When Difficult Decisions Lead to Successful Outcomes

When Difficult Decisions Lead to Successful Outcomes

National Council on Family Relations

• Founded in 1938• 3,300 members• ~ $1.5M budget• 11 full-time staff• Mission: “Strengthening Families”

The National Council onFamily Relations is . . . • The premier professional association for the

multidisciplinary understanding of families• Publisher of ~ Journal of Marriage and Family ~ Family Relations ~ Journal of Family Theory & Review• Provider of the Certified Family Life Educator

(CFLE) designation

Old database situation

• AMS purchased in 2004• Implementation delayed• Software company went out of business• Product sold twice• 2nd time to a company in the Philippines• Went live in December 2006

There were problems

• No reporting software• Membership periods imported incorrectly• Membership orders generated errors• All attributes were fixed length CVAR• E-commerce module failed in March 2007 –

went back to re-keying online orders

Quickly became apparent, this wasn’t going to work out• Inefficiencies and errors frustrated staff• Resolving basic issues was a challenge• Customer support: 13 hour time difference

and a language barrier• Conference calls scheduled at inconvenient times• E-mail replies came in the middle of the night

• Decision made in mid-2007 to move on

Choosing the right AMS takes time

• Nov ‘07: RFP for consultant to guide selection• Feb ‘08: Internal technology audit• Apr ‘08: Business process analysis• May ‘08: RFP to AMS vendors• July ‘08: Scripted product demonstrations• Aug ’08: Finalist follow-up discussions• Sep ‘08: ACGI selected as preferred vendor

And then things changed

NCFR’s AMS purchase was placed on hold

Six months later…

• NCFR financial reserves had not recovered• Notified ACGI of pursuing other option• ACGI proposed an alternate approach• Association Anywhere Standard Edition

• Up front cost reduced by half• Ongoing cost reduced by a third• Key advantages retained

Implementation process

• 14 week timeline• Data conversion handled mostly in-house• Three on-site “boot camp” weeks

• Configure and train simultaneously• Consensus decision making process• Team approach to setup tasks

AMS implemented on schedule

August 10, 2008

and 30% under budget

Keys to success

• Talented staff committed to success• Strong grasp of business processes & needs• Thorough understanding of existing data• Flexible processes met system configuration• Structured issue tracking system• Vendor who empowered us to take on more

Outcomes

• Membership up more than 10%• Over $300K in credit card payments processed• 20% of members have updated their profile• Membership gap revenue recouped• Efficiency & capacity let staff focus on growth