Monacco Mconnect (https://mconnect.gouv.mc/en)
Estonia eID (https://e-estonia.com/wp-content/uploads/e-estonia-211022_eng.pdf)
E-Residency Dashboard (https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/dashboard)
Unique ID authority of India (https://uidai.gov.in/aadhaar_dashboard/india.php)
State of Aadhaar (https://www.stateofaadhaar.in/)
World Bank (https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/219201522848336907/pdf/Private-Sector-Economic-Impacts-from-Identification-Systems.pdf)
WorldBank - ID4D 2022 Annual Report (https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099437402012317995/idu00fd54093061a70475b0a3b50dd7e6cdfe147)
Ukraine Govt. Website for Invest and trade (https://ukraine.ua/invest-trade/digitalization/)
Diia Case study prepared for the office of Canadian senator colin deacon (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63851cbda1515c69b8a9a2b9/t/6398f63a9d78ae73d2fd5725/1670968891441/2022-case-study-report-diia-mobile-application.pdf)
Canadian Digital Identity Research (https://diacc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/DIACC-2021-Research-Report-ENG.pdf)
Voilà Verified Trustmark (https://diacc.ca/voila-verified/)
Digital Identity, 06A Federation Onboarding Guidance paper, March 2022 (https://www.digitalidentity.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-04/TDIF%2006A%20Federation%20Onboarding%20Guidance%20-%20Release%204.6%20%28Doc%20Version%201.2%29.pdf)
UK digital identity & attributes trust framework alpha v2 (0.2) - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-digital-identity-attributes-trust-framework-updated-version/uk-digital-identity-and-attributes-trust-framework-alpha-version-2)
A United Nations Estimate of KYC/AML (https://www.imf.org/Publications/fandd/issues/2018/12/imf-anti-money-laundering-and-economic-stability-straight)
India Aadhaar PMJDY (https://pmjdy.gov.in/account)
Global News (https://globalnews.ca/news/9437913/homeowner-impersonators-lined-32-fraud-cases-ontario-bc/)
UK Finance Lobby Group (https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/Half-year-fraud-update-2021-FINAL.pdf) McKinsey Digital ID report ( https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/digital-identification-a-key-to-inclusive-growth) International Peace Institute ( https://www.ipinst.org/2016/05/information-technology-and-governance-estonia#7)
E-Estonia Report (https://e-estonia.com/wp-content/uploads/e-estonia-211022_eng.pdf)
2022 Budget Statement (https://diacc.ca/2022/04/07/2022-budget-statement/)
World Bank ID4D - Private Sector Economic Impacts from Identification Systems 2018 (https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/219201522848336907/Private-Sector-Economic-Impacts-from-Identification-Systems.pdf)
DIACC Canada (https://diacc.ca/the-diacc/)
UK digital identity & attributes trust framework alpha v2 (0.2) - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-digital-identity-attributes-trust-framework-updated-version/uk-digital-identity-and-attributes-trust-framework-alpha-version-2)
https://www.gsma.com/identity/decentralised-identity
https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/photos/1440x300/2022/feb/eID_WB_presentation_BS.pdf
Microsoft Digital signatures and certificates (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/digital-signatures-and-certificates-8186cd15-e7ac-4a16-8597-22bd163e8e96)
https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/photos/1440x300/2022/feb/eID_WB_presentation_BS.pdf
https://www.dona.net/digitalobjectarchitecture
IAM (https://iam.harvard.edu/)
NIST Special Publication 800-63A (https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/sp800-63a.html)
https://www.cisa.gov/publication/multi-factor-authentication-mfa
https://openid.net/
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (https://www.dol.gov/)
UK govt. trust framework (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-digital-identity-attributes-trust-framework-updated-version/uk-digital-identity-and-attributes-trust-framework-alpha-version-2)
https://www.w3.org/
Verifiable Credentials Data Model v1.1 (https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/)
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/iot-hub/reference-x509-certificates

Select a Marketing Management Suite

A best-fit solution balances needs, cost, and capability.

