Why traditional CRMs fail government agencies

"Public servants manage a geographically distributed group of people across dozens of public and private organizations daily. Cybersecurity officials work with state and federal counterparts, and homelessness coordinators work with public health departments and nonprofits. State veterans affairs departments sit at the intersection of educational and health benefits along with housing and job assistance. From my conversations with public servants across the country, it's clear that most critical government functions cannot happen without collaboration."

"This makes it paramount to have a deep understanding of who does what across dozens of organizations for government to function effectively. ENTER THE CRM The dominant modern tool for tracking relationships and managing contacts is customer relationship management software, simply referred to as a CRM. While CRMs arose to help sales teams manage their networks, they're widely used today as contact managers."

"And yet the focus on closing sales dominates CRM product design. One CRM company aims to help its users "attract more prospects, close more deals, and strengthen customer relationships." Another says the goal of its CRM "is simple: Improve relationships to grow your business." A third CRM aims to be "the sales assistant your team never had." But government employees don't sell. They need a network map of people to identify the individuals, organizations, and skill sets to achieve different purposes."

Public servants coordinate across many public and private organizations to deliver critical functions in areas like cybersecurity, homelessness, and veterans affairs. Effective coordination requires clear knowledge of who does what across dozens of organizations and the ability to identify relevant individuals, organizations, and skill sets. Customer relationship management (CRM) software is the dominant tool for tracking contacts, but CRMs originated in sales and emphasize closing deals. Sales-oriented CRM features do not fit government needs, leaving public servants to either track contacts manually in fragile spreadsheets and email or force-fit sales CRMs into coordination roles.

Read at Fast Company