NASCIO calls for renewed focus on CRM

The US National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) has called for closer engagement between state CIOs and the agencies they serve.

The association has published a report detailing the growing focus on customer relationship management among state CIOs.

According to the report, CRM made the list of state CIOs' top 10 priorities for the first time this year. This is reflective of the fact that the role of the CIO has evolved from being an owner and operator of systems to being a broker of shared services.

NASCIO President and Delaware CIO James Collins said state CIOs are recognising the need to improve relationships with state government agencies, while simultaneously selling the benefits of shared services.

“In the face of rapidly evolving business models and a significant increase in the demand for digital services, it is more critical than ever for CIOs to prioritise cultivating partnerships — especially with government agencies responsible for delivering life and safety citizen services,” he said.

“This focus is fundamental to understanding the business processes that underlie the missions of these agencies and essential for leveraging technology to realise the promise of digital government.”

But state CIOs are also facing challenges promoting enterprise services to agencies, finding themselves having to address issues at agencies such as concerns over a perceived loss of agency control, cultural inertia and funding shortfalls.

According to the report, building a roadmap to successful CRM involves building relationships with key stakeholders, making customer service the foundation of a CIO's strategic plan, and understanding the customer's businesses needs and processes.

Other useful methods include providing internal training to convince a CIO's staff of the imperative of customer relationships, developing a communications plan for talking to agency leadership, and establishing performance metrics and soliciting feedback from customers to track their progress.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/ultramansk

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