Table of contents

1. Project Rationale
2. Execute the Project/DIY Guide
   • 2.1. Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements
   • 2.2. Shortlist Marketing Management Suites
   • 2.3. Select Vendor and Communicate Decision to Stakeholders
3. Appendices

ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

Navigate the complexity of a vast ecosystem by taking a structured approach to marketing management suite (MMS) selection.

“Marketing applications are in high demand, but it is difficult to select a suite that is right for your organization. Market offerings have grown from 50 vendors to over 800 in the past five years. Much of the process of identifying an appropriate vendor is not about the vendor at all, but rather about having a comprehensive understanding of internal needs. There are instances where a smaller-point solution is necessary to satisfy requirements and a full marketing management suite is an overinvestment.

Likewise, a partner with differentiating features such as AI-driven workflows and a mobile software development kit can act as a powerful extension of an overall customer experience management strategy. It is crucial to make the right decision; missing the mark on an MMS selection will have a direct impact on the business’ bottom line.”

Ben Dickie
Research Director, Enterprise Applications
Info-Tech Research Group

Phase milestones

Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements — Phase 1

• Understand the MMS market space.
• Assess organizational and project readiness for MMS selection.
• Structure your MMS selection and implementation project by refining your MMS roadmap.
• Align organizational use-case fit with market use cases.
• Collect, prioritize, and document MMS requirements.

Shortlist MMS Tool — Phase 2

• Review MMS market leaders and players within your aligned use case.
• Review MMS vendor profiles and capabilities.
• Shortlist MMS vendors based on organizational fit.

Select an MMS — Phase 3

• Submit request for proposal (RFP) to shortlisted vendors.
• Evaluate vendor responses and develop vendor demonstration scripts.
• Score vendor demonstrations and select the final product.

Stop! Are you ready for this project?

Executive summary

Situation

The MMS market is a landscape of vendors offering campaign management, multichannel support, analytics, and publishing tools. Many vendors specialize in some of these areas but not all. Sometimes multiple products are necessary – but determining which feature sets the organization truly needs can be a challenging task. The right technology stack is critical in order to bring automation to marketing initiatives.

Complication

• The first challenge is deciding whether to implement a full marketing suite or a point solution.
• The number of marketing suites and point solutions has increased from 50 to more than 800 just in the past five years.
• IT is receiving a growing number of marketing analytics requests and must be prepared to speak intelligently about marketing management vendor selection.

Resolution

• Leverage Info-Tech’s comprehensive three-phase approach to MMS selection projects: assess your organization’s preparedness to go into the selection stage, move through technology selection, and present decisions to stakeholders.
• Conduct an MMS project preparedness assessment to ensure you maximize the value of your time, effort, and spend.
• Determine whether your organization’s needs will best be met by a marketing management suite or a point solution.
• Determine which use case your organization fits into and review the relevant vendor landscape, common capability, and areas of product differentiation. Consult Info-Tech’s market analysis to shortlist vendors for your RFP process.
• Take advantage of traceable and auditable selection tools to run an effective evaluation and selection process. Be prepared to answer the retroactive question “Why this MMS?” with documentation of your selection process and outputs.

Info-Tech Insight

1. The new MMS market. Selecting a marketing management solution has become increasingly difficult, with the number of players in the marketplace ballooning to meet buyer demand.
2. Direct translation to revenue. Picking the wrong marketing solution has a direct impact on the bottom line. However, the right MMS can lead to a 7.3x greater year-over-year increase in annual revenue.
3. Don’t buy best-of-breed; buy best-for-you. Base your vendor selection on your requirements and use case, not on the vendor’s overall performance.

MMS is a key piece of the CRM puzzle

In order to optimize cross-sell opportunities and marketing effectiveness, there needs to be a master customer database, which belongs in the customer relationship management (CRM) suite.

“When it comes to marketing automation capabilities, using CRM is like building a car from a kit. All the parts are there, but you need the time and skill to put it all together. Using marketing automation is like buying the car you want or need, with all the features you want already installed and some gas in the tank, ready to drive. In either case, you still need to know how to drive and where you want to go.” (Mac McIntosh, Marketo Inc.)

