Technology's Internal Customer Facing Issues

by Janice Giannini

I network a lot as a way to meet people and grow our business. When I walk into a room and mention the word technology, I typically get one of two reactions.

The first is a positive one- isn't technology great! It enables us to do anything. We are in so much better a position today than we were even a few years ago. The second, far more common reaction, I get is a version of "why is this so difficult? There's got to be a better way!" This reaction applies to revenue generating technology as well as technology for internal use within a company.

So why is this so difficult? - A perfectly legitimate question that I hear from leaders regardless of their perspective or responsibility in a business.

From executives spanning Marketing, Sales, Technology, Finance, Operations, Quality and Engineering- many leaders are scratching their collective heads. No doubt there are many reasons for this. I invite you to view this from the following vantage point.

In a heterogeneous group of people not everyone has the same perspective on the situation. In addition, leaders with different responsibilities have different strengths. It goes without saying that frequently on a cross functional business team; the players are at varying levels of comfort with understanding:

• the technology itself,
• the operational flow for customers
• the operational flow for internal use
• the intricacies and interactions among elements of the system as a whole

In today's business climate, sometimes it can be difficult to take a breath, set back and ask a few basic questions to gain perspective. Questions such as:

• If I would be in "his/her" shoes what would I want? How would I feel?
• Who are our customers? How will this "technology/ service" help them?
• What do our customers think of us? Is this a major driver?
• What are our customers' expectations?
• Are we really on the same page at 50,000 feet? Do we need to address that?
• What are my expectations? Am I clear about this?
• What are the expectations of the members of the team across the functions?
• Are expectations misaligned thereby setting us up for disappointment from the beginning?

The next time you face a situation where internal customers are grumbling about technology, I invite you to engage them in a conversation centered on the questions above. Use that conversation to gain clear insight into the following:

• What problem are they trying to solve with this technology?
• What increased capability do they feel is needed? Why?
• What will it enable your customers to do that they can not do today?
• If they were prioritizing, what are their top 3 or 4 needs? Why?
• What is their expectation on how much time and resource they will need to invest to bring this new technology to fruition? Are they willing to make that commitment?

Informed with this information, the team may be in a better position to understand and deliver a more user based technology for your customers. If you find yourself in a truly difficult scenario where there appears to be little common ground, perhaps the follow exercise with the team would be helpful. This is not an intuitive exercise and not always easy to implement without some help.

• State the problem the team is trying to resolve.
• Swap roles, where no one is in his/her natural role on the team.
• With your new role definitions, try to come to resolution.
• What changed?
• What helped?
• Was the process different? and
• Was the outcome different?

Tying together the differences and similarities of a heterogeneous group, a better understanding across the group at 50,000 feet and walking in someone else's shoes, albeit temporarily, can create a platform for moving forward. Now, let's look at the second thought posed.

There's got to be a better way!

So, how do you set the table for a better way? Again I invite you to view this from the following vantage point.

Given the time constraints, natural tendencies of all of the individuals on the team, and the company bias for discussion or action:

• How complete and effective are your communications with each other?
• Do you/they have unmet expectations?
• Can you clearly articulate your expectations in a proactive timely manner?
• Can all of the team members do the same?

It is often said , in large as well as small companies that we always have time to do it over, but we rarely have time to do it right! If you made the time to do it right- what questions would you need to pose and address proactively. For example, does the team:

• Understand what the integrated business need is? And the rationale?
• Understand the technology from the customers' perspective? How much does that impact the process and outcomes?
• Understand the operational flow of how the product or service will be used by customers?
• Have a process for alignment, negotiation and conflict resolution among perspectives?
• Is there an environment (aka "walking in your peers shoes") of give and take to balance what is wanted and what is possible? By when it is possible?
• Have a prioritize list of needs so if there is a disconnect between the need and the schedule, there is a basis for negotiation and conflict resolution
• Have a good grasp of impacts both positive and negative on the internal as well as the external customer base
• Have a plan for addressing some customers' lack of comfort with the technology?
• Is there a way to constantly reinforce clarity of plans, progress and risks, along with an opportunity to make appropriate changes?

I often use the analogy of an orchestra. In your mind's eye or ear, imagine you are listening to an orchestra playing your favorite arrangement. Orchestra A has strong musicians in each section and they are playing their best based on their interpretation of the music. Orchestra B has strong/good musicians in each section. They are focused on doing their best to make the whole orchestra sound good as they play this arrangement. Which performance would you rather attend? What are your next steps to being part of Orchestra B?