Core10 Insights

In my old neighborhood, the first weekend in October was the Neighborhood Yard Sale. And it was a capital-B Big Deal. For most of us, it was a chance to do a few minor decluttering or organization projects. But for a couple of my neighbors, it was an opportunity to fundraise for their favorite charities.

I sat across the table from my friend and sipped my tea as she described her weekend. Her new business school class had put together an outing to get to know each other, and they decided on playing a game outside at a local park. Someone offered up the idea to play football, which everyone heartedly agreed would be lots of fun.

What they didn’t realize was that the class included a number of students from outside the US, and on the day of the game, several of her classmates showed up to the field with soccer balls, wearing cleats! Needless to say, that was quite a surprise to the ones who showed up with oblong brown footballs and even a few helmets. They all got a good laugh when they realized what had happened, and had an enjoyable afternoon learning new skills.

The business school meet-up may have ended well, but listening to her tale, it was hard for me not to notice the similarities between the football game and situations we see as providers of implementation services.

“Alright stop what you’re doing, ‘cuz I’m about to ruin the image and style that you’re used to.”

-- Digital Underground, The Humpty Dance

It’s safe to say that this is the first time I’ve ever used the lyrics of an early ‘90s hip-hop song to kick off a blog-post. But in this case, the words are so perfect for the theme of this blog that I just had to do it.

You know that software developer you’re about to hire to lead your Implementation Team?

Stop what you’re doing!

You’re sitting at home and decide to watch a movie. You pull up Netflix and scroll through what feels like an endless array of movies before stumbling upon a title you remember someone in your circle of friends talking about in glowing terms. But you’re not quite sold — yet. 

You review the cast and start to feel better. It’s loaded with actors and actresses you really respect. It’s even starring that one person with the dreamy eyes who makes you go weak in the knees. You check the reviews and it’s earned high marks from both critics and fans. It even won a few big-name awards. By all accounts, you should enjoy every minute of this movie. So you sit back, relax, and start the show.

Two hours later, you’re hugely disappointed. This movie, with its remarkable cast, great reviews, critical respect, and a few major awards, failed to meet your expectations. It’s not that the movie was bad, it just wasn’t right. At least not for you. 

Hiring an implementation specialist is no different. 

For SaaS (software as a service) companies, implementing new clients to the platform is critical for success. Onboarding (including data migration, new client setup, customization and configuration) is a pillar of the overall customer experience and can present significant obstacles to growth without a streamlined process.