A master database – the central place where all up-to-the-minute data on a customer profile is stored – is essential for MMS success. This is particularly true for real-time capability effectiveness and to minimize customer fatigue.

Understand what an MMS can do for you

Take time to learn the capabilities of modern marketing applications. Understanding the “art of the possible” will help you to get the most out of your MMS.

Review Info-Tech’s vendor profiles of the MMS market to identify vendors that meet your requirements

Use Info-Tech’s MMS implementation methodology as a starting point for your organization’s MMS selection

Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

Professional services provider engages Info-Tech to guide it through its MMS selection journey

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

Select a Marketing Management Suite – project overview

	1. Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements	2. Shortlist Marketing Management Suites	3. Select Vendor and Communicate Decision to Stakeholders
Best-Practice Toolkit	1.1 Assess the value and identify your organization’s fit for MMS technology. 1.2 Build your procurement team and project customer experience management (CXM) strategy. 1.3 Identify your MMS requirements.	2.1 Produce your shortlist	3.1 Select your MMS 3.2 Present selection
Guided Implementations	Understand CXM strategy and identify your fit for MMS technology. Identify staffing needs. Plan requirements gathering steps.	Discuss use-case fit assessment results. Discuss vendor landscape.	Create a procurement strategy. Discuss executive presentation. Conduct a proposal review.
Onsite Workshop	Module 1: Launch Your MMS Selection Project	Module 2: Analyze MMS Requirements and Shortlist Vendors	Module 3: Plan Your Procurement Process
	Phase 1 Outcome: Launch of MMS selection project	Phase 2 Outcome: Shortlist of vendors	Phase 3 Outcome: Selection of MMS

Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research

Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.

	This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.
	This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization.
	This icon denotes a slide that pertains directly to the Info-Tech vendor profiles on marketing management technology. Use these slides to support and guide your evaluation of the MMS vendors included in the research.

Select a Marketing Management Suite

PHASE 1

Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements

Phase 1 outline

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 1: Launch Your MMS Project and Collect Requirements

Proposed Time to Completion: 3 weeks

Phase 1 milestones

Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements — Phase 1

• Understand the MMS market space.
• Assess organizational and project readiness for MMS selection.
• Structure your MMS selection and implementation project by refining your MMS roadmap.
• Align organizational use-case fit with market use cases.
• Collect, prioritize, and document MMS requirements.

Shortlist MMS Tool — Phase 2

• Review MMS market leaders and players within your aligned use case.
• Review MMS vendor profiles and capabilities.
• Shortlist MMS vendors based on organizational fit.

Select an MMS — Phase 3

• Submit request for proposal (RFP) to shortlisted vendors.
• Evaluate vendor responses and develop vendor demonstration scripts.
• Score vendor demonstrations and select the final product.

Step 1.1: Understand the MMS market

This step will walk you through the following activities:

• MMS market overview

This step involves the following participants:

• Project team
• Project manager
• Project sponsor

Outcomes of this step

• An understanding of the evolution of the MMS market space and how it helps today’s organizations.
• An evaluation of new and upcoming trends sought by MMS clients.
• Verification of whether an MMS is a fit with your organization.

Speak the same language as the marketing department to deliver the most business value

Marketing Management Suite Glossary

MMS is a key piece of the customer experience ecosystem

A master database – the central place where all up-to-the-minute data on a customer profile is stored – is essential for MMS success. This is particularly true for real-time capability effectiveness and to minimize customer fatigue. If you have customer records in multiple places, you risk missing customer opportunities and potentially upsetting clients. For example, if a client has communicated preferences or disinterest through one channel, and this is not effectively recorded throughout the organization, another representative is likely to contact them in the same method again – possibly alienating the customer for good. A master database requires automatic synchronization with all point solutions, POS, billing systems, agencies, etc. If you don’t have up-to-the-minute information, you can’t score prospects effectively and you lose out on the benefits of the MMS.

