6. Identifying Community Needs

6.1. Customer Management System (CMS)

What is a CMS? 

Good governance includes having effective record management systems to collate and store the valuable data and information that is obtained from the research conducted by the organisation e.g. at community meetings. The information needs also to be readily accessed.

The issue of confidentiality is one that requires policies and procedures that will maintain the integrity of the information/data as well as having a system of back up.

Organisations need to be vigilant and have processes in place to safeguard their data especially by having back -up systems in place.

There are many interpretations of the abbreviation CMS, the most common being:

·       Customer Management System

o   also known as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system

·       Client/ Case Management System

·       Content Management System

For the purpose of this unit, Customer Management System has been identified as the most relevant term.

 

A simple form of CMS could be a spreadsheet; however more complex software is also available.

Customer management systems have been specifically designed for service-delivery, not-for-profit organisations. These systems are often built to support the types of information and data that many non-profits require to deliver their services, such as keeping track of intake issues, family relationships and outcomes.

Whatever CMS you choose, it needs to be able to capture key information about:

·       The services you provide.

·       The ‘customer’.

·       When, why, what and how the ‘customer’ engages with your services.

·       The outcome of that engagement.

You should also be able to easily retrieve, interrogate and report on that information.

A CMS should record the basic demographic information of the c’customer’ as well as some key relationships and collect basic name and contact details of a referrer and the names of funders. Desirable features include the ability to:

·       Link ‘customers’ in family or other groups.

·       Collect socio-economic information.

·       Add fields for information that may be specific to the services that you offer.

·       Collect additional information on a referrer.

·       Collect funding contract details (contract manager, fund value, service numbers).

Queries and reporting

A system should have standard reports that help you answer important questions about clients (customers), such as how many clients (customers), have received a particular service in the past year, the average length of time they are engaged in a service, and the number of clients cared for by a particular caseworker. Queries should be easy to build and flexible and not limited to certain fields.

Ad hoc reporting is important to consider too: can staff create reports ‘on the fly’ and in real time, defining what formats and information are used, for both rows and columns?[1]

Organisational Policies, Procedures and Protocols

Confidentiality can be defined as the process of "ensuring that information is accessible only to those authorised to have access and is protected throughout its lifecycle ".

Confidentiality is an important principle in community business because it imposes a boundary on the amount of personal information and data that can be disclosed without consent.

Knowing that confidentiality practices are in place allows the person giving sensitive and personal information, to feel secure and that they can trust that their privacy is being protected.

A confidentiality policy may state that only those working with the organisation will have access to the data provided and systems and safeguards may be put in place such as the allocation of passwords etc., to view confidential information. Access logs may be programmed which are constantly monitored and being checked, and data ownership is assigned to senior members of staff who are responsible for reviewing these logs and the integrity of data.

In the event that a person gives an organisation personally identifiable information about themselves, such as their name, address etc., the organisation will require specific consent that it can release that information.

Sample Indicators that may be put in place include:

·         Professional relationships with customers, clients, communities, colleagues and other professionals are maintained.

·         An organisational complaints procedure is in place to address noncompliance.

·         Client and organisational information is kept confidential; informed consent is sought before any confidential information is shared unless this is required by law.

·         Adequate record keeping is in place to protect the privacy of customers/ clients.