Relationship Management Final Report- Strand 1

Project Information Project Acronym Project Title Start Date Lead Institution Project Director Project Manager Project Manager Contact Details Partner Institutions Project Web URL Programme Name Programme Manager Report Name Report Title Author(s) & project role Final Report Kate Mitchell- Project Manager Karen Race Date URL Access Document History Version 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 Date 21/05/2012 22/05/2012 30/05/2012 05/06/2012 24/08/2012 Comments First Draft Draft sent to Steering Group for comments Draft submitted to JISC for critical friend feedback Feedback from critical friend Submitted to JISC 1 24/08/2012 Filename X General dissemination Relationship Management Simon Whittemore Kate Mitchell 01484 471 678 k.mitchell@hud.ac.uk Teesside University Online Handbook in CRM Good Practice 01/06/2011 End Date 31/07/2012 University of Huddersfield

if document is posted on project web site Project and JISC internal

Contents
........................................................................................................................................ 1 Relationship Management Final Report- Strand 1 ........................................................ 1 1.0 Project Overview ....................................................................................................... 3 2.0 Challenge .................................................................................................................. 3 3.0 Approach ................................................................................................................... 5 4.0 Technologies ............................................................................................................. 7 5.0 Implementation .......................................................................................................... 8 6.0 Benefits and Impacts ............................................................................................... 12 7.0 Disadvantages ......................................................................................................... 12 8.0 Evaluation ................................................................................................................ 13 9.0 The Next Stage........................................................................................................ 14 10.0 Summary ............................................................................................................... 14 11.0 Further Information ................................................................................................ 16 Appendix One- Proposed Handbook Outline from Funding Proposal............................ 18 Appendix Two- In depth Interviews................................................................................ 19 Appendix Three- CRM Handbook in Good Practice Questionnaire Results .................. 20 Appendix Four- Handbook Outline ................................................................................ 27 Appendix Five- Institution Question Index ..................................................................... 29 Appendix Six- Overview of feedback from Validation Workshops ................................. 30

1.0 Project Overview

The University of Huddersfield and Teesside University worked collaboratively to develop an Online Handbook in CRM Good Practice. The aim of the project was to develop a sustainable online handbook for both Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) institutions. The specification for the Handbook was very clearly set out in the JISC call 13/10. Institutions work with a wide range of partners and customers, from businesses, both SME and large corporates to the public sector. Increasingly the lines between these different partners are blurred as policies change and drive for lifelong learning, workforce development and a global knowledge economy, particularly in the new economic and demographic constraints. Both universities had experience of working on previous JISC projects and brought extensive experience of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to the project. The University of Huddersfield (UoH) was part of the JISC Business Process Improvement Project (JISC Grant Funding 05/09) that piloted the Self Analysis framework (HERMeS) which enabled the University to begin the CRM journey. 1 Teesside University (TU) had implemented a project through the JISC Building Capacity stream which used tools already available through the JISC portal and further developed a toolkit for using CRM Systems to undertake marketing activity and engage a BCE audience. The toolkit is not guidance on how to use a CRM system but provides suggestions for new organisational structures and processes that may be required.2 The project team was a combination of staff from both universities, and the primary approach was to engage stakeholders from the outset and throughout the lifetime of the project, through a variety of approaches, interviews, questionnaires and workshops. It was important to draw on the expertise available within the FE and HE community, and also to gain a greater understanding of the needs of both sectors. It was seen as integral to the success of the online handbook to draw on the resources already available from JISC and elsewhere and to ensure that that these were signposted and/or integrated throughout the handbook. There were a number of technologies employed across the project to promote engagement and also to ensure that the two universities, Teesside and Huddersfield were engaged as a project team across the lifetime of the project. These included using Dropbox and Google docs to share information across both universities.

2.0 Challenge
The overall objective of the project was to develop and deliver an Online Handbook in CRM good practice. The original funding call 13/10 was to deliver a comprehensive structured, easily navigable online handbook of good practice in Customer Relationship Management processes and approaches, tailored to the specific needs of higher and further education institutions.

1 2

JISC CETIS Funded RM Projects http://wiki.cetis.ac.uk/Funded_RM_Projects JISC Building Capacity Programme http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/bcap/teesside.aspx

The specific objectives as detailed in the project plan were to: Identify and build a network of stakeholders for the project, minimum 10 Further Education (FE)/Higher Education (HE) institutions. Research current guidance and best practice available, to ensure no crossover and to define scope of project Implement an engagement strategy which guarantees consultation on the content and design of the Handbook Research and identify the appropriate format for the Online Handbook and implement this format Complete four validation workshops Share our knowledge and all project outputs with JISC and other institutions across both the HE and FE sectors and further afield as appropriate Establish mechanisms to measure usage of the completed Handbook

The handbook was developed to help Further Education (FE) Colleges and Higher Education (HE) Institutions in their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) journey. Its purpose is to guide these institutions through all the key considerations and decision points involved in developing strategic CRM for BCE processes across institutions, including guidance on information and data management, change management and organisational alignment. The Education sector is changing rapidly and will continue to do so for the next 5-10 years. The pressures on institutions are increasing as they strive to support and satisfy challenging and varied Government and stakeholder requirements, changing staff roles and the expectations of multiple stakeholders in a fast-moving socio-economic, political and technological environment. The funding changes in the education sector are driving an environment where institutions will need to become more publicly accountable and demonstrate added value. Examples demonstrating the changing sector are: Current Government policy continues the drive to bring the HE sector and industry closer together, as defined in the recent Wilson review. For some institutions the requirement to assess the social economic or environmental impact of research outcomes is making the building of external relationships crucial to their mission. REF 20143 gives specific significance to the need for demonstrable impact. The report by the University Alliance Growing the Future4 describes universities as anchor organisations in their locality and calls for them to become leaders and change agents for local economic recovery. This view very much stresses the outward facing, relationship building aspects of HEIs.