Understanding the “art of the possible”

Expect the marketing department to drive suite adoption, but don’t count out the benefits MMS will also provide to IT

MMS adoption is driven by the need for better campaign execution and marketing intelligence. MMS technologies are adopted to create faster, easier, more intelligent, and more measurable campaigns and make managing complex channels easy and repeatable.

(Source: Info-Tech Research Group; N=23)

The key drivers for MMS are business-related, not IT-related. However, this does not mean that there are no benefits to IT. In fact, the IT department will see numerous benefits, including time and resource savings. Further, not having an MMS creates more work for your IT department. IT must serve as a valued partner for selection and implementation.

Additional benefits to IT driven by MMS

Marketing management suites are ideal for large organizations with multiple product lines in complex marketing environments. IT is often more centralized than its counterparts in the business, making it uniquely positioned to encourage greater coordination by helping the business units understand the shared goals and the benefits of working together to roll out suites for marketing workflow management, intelligence, and channel management.

Info-Tech Insight

Don’t forget that MMS technologies deliver on the overarching suite value proposition: a robust solution within one integrated offering. Without an MMS in play, organizations in need of this functionality are forced to piece together point solutions (or ad hoc management). This not only increases costs but also is an integration nightmare for IT.

Step 1.2: Structure the project

This step will walk you through the following activities:

• Determine if you are ready to kick off the MMS selection project.
• Align project goals with CXM strategy and business goals.

This step involves the following participants:

• Core project team
• Project manager
• Project sponsor

Outcomes of this step

• Assurance that you have completed adequate preparation, obtained stakeholder and sponsor buy-in, secured sufficient resources, and completed strategy and planning activities to move forward with selection.
• An approach to remedy organizational readiness to prepare for MMS selection.
• An understanding of stakeholder goals.

Identify the scope and purpose of your MMS selection process

Info-Tech Insights

Creating repeatable and streamlined marketing processes is a common overarching business objective that is driven by multiple factors. To ensure this objective is achieved, confirm that the primary drivers are following the implementation of the first automated marketing channels.

Activity: Understand your business’ goals for MMS by parsing your formal CXM strategy

INPUT: Stakeholder user stories

OUTPUT: Understanding of ideal outcomes from MMS implementation

MATERIALS: Whiteboard and marker or sticky notes

PARTICIPANTS: Project sponsor, Project stakeholders, Business analysts, Business unit reps

Instructions

1. Outline the purpose of the future MMS tool and the drivers behind this business decision with the project’s key stakeholders.
2. Document plans to ensure that these drivers are taken into consideration and realized following implementation. Example:

   Improve	Reduce/Eliminate	KPIs
   Multichannel marketing	Duplication of effort	Number of customer interaction channels supported
   Social integration	Process inefficiencies	Number of social signals received (likes, shares, etc.)
   …	…	…

If you do not have a well-defined CXM strategy, leverage Info-Tech’s research to Build a Strong Technology Foundation for Customer Experience Management.

Understanding marketing suites

This blueprint focuses on complete, integrated marketing management suites An integrated suite is a single product that is designed to assist with multiple marketing processes. Information from these suites is deeply connected to the core CRM. Changing a piece of information for one process will update all affected.

Understanding marketing point solutions

Determine if MMS is right for your organization

Info-Tech Insight

Using an MMS is ideal for organizations with multiple brands and product portfolios (e.g. consumer packaged goods). Ad hoc management and email marketing services are best for small organizations with a client base that requires only bare bones engagement.

Determine if you are ready to kick off your MMS selection and implementation project

Use Info-Tech’s MMS Readiness Assessment Checklist to determine if your organization has sufficient process and campaign maturity to warrant the investment in a consolidated marketing management suite. Sections of the Tool: Goals & Objectives Project Team Current State Understanding Future State Vision Business Process Improvement Project Metrics Executive Sponsorship Stakeholder Buy-In & Change Management Risk Management Cost & Budget

INFO-TECH DELIVERABLE Complete the MMS Readiness Assessment Checklist by following the instructions in Activity 1.2.3.

