Does your organization want to implement new software or make a significant tech change? Are you considering a new CRM but feeling worried about how you’ll migrate existing data? Perhaps you’re sweating over the logistics of switching to new software and the potential stress on your donors, fellow team members, and other key stakeholders. They might have reservations around radically changing established processes.

If any of this feels relatable, you’re not alone. Implementations are difficult regardless of how big your organization is, what kind of work you do, or how experienced your staff is. The good news is that we have proven strategies for how to make your implementation run smoothly — and how to solve problems instead of creating more of them.

As digital partners with decades of experience supporting progressive enterprises of all sizes, we’ve become experts in not just identifying but predicting obstacles to software success. We had the opportunity to discuss our expertise in implementation at this year’s NTC. (Find our full presentation slides here.)

Let’s talk about how to map your implementation strategy so you can get buy-in from your organization, support your team’s training, and finalize your software integration, all while overcoming pain points that present themselves along the way.

Anticipating Challenges

So you want to propose a new tech solution for your organization to adopt. Focus on the positives, of course. But you should also think about how to manage potential complaints and oversights well in advance. This kind of preparation will make the ultimate pitch to your team all the more persuasive.

At one point or another, team members (including you) will find fault with the new software and feel confused by it. On top of that, no matter how much analysis you do, you will miss something. Create a no-blame environment ahead of time that encourages people to vent their criticisms. Build in extra time for errors, meetings, double work, and receiving feedback.

What does this sort of preparation look like in practice? Take donor management systems as one example. In this scenario, your organization should plan for data migration, internal champion recruitment, and multiple phases of refinement. Forgetting to do these things is why CRM implementations often fail the first time.

Be ready from the outset to handle conflict with grace. Through stress management, collaborative problem-solving, not taking feedback personally, and similarly constructive approaches, you will set a positive tone that will endure throughout the subsequent phases of your implementation journey.

The Implementation Roadmap: Your Guide to Success

Now that you’ve gotten your team’s attention, it’s time to map out the implementation journey. Remember to be as comprehensive as possible. Your roadmap should cover everything from initial goals to training plans to the budget. The roadmap should be able to answer these four questions:

1. What are the challenges? This ties back to the previous section. Clearly define and identify the problems that will arise during the journey.
2. What is the timeline? Plan out all your phases and set realistic deadlines for each.
3. Who are the stakeholders? Identify users, managers, champions. These are the people you ultimately want to say, “Yes, we totally need this new tool.”
4. What are the milestones? Measure how you’re making progress throughout each phase. And when you achieve a win, celebrate it!

Above all, the most important question is, Why? Once you can articulate the fundamental need for a new software tool, from there you can identify the problems it will solve and the overall improvements it will bring to your organization.

Having ready answers to all these questions will keep everyone on the same page and sustain their morale throughout the entire journey. You want to avoid the question of, “Hold on, why are we doing all of this again?” This is how you advance from simply piquing your team’s interest to winning their trust.

In your roadmap, make sure to devote ample time to the following phases:

• Documenting Current Processes: Create functional diagrams of existing systems and processes. Document departmental groups, management, and process owners. And plan to conduct top-down interviews following the process flow.
• Securing Organization-Wide Commitment: Leadership should communicate their commitment to the process organization-wide and personally engage with management to reinforce it. That said, there must also be key stakeholder participation at the ground-level to establish group ownership and constructively deal with pushback.
• Conducting Effective Interviews: It is vital to engage with all staff and gain their collective buy-in. With managers in particular, you should focus on identifying key concerns, departmental pain, team structure, process owners, and solution impacts.
• Building Your Implementation Team: It’s dangerous to go alone! Aim for at least one end-user champion for each workflow stage, one member from leadership, and an advocate in your organization’s IT department.
• Addressing Resistance: Be aware of why different stakeholders might be resistant (risk aversion, tech aversion, fear of irrelevance, and overwhelm). Always visibly note down concerns, continually review them with the team, and plan strategies to address them.
• Setting Your Budget: Costs can run higher than you anticipated. Thoroughly tally how much consultants, IT, and integrations will cost you altogether, and communicate with leadership to determine their comfort level around the total budget.

An example of process documentation

Key Takeaways

After reading all these phases for your implementation roadmap, you might be feeling even more stressed. It’s a lot, we totally get it. That’s why we’ve put together a full roadmap template that you can follow with your team. It guides you through the implementation journey step by step, illuminating a clear path to success.

Whether you choose to follow our template or start from scratch, our hope is that you walk away with the following lessons:

1. Fix Fundamentals First: Approaching your implementation with mindfulness and grace means addressing deeper issues at your organization — and that’s before you even begin to dig into the technology itself.
2. Bring Joy and Humility: Approach the process with positivity and openness to being wrong. Hold the assumption that everyone has unique wisdom to bring to the table.
3. Plan Thoroughly: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
4. Collaborate Structurally: Make sure that every phase incorporates teamwork in one way or another. Whatever you do, don’t ride solo.

Worried that switching to new software will be too expensive and time-consuming? Logical Alternative is here to support you, no matter where you are financially. All of our services are either discounted or pro bono. We also offer FREE web hosting to any 501(c)3 organization.

Contact us to figure out a service package that fits comfortably within your budget.