Placing a complete team to deliver a multi-departmental CRM system

Our client, a leading UK university, needed a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Following a false start by another provider, we were tasked with recruiting a full team to recover and deliver the project.

As with most universities, data was being collected, managed, used and held on multiple systems across different departments. Our client wanted a holistic view of the university, students and other partners in order to get a clearer picture in real time so they could deliver better outcomes for all.

Applying our Project Partnering service model, Specialist Staffing Group's parent company used a blend of on-shore and off-shore resources to provide support capability that fitted seamlessly into the university’s existing IT team.

Contractors started by rebuilding confidence with the key stakeholders, re-baselining the programme and building out functionality spanning multiple departments. Using a rapid prototype approach and ‘show and tell’ sessions enabled key stakeholders to visualise their workshop inputs, creating further confidence and buy-in to the programme, technology and target benefits.

The go-live transition was carefully planned by our project team and involved a migration of over three million records from ageing databases to Salesforce and handing over all relevant operational documentation. It was executed without fault and ahead of schedule.

Transition to support following project completion was a success and the university is confident it has the capability to manage this system going forward.

The CRM system now offers our client enhanced capabilities around recruitment, alumni relations, advancement, events management, as well as research and innovation.

The university see digital transformation as central to achieving their ambition to become the top modern university in the UK and have retained the Group to resource the skills for the exciting next phase of their development.