Activity: Determine if you are ready to kick off your MMS selection project

1.2.3 30 minutes

INPUT: MMS foundation, MMS strategy

OUTPUT: Readiness remediation approach, Validation of MMS project readiness

MATERIALS: Info-Tech’s MMS Readiness Assessment Checklist

PARTICIPANTS: Project sponsor, Core project team

Instructions

1. Download the MMS Readiness Assessment Checklist.
2. Review Section 1 of the checklist with the core project team and/or project sponsor, item by item. For completed items, tick the relative checkbox.
3. Once the whole checklist has been reviewed, document all incomplete items in the table under Section 1 in the first table column (“Incomplete Readiness Item”).
4. For each incomplete item, use your discretion to determine whether its completion is critical in preparation for MMS selection and implementation. This may vary given the complexity of your MMS project. If the item is critical to the project, indicate this with “Y” in the second column (“Criticality (Y/N)”).
5. For each critical item, reflect on the barriers that have prevented or are preventing its completion. Possible barriers include incomplete task dependencies, low value-to-effort determination, lack of organizational knowledge or resources, pressure of deadlines, etc. Document these barriers in the third column (“Barriers to Completion”).
6. Based on the barriers determined in Step 5, determine a remediation approach for each item. Document the approach in the fourth column (“Remediation Approach”).
7. For each remediation activity, designate a due date and remediation owner. Document this in the fifth column (“Due Date & Owner”).
8. Carry out the remediation of critical tasks and return to this blueprint to kickstart your selection and implementation project.

Step 1.3: Gather MMS requirements

This step will walk you through the following activities:

• Understand your MMS use case.
• Elicit and capture your MMS requirements.
• Prioritize your solution requirements.

This step involves the following participants:

• Core project team
• Project manager
• Business analysts
• Procurement subject-matter experts (SMEs)

Outcomes of this step

• Project alignment with MMS market use case.
• Inventory of categorized and prioritized MMS business requirements.

Understand the dominant use-case scenarios for MMS across organizations

Activity: Understand which type of MMS you need

1.3.1 30 minutes

INPUT: Use-case breakdown

OUTPUT: Project use-case alignments

Materials: Whiteboard, markers

Participants: Project manager, Core project team (optional)

Instructions

1. Familiarize your team with Info-Tech’s MMS use-case breakdown from the previous slide.
2. Determine which use case is best aligned with your organization’s MMS project objectives. If you need assistance with this, consider the relevance of the cases studies and statements on the following slides.
3. If your team agrees with most or all statements under a given use case, this indicates strong alignment towards that use case. It is possible for an organization to align with more than one use case. Your use-case alignment will guide you in creating a vendor shortlist later in this project.

Use Info-Tech’s vendor research and use-case scenarios to support your organization’s vendor analysis

The use-case view of vendor and product performance provides multiple opportunities for vendors to fit into your application architecture depending on their product and market performance. The use cases selected are based on market research and client demand.

Determining your use case is crucial for:

1. Selecting an application that is the right fit
2. Establishing a business case for MMS

The following slides illustrate how the three most common use cases (marketing automation, marketing intelligence, and social marketing) align with business needs. As shown by the case studies, the right MMS can result in great benefits to your organization.

Use-case alignment and business need

Marketing Automation

Marketing Need	Manage customer experience across multiple channels	Manage multiple campaigns simultaneously	Integrate web-enabled devices (IoT) into marketing campaigns	Run and track email marketing campaigns

The Portland Trail Blazers utilize an MMS to amplify their message with marketing automation technology

Use-case alignment and business need

Marketing Intelligence

Marketing Need	Capture marketing- and customer-related data from multiple sources	Analyze large quantities of marketing data	Visualize marketing-related data in a manner that is easy for decision makers to consume	Perform trend and predictive analysis

Chico’s FAS uses marketing intelligence to drive customer loyalty

Use-case alignment and business need

Social Marketing

Marketing Need	Understand customers' likes and dislikes	Manage and analyze social media channels like Facebook and Twitter	Foster a conversation around specific products	Engage international audiences through regional messaging apps

