Mastering CiviCRM #4: Your designated in-house expert
When I was growing up, my dad was our family's car guru.
Whenever an issue came up — squeaky brakes, funny engine noises, new radio to install, anything — we knew that was a question for Dad.
As a kid, I thought he knew everything about cars. As an adult, I found out he didn’t. That surprised me, because he had always just handled it.
Nowadays, I don't do much of my own car maintenance. Modern cars are pretty complicated, and I've got better things to do. So I have a good relationship with a good mechanic, and I'll take most anything to him.
Still, in my family, any questions about cars come to me first.
Believe me, I'm no mechanical genius. So how is it that I'm still the designated in-house car expert?
Why have an in-house expert at all
It's not that my family needs a professionally skilled live-in mechanic —we don’t. But we do get a lot of benefit out of putting one person in charge of this specific area.
Knowledge increases over time, and is retained for everyone’s benefit.
Routine maintenance gets done on time.
Expense aside, quick in-house fixes are just easier than the hassle of putting a car in the a shop.
Mastering your CRM system really is a lot like this.
Complex systems need an in-house expert
A modern open source CRM is a complicated machine. To keep it running smoothly, you'll sometimes need a professional expert with years of experience and deep technical knowledge.
But unless you're a very large organization, it's probably not worth hiring such an expert full-time.
Instead, keep a good relationship with them, and pull them in only when needed.
And in the meantime, you'll get a lot of value by designating someone in your core staff to be your in-house expert.
They don't have to know everything. But as more questions keep coming to them, they'll learn an awful lot.
Keeping this knowledge in house means you have quick access to someone who can handle most questions as they arise.
Because they're internal to your team, they'll have a better understanding of your policies, working style, limitations, and goals than any outside expert.
This person might be you, or you might just select someone who has a methodical and pragmatic mindset. They don't need much prior knowledge. They just need attention to detail and a willingness to learn. They'll become your in-house expert soon enough.
Pulling in outside help always incurs some overhead: scheduling, communication, availability. Sure, sometimes it's worth it, so keep that option handy.
But you can’t outsource everything. Institutional knowledge, organizational culture, development priorities — all of these have to reside within your core staff, and they will (or should) inform your plans for leveraging your CRM’s potential.
Designating an in-house expert will put you on the path to building up your institutional mastery of your CRM, as valuable resource for your organization's future.
You're already investing in a powerful CRM solution. Why not start now investing in one team member to be empowered and increasingly skilled at managing that system?
All the best,
A.