3 4

http://www.ref.ac.uk/ REF 2014 University Alliance

Similarly, the Universities UK report, prepared in conjunction with the Institute for Public Policy Research, IPPR, Beyond Bricks and Mortar, describes the wide range of ways in which the sector can contribute to economic development, including civic leadership. The Beacons of Public Engagement initiative has developed a number of pilot initiatives and the website provides examples of outreach activity, its advantages and, through describing examples of best practice, gives advice for organisations wishing to improve their local links. A further reason that defining the nature of an institutions BCE work is important is the increasing need for differentiation and distinctiveness in the sector. A useful summary of this issue can be found at Enterprising Universities which looks at the extent to which the HE sector is pursuing distinctiveness in enterprise. Pressure on the FE sector has continued as signalled by the Leitch Review in 2006 which called for employers to share the costs of education. Both the previous and current Governments have reinforced this message in their policies and recently in their funding, such as the withdrawal of Train2Gain funding and the investment in an increased number of apprenticeships, which require employers to contribute.

Most institutions are recognising the need to be more systematic about their engagement with businesses and the community. However, HEIs in particular are faced with complex organisational structures, lack of a single point of responsibility for the agenda, devolved decision making, varying management and operational cultures and ever tightening budgets. Whilst there is recognition that action is required, many institutions require guidance on how to address this complex issue. Evidence of the need for this Handbook has been established because of the requests for assistance to JISC and to the more mature BCE CRM institutions, including Teesside and Huddersfield. For example an event held in April 2010 by Teesside as part of a previous JISC project attracted 57 attendees. The problems and issues are similar across the majority of institutions and are not dependent on the stage of their CRM journey, the type of institution or the infrastructure at the institution.

3.0 Approach
From the beginning the project team recognised the importance of this project to the FE and HE sector, and understood the importance of collaborative working not only between the University of Huddersfield and Teesside University, but across the sector. It was essential to the projects success that the sector understood the importance of the online handbook and was involved in its delivery. Steering group meetings & project group meetings The Steering Group, consisting of Directorate level staff at both institutions, met six times during the project and took responsibility for the overall delivery, ensuring that resources were made available to deliver the project to the requirements pre-determined in the JISC call and in the project plan. Networking 5

The Project Managers took every opportunity to attend any networking events which involved HE/FE institutions with an interest in business engagement in order to raise awareness of the project and to engage stakeholders and also spot potential case studies. The numbers of participants in the online questionnaire and the validation workshops are testament to the on-going networking undertaken by the project team. To enable this inclusiveness an engagement strategy was produced as part of the project plan. Although elements of this changed in the lifetime of the project, this was the core of the project and one which the team saw as vital to its success. Stage 1 Consultation on contents and themes of the online handbook The project manager conducted four in depth interviews with individuals from different areas of the HE sector and different types of universities although three of these institutions were nominated as part of the Entrepreneurial University of the Year. A series of questions were developed (see Appendix One) and, in advance of the interviews, interviewees were sent information relating to the three levels of CRM maturity5 to enable them to establish and identify their institutions level of maturity. It provided a good opportunity to establish whether they were, in fact, aware of the CRM levels of maturity. The interview process was intended to establish whether the themes that had been drawn up as part of the original bid, and in the project plan, were relevant for people across the sector. The project team had a clear idea of what would fall into these themes, but needed to validate whether these themes would mean the same for other people in the FE and HE sector. At this stage of the project it proved difficult to engage an FE institution in this process. This was partly due to the networks that the project team already had available at the start of the project and also the lack of response when the project team approached FE institutions for their input. Through the interview process it was confirmed that the themes established by the project team were the correct themes to pursue as the interviewees felt this covered the important aspects of CRM. Stage 2 Online questionnaire From the outcomes of the in-depth interviews the project team developed a questionnaire, and a more detailed index page was created. It was important that, before producing any content, feedback from both the HE and FE sector fed into the contents of the handbook. For more details on the response to the questionnaire please see Appendix Two.