Bayer leverages MMS technology to cultivate a social presence

Leverage Info-Tech’s requirements gathering framework to serve as the basis for capturing your MMS requirements

REQUIREMENTS GATHERING Info-Tech’s requirements gathering framework is a comprehensive approach to requirements management that can be scaled to any size of project or organization. This framework ensures that the application created will capture the needs of all stakeholders and deliver business value. Develop and right-size a proven standard operating procedure for requirements gathering with Info-Tech’s blueprint Build a Strong Approach to Business Requirements Gathering.

Activity: Elicit and capture your MMS requirements

1.3.2 Varies

INPUT: MMS tool user expertise, MMS Requirements Picklist Tool

OUTPUT: A list of needs from the MMS tool user perspective

Materials: Note-taking materials, Whiteboard or flip chart, markers

Participants: MMS users in the organization, MMS selection committee

Instructions

1. Identify stakeholders for the requirements gathering exercise. Consider holding one-on-one sessions or large focus groups with key stakeholders or the project sponsor to gather business requirements for an MMS.
2. Use the MMS Requirements Picklist Tool as a starting point for conducting the requirements elicitation session(s).
3. Begin by reading the instructions in the template and then move to the “Requirements” worksheet. Read each defined requirement in the worksheet and indicate in the “Requirement Status” column whether the requirement is a “Must,” “High,” or “Low.” Confirming the status is an important part of the exercise. The status will help filter vendors for final selection later on in the process.
4. Decide whether additional requirements are necessary by asking the MMS tool users. If so, add the requirements to the bottom of the “Requirements” worksheet and indicate their “Requirement Status.”

Download the MMS Requirements Picklist Tool to help with completing this activity.

Show the measurable benefits of MMS with metrics

The return on investment (ROI) and perceived value of the organization’s marketing solution will be a critical indication of the likelihood of success of the suite’s selection and implementation.

Info-Tech Insight

Even if marketing metrics are difficult to track right now, the implementation of an MMS brings access to valuable customer intelligence from data that was once kept in silos.

If you want additional support, have our analysts guide you through this phase as part of an Info-Tech Workshop

Book a workshop with our Info-Tech analysts:

To accelerate this project, engage your IT team in an Info-Tech workshop with an Info-Tech analyst team. Info-Tech analyst will join you and your team onsite at your location or welcome you to Info-Tech's historic Toronto office to participate in an innovative onsite workshop. Contact your account manager (www.infotech.com/account), or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team:

1.2.1		Align the CXM strategy value proposition to MMS capabilities Our facilitator will help your team identify the IT CXM strategy and marketing goals. The analyst will then work with the team to map the strategy to technological drivers available in the MMS market.
1.3.2		Define the needs of MMS users Our facilitator will work with your team to identify user requirements for the MMS Requirements Picklist Tool. The analyst will facilitate a discussion with your team to prioritize identified requirements.

Select a Marketing Management Suite

PHASE 2

Shortlist Marketing Management Suites

Phase 2 outline

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 2: Shortlist Marketing Management Suites

Proposed Time to Completion: 1-3 months

Phase 2 milestones

Launch the MMS Project and Collect Requirements — Phase 1

• Understand the MMS market space.
• Assess organizational and project readiness for MMS selection.
• Structure your MMS selection and implementation project by refining your MMS roadmap.
• Align organizational use-case fit with market use cases.
• Collect, prioritize, and document MMS requirements.

Shortlist MMS Tool — Phase 2

• Review MMS market leaders and players within your aligned use case.
• Review MMS vendor profiles and capabilities.
• Shortlist MMS vendors based on organizational fit.

Select an MMS — Phase 3

• Submit request for proposal (RFP) to shortlisted vendors.
• Evaluate vendor responses and develop vendor demonstration scripts.
• Score vendor demonstrations and select the final product.

Step 2.1: Analyze and shortlist MMS vendors