We recently hosted the fourth instalment of our Women In Salesforce virtual meetup series. The event was a great success, with fantastic insights from both our amazing speakers and the attendees.
We were excited to be joined by two incredibly accomplished women in the ecosystem, Renee Gregor of Sense Corp and Krissy Jones of Accenture, as they discussed the cruciality of, and strategies around supporting delivery teams during such an unprecedented time in the world.
You can watch the full video of the event here: https://youtu.be/2Xe0RAwdUck
Are We at Risk of Becoming Order Takers in a Virtual Consultive World?
The virtual environment has turned the world upside down and as delivery leaders it has become increasingly difficult to connect with your delivery teams much less with your clients. As part of their presentation, Renee and Krissy called out three areas to focus on that will help to improve the connection and communication needed within remote delivery teams.
Why Salesforce Delivery is Unique
Salesforce’s comprehensive features and customisable nature make it a platform that fits into the business based on the organisation’s needs. However, Krissy mentions the need to keep things simple with regard to customisation, otherwise it can be difficult for the client to maintain the platform over time.
Renee emphasises that it can be easy for clients to forget that Salesforce is an umbrella term, rather than a single product name. It encompasses a wide range of services that can be mixed and matched, as a result clarity and understanding by the delivery team is imperative.
Supporting Delivery Teams
The three key areas that Renee and Krissy highlight for supporting quality delivery during this unprecedented time are:
- Recognising that client relationships and the ability to connect have changed
- Clear Statement of Work contracts are essential
- How we handle change – Documented Change Order Process – is now more of a flexibility model rather than guardrails
Building Deeper Client Relationships in a Virtual World
Spending time with clients is a critical piece of one’s delivery relationship and building trust. Prior to COVID-19, teams would be on-sight with clients, meeting on average 8 hours a day, usually followed by dinners with clients and additional workshops. Having the opportunity to get to know clients and communicate with them in perhaps a less formal setting during coffee breaks, enabled delivery teams to really understand their clients and their drivers. Now with a remote setting this has become unrealistic. Thus, changing the client relationship.
How can this be overcome?
Renee and Krissy mention a few things that can be done to develop a deeper client relationship in this virtual environment; scheduling virtual coffee breaks, joining meetings early to instigate small talk, hosting ‘Family Hour – Meet Your Co-worker’ events. Not to forget the little wins and celebrate virtually.
Bringing the Virtual Handshake to Life
Statements of work have changed as a result of this remote environment. Not only do they need to be flexible for an ever-changing business, but the client is also now more educated on the tools and what they want out of the platform.
Clear statements of work are your guardrails; telling you what you can and can’t do, allowing you to know where you can pivot from a change perspective. Having a statement of work that is not clearly defined can cost you three things – time, budget or scope.
Watch the full video for advice on your Statements of Work.
Controlling the Chaos
Touching on Change Orders, a new approach is to engage the client in the Change Control Log to ensure you can be flexible and fair to your delivery teams in this ever-changing environment.
Renee and Krissy’s advice for controlling the chaos: Review your Change Order Process at the same time as your SOW. Put an Escalation Process in place to direct teams on who to go to. Review those risk items that could turn into issues as part of your weekly review. Ensure your Project Manager’s feel supported to communicate often and timely.
Get Involved
Thank you to both Renee and Krissy for providing their insight and talking about their experiences.
If you would like to get involved with our Women In Salesforce series, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
