Inspire commitment to the vision.

This step is the last piece to the puzzle. What needs to be done to achieve commitment from your employees? By this time, if you have applied the ideas in the previous steps, your employees are seeing a lot of new behaviors and actions, and they are well aware that something is happening. The challenge is to ensure that they see the opportunity in this change for themselves and, as a result, become committed to the vision.
According to Gartner, every organization going through change experiences a stratification of its employee base, represented by those who will be a) early adopters of the vision, b) an early majority of followers, c) a late majority of followers, and finally, d) laggards who may or may not buy in to the vision at all. However, with attention to a commitment strategy, leaders can skew these groupings to achieve a greater number of early adopters and early majority of followers. As such, organizations must understand what needs to be done to build commitment to the CRM vision. Here are a few points to consider:

1. Build a path toward achieving competency.

Employees need to know how to achieve the vision. They need to understand their role in the relationships with the client and the organization as described in the vision. They need to know how they, personally, will be adding value to the organization by embracing the vision, and they need clarity on the goals they must achieve if the vision is to be attained.

2. Build a sense of comfort into the employee group by ensuring this is pursued as a team vision.

That means everyone in the organization has a part to play in achieving the vision. If the CRM program becomes "just a sales program," it will create a great deal of tension and discomfort in the organization, because it will be seen as another management "flavor of the month" (popular but quickly passing) project. If this is the case, it will be communicated back to your customers as such.

Employees need to feel that the vision is attainable. Ensure that the leadership team constantly talks about the possibilities and continually displays the appropriate behaviors and actions. Celebrate successes in the team as they are achieved.

3. Create an environment of stability.

Employees need to know that leaders are confident in the vision yet empathetic to employee and customer issues. Leaders need to stop negativity, particularly within their own ranks. Negativity that is observed in employee ranks needs to be addressed with understanding, as people typically are fearful of change. Reaffirm the vision—why the relationship between customers, employees, and the organization is important; what the expected outcomes are; and why the vision will be good on a personal level for everyone involved. Take the vision out of the clouds and make it real for the employees. Do this as often as needed.

4. Build and deploy a solid communication strategy.

Ensure that employees receive valuable information frequently. Each one is part of the team, and should not be surprised by changes or issues.

Employees need to see managers and leaders as trustworthy and candid. Ensure that formal messages fit with informal dialogue from team and organizational leadership.

Make certain that employees have the opportunity to meet with managers and CRM leaders frequently. Employees will need to be a part of the vision and the solution. That means communications must go beyond e-mail. Remember: it's all about people, and people need relationships in order to be committed to actions. Leaders and managers should pursue all opportunities to meet employees in small groups to engage in conversation and address whatever issues may be of concern.