Presenting Value to the Management

A business head in a bank was convinced that mobile solutions would help his customer-contact representatives out in the field. He knew that the process would get streamlined and his managers would be able to manage the field force with greater efficiency and that significant time and effort would be saved in daily reporting and call tracking. The IT organization conducted live pilot projects and after detailed evaluation selected a vendor for supply of the mobile solution. The business head then prepared a formal request for executive sanction for the investment, highlighting that a 10% improvement in productivity would be expected.

The business head was in for a rude shock when the executive committee rejected the request because the benefits were largely intangible and moreover as the actual field force was employed by external agencies and not by the company, a lot of the benefit would accrue to them and not to the company. This is a situation that happens more often than not in companies contemplating enterprise mobility. Executives taking investment decisions want to see tangible measurable results immediately and not “in the future”. Consequently, vital decisions on implementing mobility get delayed, primarily due to procedures.

Important decisions that will elevate the company’s operations to the next level of service and efficiency, such as deploying mobile solutions, should be taken with some risk on the part of the senior managers. Taking such calculated risks is the hallmark of a progressive management.