“An extra pair of hands”
Here's a question I received last week, edited slightly for brevity:
We’ve been using CiviCRM for 3 or 4 years now. Our CiviCRM instance typically needs 3 to 5 hrs of maintenance work per month. Sometimes we just need new or improved configurations. Or we need help when one of our members reports that's something isn’t working as it should.
What do you recommend for an organization that just needs an extra pair of hands now and then for adhoc CiviCRM maintenance?
Readers of this list know I’m reluctant to recommend outsourcing the day-to-day maintenance of your CiviCRM configurations.
Instead, I encourage you to assign that work to an in-house person who is familiar with your unique needs, and who will become your in-house CiviCRM expert.
Still, outsourcing might be for you, in two very specific situations:
You have a business case that justifies paying top dollar for an outsider to become very familiar with your policies, procedures, programs, and people. (This is essentially a decision to build a long-term relationship with an outside partner instead of making an internal hire.)
You literally just need someone who will check the boxes and click the buttons at your direction, with no real understanding of your goals and mission.
In my experience, not many organizations meet those criteria.
If you can pay top dollar, long-term, for an outside expert who's able to internalize your organization’s goals and needs, why not make an internal hire and bring those CiviCRM skills in-house?
No matter how simple your CRM configuration, it's very unlikely that you literally just need someone to check boxes and click buttons. You'll probably spend as much time explaining your real situation to them as you would have spent doing the configurations yourself.
That's my view of things.
But I understand not everyone thinks like me. (Just ask my kids.)
If you'd like to give this kind of outsourcing a try, head over to the CiviCRM Partner Directory. You might just find someone there who's happy to help.
All the best,
A.