What to Do When Technology Isn’t Your Problem

Copyright P. S. Mueller http://www.psmueller.com/

Does it feel like you never find the right combination of technologies to just make things work? Do you lie awake at night and wonder how everything is going to get done, or why a new project was just dumped on your plate? If you technology decisions at your organization are driven by some of the following, we’d love to see you at NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference (aka the NTC):

• We chose the system because we have a volunteer who knows it. Or “Our VISTA/New Sector volunteer is really smart. She’ll figure this out!”
• Let’s get this tool. It worked great at my last (completely dissimilar) organization.
• We should get the _____est thing.
• Our board member, donor, or funder said to do or buy ________.
• It’s not in our strategic/operating plan, but ___________.
• Won’t it just tell us what to do?
• It’s free, and that’s all we can afford.
• Drop everything. We need to get this up and running in the next 3 weeks.

People and process problems frequently masquerade as technology problems. It may seem like the wrong tool was selected, it doesn’t do what it was supposed to do, or the instructions aren’t written clearly enough. In fact, in many cases, what seem like problems with a particular piece of technology are actually due to issues with people, processes, or overall technology strategy.

So how can you identify these types of problems and help your organization – and yourself – better use technology to meet your mission?

On Thursday, March 5 at 1:30 pm, Marc Baizman, Dahna Goldstein, Tracy Kronzak, and I will help you and your colleagues stop blaming the *$%!& technology for organizational problems. Come to this NTC session and talk about issues like:

• Are technology decisions tied to your mission and strategic plan?
• Have you prioritized your technology needs and projects, or are you responding to whoever screams the loudest?
• Are you trying to solve a lack of strategy or broken processes by throwing software at the problem?
• Have you looked at your business processes to make sure they’re efficient and effective?
• If you’re struggling with your current systems, did you select systems that meet your real needs, and that you can afford and support?
• Do you have the necessary funding, staff time, and understanding of your goals and needs to support the technology you’re adopting?
• Do you have policies and procedures telling people how to use your systems consistently?
• Have staff been trained on those policies and procedures? Do you have an ongoing training plan that includes time for mentorship and learning?
• Is someone in charge of making sure that people actually do what they were trained to do, and that everything’s running smoothly?
  • Are they placed appropriately in your organization so they can focus on your mission rather than the needs of one department (or person)?
  • Has that person been trained on the systems they support, or are they making it up as they go along?
  • Do they understand how those systems support the organization’s mission and strategic plans?
  • Does this person play well with others?
• Is there a help or service desk where someone is readily available to help when needed?
• Is the help/service desk staffed by friendly people with good customer service skills? Do they understand the systems you’re using?

Come join us for a collaborative, interactive, therapeutic discussion at the NTC.

Thanks to Marc Baizman, Dahna Goldstein, and Tracy Kronzak for their collaboration on this post.