In our last post, we looked at setting a vision for your database. Now that the vision for your organization’s database has been established and shared, what’s next? Now it’s time to engage and support your teammates in efforts to achieve your vision.
Teach a Man to Fish
There’s an old Chinese proverb that goes something like “Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you’ve fed him for a lifetime.” If you’re anything like me, you’ve likely encountered a situation that you’ve taken care of because you decided that it would just be easier, and done right, if you just did it yourself rather than taking the time to teach someone else. Unfortunately, this is how many organizations approach their databases. They become the domain, the responsibility, the “baby” of one person and everyone else is just along for the ride.
Well, when we make the decision to take care of it ourselves, we ultimately lose. First, if you’re a non-profit professional, you’re probably trying to keep multiple plates spinning and adding one more to the mix isn’t doing you any favors. More than that, however, we miss out on the opportunity to get others excited about the vision.
Training Teammates
That brings me to my first point in engaging and supporting your teammates in efforts to achieve your database vision – knowledge and skills. Training is a critical first step to helping your teammates understand the platform. This might look like step-by-step tutorials, team trainings, a data dictionary, or adding help text for folks to reference as they are navigating the database. The key to knowledge and skills is not simply providing information, though. Remember to establish a tight feedback loop. If you notice that certain individuals are entering data differently, follow up immediately. Give and collect feedback on a regular basis. Believe me, among other benefits, it will save you from having to clean data later.
Engaging Teammates
That being said, I do believe there is more to support than training. Here are a few additional ways to support your team.
- Make sure everyone understands the entire life cycle of the data that goes into and comes out of your database. While it’s tempting to just provide people with step-by-step instructions for the tasks assigned to them, it’s most helpful if they understand the bigger picture and how all the pieces fit together. This empowers them to identify opportunities for improvement and potential solutions on their own.
- Listen to and address the concerns, especially those of folks not (yet) invested in the system. Identify pain points that your team is experiencing and spend some time co-creating solutions. In my previous role, I held monthly town halls specifically to gather feedback on how things were going with the database. Additionally, to avoid getting feedback from only the loudest folks in the room, I met with one of my teammates each week to work through individual concerns. You might also consider developing a survey or creating a database committee. Regardless of the mode, strive to gather honest feedback as to what your teammates need.
- Identify professional development opportunities and encourage your teammates to participate. There are undoubtedly folks in your organization that are interested in learning more about your database (from someone other than you). Help them do so! Are you a Salesforce user? Direct your teammates to Trailhead, Salesforce’s online training platform where they can learn new skills specific to their role in a fun and interactive manner. Does your organization use ETO (Efforts to Outcomes)? Find a teammate or two and attend a bootcamp. If you’re database is cloud-based, there is likely a plethora of learning opportunities to choose from.
The Bottom Line
If you’ve expended time and effort in creating a vision for your database, you need to get others invested in it. Take stock of where you are on your database journey, identify which area of support you want to start focusing on, and get going! If you want to dig deeper, check out this three-part course from Idealware that starts August 22, 2019: “Roll it Out Right: A Nonprofit Action Plan to Set Up Your Software for Success.”