By Andres Garcia
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications help you manage customers. Human Capital Management (HCM) applications work in much the same way, but with managing employees. Just like customers, employees are unique, which is why it’s important for organizations to use both CRM and HCM systems to manage processes and predict behaviors.
Metrics that look at staff performance should be in place to support CRM solutions. However, the step organizations need to take before implementing metrics is to think strategically about their business and how its aims and objectives are communicated internally. This ensures that each layer of an organization is aligned to the same objectives and can be measured accordingly. Data from across the organization can and should be correlated with HCM application data to drive better insights, including data from financial, project, and customer support systems, other enterprise applications, and external data such as salary surveys, benchmarking data, and social activity.
Whether the subjects are customers or employees, technology plays a vital role in the continuous gathering and analyzing of management information. But it’s the context of effective coaching and monitoring that enables this technology to improve workers’ relationships with customers. Teams with a deep understanding of your HCM and CRM systems — along with a high level of technical skills — will help convert strategy into implemented systems in planned time frames and budgets.
How CRM and HCM applications can be a strategic fit for any organization
Organizations can implement campaigns internally to improve employee engagement, collaboration, and development with content driven by internal and external data analysis. Analysis of the communications occurring in social channels like Chatter, and internal activity streams — coupled with employee achievements and progress against tasks, goals, and other work management tools — can yield more predictable performance.
For example, call center agents should not be measured solely on cross-selling or upselling; in fact, measurement shouldn’t be confined to any one part of the customer relationship. It takes time to embed and drive the business through a well-crafted framework of metrics. To this end, contact center management should not just look at absolutes in one specific area or point in time, but instead measure the progress of that agent’s customer service performance over a longer period.
Remember that employees who are engaged and empowered are essential to creating happier customers, and business growth. Learn how to digitally transform your business and create empowered, engaged employees from our ebook, Building the Worker Experience.