In 2007 JISC funded a study which reviewed and addressed issues with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in UK Universities: three stages of CRM maturity were identified ref: KSA Partnership (2007). Study of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) issues in UK Higher Education Institutions, JISC Final Report. http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/themes/bce/crmstudyfinalreport20070817.pdf

95 people responded to the questionnaire, including 5 FE colleges. This ensured that the index of the handbook was validated by a cross-section of potential handbook users. Stage 3 Case Studies In the original project plan stage 3 was detailed as Peer Review as the project team considered that it was important to engage stakeholders and use them in peer review of the content of the handbook. It was initially thought that sections of the handbook would be written independently of others but as content was developed it became apparent it would grow organically, and due to the interweaving nature of the handbook it would not be possible to have colleagues peer review sections. This would mean people would have to peer review the handbook in its entirety and the project team realised that due to time constraints this would not be possible. As the project team researched the handbook it became apparent that one of the major criticisms of the self-analysis framework was that the examples used were from local government, health trusts or private businesses, thus it became vital to the success of the handbook that any examples or case studies were from the Education Sector. Significant effort was then put into conducting 15 in-depth interviews to determine what good practice was currently prevalent in the HE sector. Stage 4 Validation Workshops Following up with those involved in the in-depth interviews, a questionnaire and case study interviews, the project team sought engagement from people willing to attend the validation workshops. This meant, even without promotion from JISC, there was a base of over 70 people engaged in the project in a variety of ways. Based on the geographical spread of these people the project team organised three validation workshops in Darlington, Huddersfield and London as well as two internal validation workshops at both the University of Huddersfield and Teesside University. As stated in the project plan the purpose of these workshops was to ensure written content met the needs of stakeholders and to test the accessibility and navigability of the handbook. The workshops were attended by 35 people in total. Feedback gained from the validation workshops can be found in Appendix Six. As follow up to the validation workshops the project team contacted those people unable to attend to ask for feedback on the handbook. There were a few people who responded to this call, and they were positive about the handbook and its content. Since the workshops the project team have been contacted by a number of people from universities who have an interest in CRM and so they have been directed to the handbook as a first point of call.

4.0 Technologies
A second critical success factor as identified in the project plan was the navigability of the handbook site. The intention to explore a wide range of solutions and seek expert 7

advice before choosing an option was considered important. The project team investigated a number of ideas to establish the right format, including tweeting to get input and recommendations from the online community. This would ensure that whatever format was used it would be suitable for online interaction. Some of the tools researched and considered were: Google Sites This was seen as a viable option as it could be created for free and would then be available to all users; the drawback was that users couldnt leave feedback on the content in pages. There was also a cost associated with the development and maintenance of this application. SharePoint This was suggested as an option by the University of Huddersfield but was not widely used. Its capabilities were still seen as an unknown which would then place the overall project at risk. WordPress This was seen as a viable option as it has flexibility, and opportunity to create a community of CRM practitioners. However there was a financial outlay which may have been prohibitive beyond the remit of the project timeline. PBWorks Following some recommendations through Twitter someone suggested an example of a good interactive handbook was the JISC Design Studio which was a JISC infokit designed in PB works. The project team felt that as a free tool it would give the flexibility required, enable the content of the handbook to be built over time, allow the user community to contribute by adding comments, and enable pages to be tagged with keywords. This meant users could be guided through their level of maturity whilst not being subject to a restrictive process, as users would be able to access all parts of the handbook through the use of an index page, navigation and keywords. This was therefore the tool that was finally chosen. As detailed in the project plan the final challenge was to create a handbook designed with its sustainability in mind. To this end, the potential of setting up the handbook as a wiki was explored to garner contributions from the wider HE/FE sectors. The use of PB works created opportunities for people to add comments. Following the validation workshops the opportunity was taken to promote the PB Works site on LinkedIn, Twitter and to all workshop attendees.

5.0 Implementation
The biggest challenge in developing the online handbook was developing the index for the handbook. From the initial funding proposal the project team established a number of themes and a brief outline of the contents; this can be viewed in Appendix Three. The index that had been explored in the original call 13/10 was matched to ensure that the requirements of JISC and the wider community were being met. In undertaking the initial consultation the contents that were contained in the call were found to be too prescriptive and that they did not always match the expectations of stakeholders. 8

Based on the original call, one of the aspects that the project team found difficult to manage was ensuring the handbook reflected the three levels of CRM maturity. The initial interviews determined that people didnt really understand the JISC definitions, or at the least found that the maturity levels were too wide in their scope. The project team felt it was important not to try and redefine these but to stick to them even though this feedback was negative in this respect. This was in contrast to the questionnaire feedback, where 44% of respondents saw the maturity levels as an essential part of the handbook. When the process of writing the handbook began, it became apparent that content specific to these levels of maturity could not always be written, but content aimed at all three levels of maturity could be included, as there were aspects of CRM good practice at all three levels of maturity that could provide insight and benefits from the handbook content. The project team knew it was important to embed these maturity levels within the handbook and give people the opportunity to identify their level of maturity, but that guidance for all levels of maturity integrated into all areas of the handbook would be more effective as it would enable users to navigate the content according to their needs rather than being constrained by a predetermined path, particularly as this would change over time. One of the first pieces of work undertaken was to review the Self-Analysis Framework (SAF) case studies to ensure that lessons learned were taken forward into this project. Martin Hamilton of Loughborough University had written a critique of the SAF, which was reviewed. A review of the case studies from the SAF projects was also undertaken and one of the major findings was the lack of relevant case studies: there were a number of case studies from the health, public and private sectors but not many real examples from the education sector. This informed the decision that the content needed to have real examples of what was happening in both the FE and HE sectors. One of the key decisions taken was not to rewrite content that was already available from JISC or other sources. The opportunity was taken however to reference these sources and to refer people to these sites or documents that were available. In the questionnaire the project team had four themes to structure the handbook: Strategic Planning & Organisation, CRM System Foundations, Operation Development and Regulations & Agreements. These had been developed based on initial interviews with stakeholders and in consultation with the Steering Group. Based on the questionnaire responses, the index was further refined and the decision taken to definitely include material where over 40% of respondents considered that section of content as essential. Further to the questionnaire consultation, and in agreement with the Steering Group, the themes were reduced from four to three as a large amount of crossover had developed. The three themes for the contents were established as Strategic, Operational and Practical. Reducing the themes sharpened up the index. Further to these consultations the JISC programme manager and critical friend to the project were both asked for feedback to ensure the original brief in the call was maintained. The final index was agreed (see Appendix Four). The process of developing the overall index for the handbook took far longer than was first expected by the project team. This was in part due to the large amount of consultation that was undertaken to ensure it matched the needs of the sector. Even after the index had been agreed and the content began to be developed, ensuring the 9

