Can you offer me any advice on how to manage the expectations of
the business? End-users only contact my team to moan about a fault
and then expect us to solve it immediately.
At board-level, there is a pervading belief that e-business can
transform the whole business - I am forever trying to explain that
there are many constraints, such as time, finances and technology
Make it clear what is possible
Erika Henson
Strategic consultant, AMS
Be clear about what improvement e-business has brought to your
end-users. Try to work out what benefits have been seen by each
section.
The next two steps describe how to communicate this to the two
different audiences.
- Hold an "all-comers" meeting to explain what they can expect
from current e-business initiatives. Get all their issues on the
table and make it clear what is and is not possible, so a common
ground is established and you are no longer seen as a bottleneck,
but as a facilitator. If possible, use the e-business initiatives
to allow some participants to attend remotely, if desired
- The best approach with the board is again communication. Try to
establish a sponsor on the board who will be open to your input on
expectations of current and future e-business initiatives, enabling
you to set realistic expectations up front. If you can get them to
attend the all-comers meeting, they will see at first hand the
current limitations and benefits.
Communicate with your users
David Roberts
Chief executive, tif
Yes, the dreaded "e" is everywhere. Unfortunately the expectant
board is right; it will transform the business into continued
profitability if it is part of an organised plan, and into
extinction if not.
What the board is probably not fully aware of is that "e" is
also elusive and expensive. Your function must be seen as an
essential business component rather than an emergency service.
To make the transition your team must take itself to its
customers. Communicate with your users. Do not moan about time,
finances and technology as though they are constraints; create some
time to argue the case for the money. Then buy the technology with
their support and apply it to the business need. Be positive.
Make sure there are SLAs in place
Roger Rawlinson
Head of e-business, NCC Global
The issues you describe are symptoms of a lack of communication
and understanding between IT and the business. If end-users expect
faults to be remedied immediately, it suggests that there may not
be an agreed service level agreement in place, whereby fix times
are prioritised by the business impact of the fault. Is there a
channel between IT and end-users for briefing and feedback?
Does the board know why e-business can transform the business?
Is it new channels to new or existing customers? Will it create
more efficient supply chains, save on office space or reduce
marketing costs via the Web? Find out what the board wants to do as
a business, then assess what IT will need to enable it.
Align your strategies
Paul Williams
Arthur Andersen
In today's fast-moving business world there is often an
expectation that technology will deliver whatever it is that the
business wants, whenever it wants it. We all know that this is not
that simple.
You need to have a fully articulated strategy for IT that is
aligned with the overall strategy of the business. You do not say
what business you are in but technology is much more than a support
for business. If used effectively it should also enhance and enable
front-line business activities. You need to work with your board to
establish a framework for the development, replacement and
implementation of technology solutions within a mutually agreed and
understood timetable and budget. You then need to support your
day-to-day technology delivery activities through the use of
service level agreements to enable a mutual understanding of
performance expectations. A system should then be established using
key performance indicators to measure the performance.
Formulate a joint action plan
Roger Marshall
Elite
You have a problem in customer relationships, a common theme in
Strategy Clinic questions. Let's start by examining the language
used - rather than "customers" or even "clients", you refer to "the
business", "the board" and "end-users". This is not a good way to
look on them. They are your customers. You should be working
together for the good of the business, not staring at each other
with a mutual lack of sympathy.
So do not talk of managing the expectations of the business as
if they are unruly children who need to be controlled. Spend some
time under-standing what they want, explain to them why there is a
gap between what they need and what you can achieve and discuss
with them how that gap can be bridged, formulating a joint action
plan.
Try to be customer-friendly
Lynn Mercer
The Impact Programme
It is crucial to understand what the business expectations are
and why. Is there appropriate dialogue with the business? Are the
costs and benefits of different levels of service understood?
Should agreed service standards be used as quality benchmarks? Is
performance measured?
Your question suggests real frustration and its language is not
particularly customer-friendly. I wonder if the issue is really a
technical one or, in fact, people-related. The attitude and
leadership of the department head will set the working environment
and culture, which needs to be positive, open and helpful.
Finally, it is not helpful for a board to have constraints put
on its strategic thinking. Is it not the role of the IT leader to
help business understand e-commerce, including its many
opportunities, threats, costs and benefits? Why not help the board
understand how e-commerce can transform its business, if it deems
that this is an appropriate business strategy?
In the coming weeks
After the Love Bug virus, I took some advice from a security
consultant and thought all was OK. While not as damaging, the
Kournikova virus got through recently. Is this inevitable or should
I go back to the security "expert" and ask for a refund?