User experience, improved customer communication, customer preference, digital transformation are a few of the top goals and focuses organizations have for the coming years. There is so much involved and included in finding ways to improve any one of these broad categories that are all priorities for a more customer centric approach, it brings with it a few potential issues:

• Enterprise vs. departmental goals
• Resource constraints
• Big vision vs. small gains

These stumbling blocks more often than not, result in companies choosing one project to implement over others or just delaying projects while resources or budget is being assigned. For every day that projects aren’t on the starting block, progress in achieving the overall goals is being halted.

Let’s take a deeper look into these potential issues, along with some food for thought on how to tackle them…

Enterprise vs. departmental goals

What organizations face

When looking at an overhaul of processes, systems or solutions, the overall goals of the enterprise will always take priority over the departmental goals for new projects. For example, a project that would impact the billing department efficiencies has little relevance in other departments.

Some food for thought

Ensure that when departmental projects are proposed, they align with the overall vision of the company. If you’re looking to provide paperless options for customers for example, the solution must meet the organizational goals of customer experience, digital communication and ensure customer preferences are available. Otherwise, the department itself is not ticking the boxes and aligning with the organization’s strategic target.

Resource constraints

What organizations face

The truth of the matter is that when it comes to actually implementing initiatives that address these goals, most organizations find they don’t have the resources to manage the execution thereof.

Some food for thought

Find ways to lessen the load on the resources required by not treating every project as a new project. If there are similarities in data or goals, see if you can re-use data formats, run concurrent projects, or even implementing with a view for growth, rather than a phased approach could help in these instances.

Big vision vs small gains

What organizations face

There is a requirement for organizations to transform in order to match customer expectations in an increasingly digital world of commerce. Companies need to satisfy customer requirements, while hopefully staying in line with what competitors are doing.

Some food for thought

In an environment where we’re constantly looking at the next steps to take, often the small gains can be forgotten. The two to five year projects are on everyone’s minds, but the smaller projects could provide not only a stop gap, but also a bridge for that digital engagement and customer choice. Look at the small gains when aiming for the larger vision.

In conclusion…

It’s not always easy re-engineering processes and finding the time and resources to implement the required solutions to meet your organization’s customer centric goals.

Think about the first step – those small gains – and how to make a difference to a customer in the next few months, as well as the next few years.