Articles for Monday, November 11, 2008
  • Newsletter topics: CRM, HR, Accounting
  • Is a CRM Philosophy at the Center of Your Business?
  • Talking to your CEO  
  • How to Buy Accounting Software - Key Factors to Consider
1. Is a CRM Philosophy at the Center of Your Business?
by Bill Hoffman
 
The concept of CRM has been around since the beginning of human interaction. Where do you think the phrase, “the customer is always right,” came from? So, why all of the attention now? What is it that makes CRM so important? So much so, that companies invest large amounts of money and time to implement it?  
 
The answer lies in a shift in the 1980s away from true customer service, to what I like to call, our new “Self-Service World.” Today’s popular belief is, “since I can’t get the service I deserve, I will do it myself and pay less.” I was raised in a time when you were not allowed to pump your own gas. It was considered to be too dangerous. I can recall a time when three attendants would service my family’s car while they pumped our gas. They would wash the windows, check the tires and oil, and even check the battery if they knew us well. I remember the attendants would always take the time to speak with us and really tried to get to know my family as people.
 
Was the attitude and attentiveness of this business designed to create customer loyalty to bring us back to that particular gas station, even in times (continue)

2. Talking to your CEO
by Greg Chartier, Ph.D., SPHR

Management cares about results. Historically, however, human resources has not understood nor attempted to understand what results were important.  Two measures are most common, effectiveness and efficiency. I think we begin with efficiency. 
 
Efficiency is a ratio of inputs and outputs; you put resources in and get results out. If you can decrease the inputs and increase the outputs, you are more efficient. Efficiency also allows you to spend more resources, assuming that the outputs will increase in a greater ratio than those inputs.
 
One of the difficulties in using the term “efficiency” is that we have multiple definitions for it. I will use efficiency to mean, “How much does a given expenditure on human resources produce in programs or practices?”
 
For HR people that means, what level of human resource programs (training, compensation, staffing, communications ,etc.) is generated for a given investment of resources (such as time and money)?
 
Every business uses some sort of metrics or management index to determine “how we are doing.” When business people talk about a company or the health of the economy or an industry, they almost always use  (continue)

3. How to Buy Accounting Software - Key Factors to Consider
(part 1 of 2) by Gregory Coats

As companies grow, they should regularly evaluate their software and assess how well it can meet their needs. In some cases, the software limitations, if severe, can constrict a company’s growth and efficiency. In this article, I will identify key areas to focus – in detail - on some key areas.
 
The first area most companies focus on is cost. Cost is important and you should have a budget when you do your evaluation. However, if you do not know what products are available and what your needs are, how can you accurately determine cost? There will be some obvious limiting factors, but be reasonable. I have seen many businesses budget $10,000 to $30,000 for computer and network upgrades, but very little for software. For less than $1,000, you can buy any number of accounting software packages. But, if they don’t meet your needs and you end up doing a lot of extra work because of software limitations, how worthwhile was that investment? Buying inexpensive software now and then having to buy an entirely new product several years later is often very costly. These additional costs can include: learning/training to use two software packages, data conversion (which can be very expensive), required  (continue)
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