Over the last few years, I’ve helped way too many associations and charities fix lousy IT investment decisions.
My definition of lousy in this case is defined as “cumbersome” – the complete opposite of a mission enabler. Systems like this require manual workarounds, external places to store information, and often double-handling of information.
This can translate to privacy and data security risks. And it almost always means that staff are frustrated with admin tasks that should be easier.
From those experiences, here are some of the most common root causes that I have seen:
1) They depend on their internal help desk or outsourced managed service provider to give them strategic IT advice.
They might be the only IT people your organisation knows, but they are rarely that useful in providing this type of strategic advice. Consider asking other Not for Profit executives, Association or Charity bodies, or other speciality Not for Profit organisations like the Benefolk for recommendations.
2 The board makes recommendations for software or solutions based on their personal “corporate” or “public sector” experience.
There are “sector” experts in almost every field for a reason, and the Not for Profit (including the various sub-sectors within it like Associations, health, NDIS, fundraising orgs, etc) are no different.
I’ve seen multiple failed Salesforce implementations, for example, implemented by partners that have no previous experience in the related Not for Profit sector.
Furthermore, for some functions, there may also be some great Australian and New Zealand solutions available on the market that are specifically built for the unique needs here.
So, never discount the value of Not for Profit specialists, whether as advisors, service providers or vendors.
3) They trust the vendor or consultant with their recommendations without really understanding the “techno-speak.”
It’s not uncommon for non-technical executives or boards to become overwhelmed with highly technical recommendations and proposals. Rather than asking for clarification, they may approve them without really understanding what they signed.
Please know that there are “no dumb” questions when you are making IT investment decisions for your organisation. If you don’t understand what the vendor or consultant is saying, ask them to explain it to you in plain English.
And if that still doesn’t help, find a translator, aka a technical advisor, who can. It just may save you from a lousy decision.
4) They wait to invest in IT until it’s an emergency.
“We want to complete this project by X date.”
“Why?” I ask.
Because…
- The vendor will no longer support the current software.
- The current software contract is up for renewal.
- We just had a cybersecurity incident or an audit, and the board is demanding we fix it by that date.
- We just won a new piece of work that requires it.
- Etc. etc. etc.
I hear reasons like this all the time, but the reality is that hard, unrealistic deadlines create emergencies. And emergency system implementations usually mean that short-cuts will be taken, decisions will not be fully considered, and requirements will be descoped to meet these deadlines.
Instead, I highly recommend creating a multi-year IT strategy that includes investments every time you create a new business strategy.
5) They fail to properly resource a transformational IT project
Some organisations will conduct a PIR or Post Implementation Review of a project. You know what the most common lesson learned is?
“I wish we had allocated more internal resources to the project full-time.”
Every Not for Profit is short on key resources and budget, and yet they will ultimately pay in one way or another when they don’t allocate and backfill the right people to a project:
- Project schedules slip.
- Requirements are missed.
- Decisions are hurried.
- Integrations and data migration are afterthoughts.
- Training ends on the day of Go Live.
As a result, the return on investment is rarely fully realised, creating issues for years to come.
Sacrifice operational pain today to avoid years of frustration later.
6) They customise the system rather than adapting their processes.
Today I heard about another organisation trying to do this in a passing conversation.
During the User Acceptance Testing, they realised that their new CRM didn’t act exactly like their old CRM despite having full access to a demo version since the procurement process. Now they want to customise it.
While sometimes this is necessary for mandatory unique needs, it’s always cheaper both in the implementation and for ongoing maintenance to adopt your processes to the way the system does it rather than trying to get a system to match your current processes.
Plus, most systems are built around the best practice processes of all their clients. So, adapting their way of doing things might actually make your operations better.
7) They believe they can implement software and never touch it again.
Gone are the days when you could implement software and only worry about installing the security patches on a quarterly basis. Now, cloud-based solutions are constantly changing, and in reality, so are your organisational needs.
If you don’t have an in-house system administrator, you will be paying for someone to keep your system up to date. And the more configurable the technology, the more complex and expensive it is to manage.
Before buying a new system, it’s really important to understand the administration requirements to keep the system fit for purpose. I’ve seen too many organisations buy something above their technical capability and find the system “broken” within a few years.
Final Thoughts
Not for Profits are incredibly considerate in the way they use funds, and yet when they finally commit to an IT investment, they too often make lousy decisions that can be avoided.
Hopefully, you found these 7 lessons useful. Let me know if you need some plain English IT advice.
P.S. If you found this article helpful, you might want to read these too:
- When your NFP’s tech is so bad, good staff quit
- When technology constraints prevent additional revenue streams in your NFP
Tammy Ven Dange is a former charity CEO, Association President, Not for Profit Board Member and IT Executive. Today, she helps NFPs with strategic IT decisions, especially around investments and risk mitigation.