accessibility of the handbook through these three themes was difficult. The aim then became to step away from the structure in place and view the handbook from the users perspective. Through this approach a series of questions were developed that institutions might want to address, as detailed in Appendix Five. This different approach will move across into Infonet as it is viewed as a more/another accessible way to navigate the information. People also found it useful in the validation workshops if they struggled with the main index navigation route. Item in call document How was it addressed Area of Handbook (as appropriate)

Focus on CRM good practice in support of business and community engagement, but structure the handbook so that CRM good practice for student engagement can be added as a separate section at a later date; Structure the online handbook to reflect the three levels of CRM process maturity, derived from the JISC CRM Study by KSA Partnership Define clear pathways through these maturity levels and the aspiration to use CRM processes strategically; Address any perceived gaps in the Self-analysis Framework as highlighted by the CETIS Support and Synthesis CRM report and the experience of the CRM process improvement projects. For example, data modelling and how data requirements should best be captured and modelled; Enable a number of different entry points into the online handbook, so that institutions that have needs in particular areas and not in others can quickly access the appropriate good practice. This will require innovative and thoughtful design of the online navigation routes without losing the coherence, conceptual consistency and overall logic of the handbook; Ensure appropriate coverage of all the key process considerations

As the handbook has been developed in PB works, this gives it the flexibility to include student lifecycle relationship management, can be added at a later date.

Users have been asked to identify their CRM maturity and the project team have used tags so that users can access information relevant to each level as appropriate. As above

CRM Maturity

As above

The project team has included information on Business Intelligence and how to use the data captured in a CRM system.

How can you best use the data?

This has been achieved through the sidebar in PB works, and it gives users the ability to access the areas of the handbook that are useful to them.

The project team has covered these areas through the 10

involved in developing effective CRM, including strategy, organisational alignment; information and data management, change management, marketing, preparation for system implementation (this list is not exhaustive or definitive); Include brief guidance on the types of CRM systems available (off the shelf, open source, social networking CRM etc.) and information on CRM vendor user groups within the sector, with consent from the institutions concerned; include concise good practice as appropriate on process mapping, process modelling and data modelling, with examples of suitable modelling techniques and languages; Ensure the handbook consistently upholds the principle that the focal point for institutional CRM processes is the customer/partner. In consultation with the JISC CETIS RM support team and the RM experts group, include as appropriate concise guidance on effective and appropriate methods which improve the engagement experience from the customer/external partner perspective; Include guidance on Service Design and Service Blueprinting techniques... This is likely to be guidance applicable to those with more mature CRM process but these approaches have been proven valuable in the context of the student experience and can be profitably utilised to enhance the experience of external business and community partners.

development of the handbook and it reflects all of these major points.

This has been completed and we have provided a table of CRM systems and examples of universities that are using those systems.

What System?

The project team has included a section of business process mapping (BPM) and its importance in the CRM journey of institutions, but the Handbook also signposts users to the toolkit on BPM available on JISC InfoNet. The project team have talked consistently throughout the handbook about the importance of the Customer, including sections on a customer centered approach and the different customer and quality standards that institutions can use to measure themselves.

Business Process Mapping

Customer Centred means CRM

The project team has included guidance on Service Design and Blueprinting and has also referred users to the toolkits already available and the case studies so that users can learn from other institutions experiences.

Service Design & Blueprinting

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6.0 Benefits and Impacts

At present it is still too early to assess the impacts detailed in the project proposal. However the engagement that has been key to the project, particularly through the validation workshops, has enabled potential users people to air their concerns and challenges and understand how more successful institutions have addressed these issues. Attendees have also begun to understand the many resources available to them through JISC and the relationship management programme to support their CRM journey, so these discussions have proved invaluable. Anecdotal feedback from all three validation workshops has shown that the participants valued the discussions and would welcome further opportunities to discuss/share good practice. This has been a benefit of the project, because it has engaged such a wide range of institutions from different areas of the sector and there has been keen interest in developing a CRM Group beyond the lifetime of the project. It is recommended that JISC perform an evaluation of the impact of the Handbook in one-two years time. The feedback received at the validation workshops has been positive with the majority of attendees saying that it is an infokit that they will find useful, as a number of institutions are still at a very early stage of their CRM journey. The majority are at a peripheral level of CRM maturity. It has also been a great opportunity to promote the other toolkits available on JISC infonet - this has been a high priority, i.e. not to rewrite information that is already available but to use the handbook as a signposting/integrating tool. There has been an impact for both the University of Huddersfield and Teesside University as it has raised the profile of CRM at both institutions. Furthermore at Teesside the toolkit has been used to underline the strengths of the BE approach adopted to its business facing community. Both partners have benefitted from working together and have shared best practice in other areas of BE, such as benchmarking of HEBCIS data. In addition both partners now have a wider network of BE-interested institutions with whom to discuss BE issues and explore potential collaborations.

