Government aims to help local authorities install CRM

The government is spending £4.25m on a national advice service to help local authorities implement customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

The National CRM programme has been set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to encourage councils to use the software to become more customer friendly.

The service will develop a 'toolkit' to make the complexities of CRM implementation easier to manage, says Eric Bohl, chairman of the programme board and corporate director at London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

'What councils want is a consultant-free advice service and we are offering an independent source of guidance on how to go about introducing CRM, both choosing the products and choosing the partners to work with,' he said.

The programme will run until April next year. Plans include the publication of a 'how to' guide, the creation of a supplier forum to develop industry support and a CRM Academy to help raise awareness and disseminate best practice advice and case studies.

CRM is not just about technology, it's about transforming the organisation, says Bohl.

The National CRM programme is also producing guidance on how to manage the cultural change, and the skills and attitudes the new kind of organisation will need.

'The starting point for us is helping the council to organise itself to improve customer service - looking at things like how to introduce call centres to improve performance and how to integrate with one stop shops.

'The second thing is giving people the tools to choose the technology and the strategic partners that they need to get CRM working,' he said.

The board includes representatives from the London Boroughs of Brent and Newham, Salford and Hull City Councils and Knowsley Borough Council, as well as representatives from the ODPM and the Office of the eEnvoy.