7.0 Disadvantages
There has only been one area of concern or drawback in creating the online handbook. Throughout the project the project team has worked hard to try and engage the FE sector, but this proved challenging. Therefore this has been viewed as a disadvantage due to the fact that the handbook is meant to be fit for purpose for both the FE and HE sector. Through the extensive research undertaken the project team found a number of toolkits available for FE colleges in CRM for BCE developed by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS). This may have been why there was a lack of engagement in the Handbook, but it may also be due to the rapidly changing landscape of the FE sector and the external pressures that it currently faces. Even though there was a lack of engagement from FE institutions the project team did manage to write a good practice 12

example from an FE college around Embedding BCE and the advantages of using this toolkit to drive the CRM agenda in an institution.

8.0 Evaluation
As detailed in 3.0 Approach a large amount of time was spent engaging with the education sector, to ensure that anything that was produced was going to be useful and help in its success beyond the lifetime of the project. For the questionnaire, an academic was consulted on the structure and the questions to ensure the validity of the research method. Although 95 people responded to the questionnaire only 67 people left their details and were happy to be contacted following the questionnaire. Of those only 44 were from Higher and Further Education institutions although they came from a wide range of institutions as shown in the following table. Institution Type 1994 Group Alliance FE College GU8 million+ NA Russell Group University of Wales (blank) Grand Total No. 1 11 3 1 12 8 4 2 1 43

For the validation workshops, there were 33 participants from a range of different types of institutions.

Institution Type Alliance FE College GU8 million+ N/A Russell Group Grand Total

No. 8 1 1 7 7 9 33

As part of the workshop the project team wanted to ensure that the participants in the workshop were given the opportunity to look through the Handbook and road test its navigability, and were keen to ensure that participants felt they had gained something valuable from the workshop, either through networking or group discussion. Based on this, the workshops were comprised as follows: A brief familiarisation session allowing participants to understand the index and navigation of the Handbook 13

An exercise in which participants role-played a situation and used the Handbook to find guidance A facilitated discussion allowing participants to discuss their key pain and decision points in CRM implementation

In Appendix Six there is a more detailed overview of the validation workshops, the feedback from which was generally positive. Most participants suggested changes to the handbook, and these have been incorporated into the handbook. There were a few minor issues that the project team chose to not address.

9.0 The Next Stage

There have been a number of outcomes from the validation workshop and colleagues across the sector have gained real benefits from the networking. The majority of attendees have been keen to join a CRM community and this was discussed at a number of the workshops. There has been a discussion of development of a user group for those people that are using Dynamics independent of an external developer. If a CRM group is created then hopefully, the handbook can become a tool for this group and the themes of the handbook could be discussion areas and areas of development for this group. There is a planned launch of the handbook at the AURIL conference in October which will help promote the handbook to institutions who werent engaged during its development. It will also be promoted internally at both institutions to help raise the profile of CRM and its importance in the current HE landscape. The project team believes that the handbook should be allocated resource to continue its development, otherwise it will be out of date quickly and not helpful for stakeholders. It might be helpful for stakeholders to be given the opportunity to comment and create discussion groups to allow them to share good practice through this handbook forum in some way. The project team think that the handbook provides a good opportunity for good practice in Student Relationship Management to be developed as part of the same handbook. Although some of its themes will not be similar, there are still similar issues in regards to change management and senior management buy-in.

10.0 Summary
This project was fairly simple in concept because it was to fulfill a detailed brief and prepare a Handbook. The project team set out to devise a Handbook that was firmly based on research and therefore the research element of the project used a significant proportion of the resources. The preliminary interviews, on-line survey, in-depth interviews and workshops all provided invaluable information to guide the work. The project team would recommend that this approach is adopted by anyone undertaking a similar endeavour. An additional benefit of the wide consultation is that the project team 14

has a strong network of contacts with an interest in CRM for BCE who can develop into a community of practice and also help to promote and sustain the handbook. The content of the handbook will quickly become out of date. Better examples of best practice will emerge and the links will require refreshing on an ongoing basis. Therefore anyone writing an on-line handbook should build in a sustainability strategy and resources to continue to maintain a live document. See our recommendations at section 8 above. Finally, there has been great benefit in more than one institution collaborating on this project. We have been able to address issues coming from different angles and found compromises which contain more rounded solutions. There are sometimes difficulties in managing collaborations; however in this case the whole is more than the sum of its parts. However many face to face discussions have been required, and therefore geographical proximity is essential. Similarly our critical friend is also based within a couple of hours travelling and his proximity has enabled face to face discussions, for which there is no substitute.

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11.0 Further Information

Blog A project blog was sustained throughout the project with a regular update approximately once a month. http://crmhandbook.wordpress.com/ Handbook The handbook is now fully developed and can be found here https://vwcrmhandbook.pbworks.com/w/page/52081662/Good%20Practice%20in% 20Customer%20Relationship%20Management Within the handbook there is a resources page which shows all of the reports that were useful in development of the handbook. Other Resources CRM Study (2007) KSA Partnership Study of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) issues in UK Higher Education Institutions JISC Final Report. Self Analysis Framework (2009) JISC CETIS, Relationship Management: Good Practice, Process Mapping and the CRM Self Analysis Framework, University of Nottingham. Embedding BCE (2009) JISC infoNet, Embedding Business and Community Engagement (BCE), main drivers, purposes, processes, perspectives and issues around BCE Just Enough (2012) JISC CETIS, synthesis of JISC relationship management programme Wilson Review (2012) Sir Tim Wilson DL, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Growing The Future (2011) University Alliance Beyond Bricks and Mortar Boards (2012) Institute for Public Policy Research, Katie Schmuecker and Will Cook The Beacons Project (2012) National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement

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UCISA (Ongoing) Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association Process Improvement (2003, updated 2011) JISC infoNet infokit Process Mapping (2005) JISC infoNet Tools & Techniques Service Design (2010) JISC CETIS, Service Design in Higher and Further Education, University of Derby Change Management JISC infoNet infokit Evaluation of the Higher Education Workforce Development programme (2011) Report to HEFCE by CFE and KSA Funded Relationship Management (RM) Projects (2010) JISC CETIS, Case Studies and Final Reports from previous JISC funded RM projects CRM Processes Report (2008) JISC and University of Nottingham, Self-analysis Tools, Process Maps

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Appendix One- Proposed Handbook Outline from Funding Proposal

a. Strategic issues Utilising the Embedding BCE Diagnostic and Evaluation Workbook Integration of systems that support BCE Customer Centred approach/Customer Service in BCE Identifying your current CRM process maturity How can all university IT systems work together to facilitate good customer relationship management? Is a new system required and if so what should be its scope? Using Data to inform Strategy b. Cultural Change Raising the profile of CRM for BCE alongside the teaching and learning agenda Change management Adapting wider university processes (Registry, Finance) to support BCE Selling the Benefits Developing and implementing a successful relationship between marketing and CRM Consultation with Customers and other HE and FE institutions Running a Customer Focus Group Communication Strategies Sustainability of Relationships Engaging Stakeholders throughout the lifetime of CRM projects c. Implementing a CRM System What is success in CRM for BCE? Measuring success Using the JISC CRM Business Process Self Analysis Toolkit Business Process Development, including service design & blueprinting Reviews of CRM systems available in the marketplace and their fit to both HE and FE institutions Ongoing management of a system Data Modelling d. Ethics of CRM Information Sharing: ethics in data ownership Agreements including IP, Confidentiality, NDAs etc. Code of Practice

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Appendix Two- In depth Interviews

Contents of the CRM Good Practice Online Handbook Questions Are you aware of the project that Huddersfield and Teesside are undertaking? What does the term CRM mean to you and your institution? Following on from the definition of CRM maturity that I sent through what stage is your university/college at in terms of level of maturity? Do you think these definitions are clear? Do you want to change the way that you manage your relationships with external businesses? Are there any barriers to changing the way your institution manages relationships with external businesses? We are considering four main themes for the Online Handbook and would like to understand what these themes mean to you, they are: 1. 2. 3. 4. Strategy Cultural Change Implementing a CRM System Ethics of CRM

What does CRM 2.0 mean to you? Do you consider CRM 2.0 to be important in the current CRM landscape? Would you want to see this as a focus within the handbook? Do you have any ideas about how we can promote the Online Handbook? Would you use the Handbook? We are planning to run a number of validation workshops throughout the lifetime of the project; would you be happy to be involved in these workshops? Optional: Would you be interested in providing a suitable case study for the Online Handbook? Institutions: Coventry University, York University, Durham University, Plymouth University

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Appendix Three- CRM Handbook in Good Practice Questionnaire Results

Introduction Feedback has been gathered on the good practice handbook via an online questionnaire. The Questionnaire was sent to individuals in FE Colleges and Universities and explored their views on how the various elements of the handbook might assist them in their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) journey. 95 people responded to the survey. As figure 1 shows, 50% of Questionnaire respondents were working in a business engagement/development role. Senior management accounted for the second highest proportion of respondents (22.4%).
Figure 1: Respondent Profile

Senior Management Business Engagement/Development

1.0%

15.3%

22.4%

Operational/Administrative ICT Other

11.2%

50.0%

Handbook Themes
The handbook provides guidance on a number of key considerations and decision points involved in developing strategic CRM processes, including guidance on information and data management, change management and organisational alignment. Research participants were asked to discuss the importance/usefulness of this information.

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Theme One Strategic Planning & Organisation

Figure 2: Strategic Planning & Organisation of CRM Systems

Identify your current CRM development stage and subsequent stages to reach 'maturity' (n=70)

44%

52%

4%

Adopting a Customer Centred approch in BCE, different operational models (n=72)

76%

24%

Essential Useful Not Important

Intergration of systems that support BCE, where would a CRM System 'fit'? (n=73)

75%

23%

2%

20

40 %

60

80

100

Elements of the handbook which covered strategic planning and organisation of CRM systems were presented to respondents to gauge opinions on their usefulness from the users perspective. Encouragingly, the vast majority of respondents expressed overall satisfaction with these various elements. The review of different operational models for a customer centred approach to BCE was rated positively by all respondents, with 76% expressing an opinion that the information was essential to the handbook. Information relating to aligning CRM with BCE support systems was also deemed essential by 75% of respondents. Responses relating to the usefulness of information on CRM development stages were more evenly spread across the essential (n=44%) and useful (n=52%) categories. Respondents were subsequently given the opportunity to discuss improvements to the strategic planning and organisation element of the handbook. Whilst most respondents did not put forward any suggestions, four participants felt that the handbook should include information on strategies that deal with attitudinal/cultural barriers and promote staff buy in. Training and developing staff competency was also considered an important theme for three research participants.

Theme Two CRM System Foundations 21

The online Questionnaire sought to capture research participants views on the information provided on the prerequisites of a successful CRM system.

Figure 3: Operational Development of CRM Systems

Communication strategies. (n=70)

70%

29%

1%

Engaging stakeholders (n=70)

71%

29%

Sustainablity of relationships (n=69) Developing and implementing a successful relationship between marketing and CRM (n=69) Change management (n=68) Raising the profile of CRM for BCE in your institution (n=70) 0 20 47%

71%

28%

1%

Essential Useful

68%

32%

Not important

47%

6%

73% 40 60

21% 80

6% 100

Figure three shows that information across five of the six topic areas was deemed essential by the majority of research participants. Information provided on engaging stakeholders and developing relationships between marketing and CRM were rated positively by all respondents. Advice and guidance for change management scored lowest amongst respondents, with less than half (47%) rating it as essential to their information needs. For all respondents based in colleges (n=5), raising the profile of CRM for BCE in the institution was considered essential. Similarly, their perception of the information provided on engaging stakeholders also differed from the wider group three of the five (60%) found it useful while the remaining two (40%) considered it to be essential. A small number of participants made suggestions on other topics to cover within this theme. It would be useful to have a detailed stakeholder map of CRM sector activities including all professional bodies and key contact points Developing new products and services - demand led through market intelligence Point 3 could be expanded to include relationships across the institution not just between marketing and CRM.

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Theme Three Operational Development

Feedback was sought from participants on elements of the handbook focused on CRM implementation and the practicalities of making the system operationally successful. As figure four illustrates, the majority of respondents felt that information on selecting an appropriate CRM system and data modelling was useful (66% and 65% respectively), although not essential. In comparison, information relating to business process modelling and development, ongoing system management and strategies to review the success of the CRM system were all deemed essential elements of the handbook by the majority of questionnaire respondents (49%, 63% and 65% respectively) .

Figure 4: Operational Development & Implementation

Ongoing managment of a system (n=65)

63%

37%

Data Modelling (n=65)

23%

65%

12% Essential

CRM Systems available in the marketplace (n=65)

26%

66%

8%

Useful Not important

Business Process Modelling and Development (n=65)

49%

43%

8%

Measuring the success of CRM for BCE (n=66) 0 20

65%

35%

40

60

80

100

Further analysis shows that the perceptions of college-based colleagues did not always align with those of the wider group - these differences are illustrated in figure five.

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Figure 5: Operational Development & Implementation (College-based Respondents)

Ongoing managment of a system

20%

80%

Data Modelling

100%

CRM Systems available in the marketplace

20%

80%

Essential Useful

Business Process Modelling and Development

20%

80%

Measuring the success of CRM for BCE

100%

0
Base: n=5

20

40 %

60

80

100

Only three participants put forward suggestions for additional topics to cover in the handbook under this theme:

Setting up protocols for data entry and use Training and re-training (a plan for roll-out), how much inputting to be distributed and how much centralised... ...Case studies would be helpful. Also useful would be guidance on data migration/take on as many people underestimate the amount of effort this can involve
Theme Four Regulations and Agreements Theme four of the handbook deals with regulations and procedural issues for information sharing, ownership and use. Feedback provided by respondents on these aspects is illustrated in figure six. Aspects of the handbook relating to information sharing were rated positively by all questionnaire respondents, with the majority perceiving it to be essential content (88%). The staff code of practice and information relating to data ownership were also considered essential by the majority of research participants (73% and 78% respectively). Interestingly, only one third of participants felt that information on agreements between the institution and external organisations was an essential aspect of the CRM systems handbook. 24

Specific comments and suggestions for improvement focused, in the main, on issues around data protection:

As part of Code of Practice I would like to include the governance of data. Links to DP and FoI and how CRM data might contribute or not to requests against these. This places CRM in the right legal context within an institution. Data protection - the key legal aspects and how to implement them. Legal issues and risks. I assume Data sharing is covered within data ownership - if not it needs to be explicit. User group - it might help to know how the system is being used in all areas of the institution (unless control is very tight and central).
Figure 6 Regulations & Agreements

Agreements between the institution and external organisations

33%

60%

8%

Code of Practice for staff using a CRMS

73%

25%

2% Essential

Data ownership

78%

21% 1%

Useful Not important

Information sharing

88%

12%

0
Base: n=67

20

40 %

60

80

100

Other JISC Tools The online questionnaire also sought to determine participants awareness of other JISC tools specifically, CRM Self Analysis Framework and Embedding BCE Diagnostics & Evaluation Workbook. As figure six shows, most participants had no prior knowledge of either the framework or handbook.

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Figure 6: Awareness of JISC Tools

44% 56%
Yes No

33%
Yes
Base: N=66 CRM Self Analysis Framework

67%

No

Base: N=67 Embedding BCE Diagnostics & Evaluation Workbook

Additional Comments Respondents were subsequently given the opportunity to put forward recommendations to improve the CRM systems handbook. Whilst most respondents did not make any suggestions, 5 took the opportunity to do additional information. The comments below conform to findings already presented:
Internal use can also be useful, and it would be beneficial to highlight this as well as a means of facilitating buy-in. You haven't covered reporting, sharing of information, how easy is it to get data out otherwise people won't bother putting it in. What about customer perceptions - could come under measurement of CRM effectiveness or quality. Roles and skills (a lot of this is in the Embedding BCE diagnostic by the way). Allocation of responsibilities - monitoring of quality of data in the system and identifying if someone is not using it correctly.

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Appendix Four- Handbook Outline

Strategic Planning and Organisation 1) Identifying your current CRM process maturity (and therefore change planning) (Format of questionnaire, 3-4 simple questions to enable people to identify their current CRM position) (this would need to establish a navigable pathway that readers could follow in the handbook depending on which maturity level they self-assess to be) 2) Partnership models (range of BCE partners including business private, business public and Govt, cultural orgs, social and civic, third sector and community etc) NB Could include here the strategic approach to CRM/PRM as promoted by Baaken (see slides 5-9 url below) in diagram form http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/themes/bce/bceevent0607baaken.pdf 3) Cultural Enablers a. Customer Centred approach/Customer Service in BCE b. Process improvement culture (need to understand own processes across univ first) i. Benefits of CRM (can refer to the SAF)Principle of whole university/college benefit ii. Individual benefit (as part of i)

4) Collaborative University Approach a. b. c. d. Scoping the system Training University Processes working together Business Intelligence

Operational implementing practices and processes to enable CRM 5) Change management- Link to SAF (maturity pathway too) 6) Raising the profile of CRM for BCE alongside the Teaching and Learning agenda a. Developing and implementing a successful relationship between marketing and CRM b. Ditto for IT and information management i. Using new media to manage customers and interactions and derive customer value [CRM 2.0 rather than off-the-shelf system] c. Ditto for HR and admin d. Getting buy-in from senior and departmental management 27

7) Development of Long Term relationships a. Consultation with Customers and other HE/FE institutions b. Sustainability of Relationships 8) What is success in CRM for BCE? Link to SAF Practical [i.e. key challenges and how to overcome them] 9) Business Processes a. Businesses process mapping, b. principles of service design & blueprinting c. Principles of Value Stream mapping 10) Quick overview of CRM systems 11) Ongoing management of a CRM system 12) Information Sharing/Data Ownership 13) Code of Practice (Examples from universities: How are these agreed? Whats the best approach?) 14) CRM for Student relationship management [just a few words here to act as a placeholder for future additions]

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Appendix Five- Institution Question Index

Questions institutions might want to address approach to handbook index Introduction with CRM Maturity Why should you prioritise Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? What should be in your CRM Strategy? How do you get buy in? Who are your key internal stakeholders? What if people won't share? How can CRM help me build partnerships? Why are business processes important? How do you protect data? What system? How do we retain Customers? What is CRM 2.0? How do you know CRM is working? How do I manage change? How can I best use the data? How can I use CRM for Marketing? How can we make sure our staff, have the right skills and competencies?

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Appendix Six- Overview of feedback from Validation Workshops

Validation Workshops The workshops were comprised as follows: A brief familiarisation session allowing participants to understand the index, navigation and contents of the Handbook An exercise in which participants role-played a situation and used the Handbook to find guidance A facilitated discussion allowing participants to discuss their key pain and decision points in CRM implementation Exercise The tasks set were: You have been asked to prepare a paper detailing the potential benefits of adopting a CRM approach. It is your role to communicate the CRM message and implement the strategy to staff, how would you start to do this? You are developing a CRM strategy for presentation to SMT within your organisation with a view to them giving you the go ahead to proceed. Summary of Feedback from exercise General Relationship between the handbook and the key resources e.g Embedding BCE, Self Analysis Framework and CRM study was an issue as it was not always clear, the feedback was that these need more prominence at the beginning because people felt that things were missing from the handbook but these were in the other resources available. Work was needed on the style and consistency of writing across the handbook. A little text heavy in places, more diagrams would be helpful. Some areas lacked detailed, what needs doing was there but not how to, this was seen as superficial. Content Specific Nothing on Communication Strategies. More detail on using the data for marketing More detail on the different models and approaches to CRM and BCE, account management etc. 30

Context may be required for case studies, i.e. what type of institution is Teesside is it similar to mine.

More tools needed like the code of conduct and access policy Link required to Just Enough in communicating benefits.

Navigation and Index Easy way to see all case studies List of resources and links Photos, videos and pictures might help to navigate Numbering the sections may help with navigation

Summary of feedback from the discussion Key issues Getting people to share contacts on a system How can a BCE CRM system fit with other CRM systems in the institution Putting together a business case or a system, how to find financial benefits Ongoing resources to maintain a system Buy in from senior management How to create a corporate culture in BCE

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