Change is Hard: Work Together

One of the main features of Altru is that it brings together all the different activities of constituents into one unified system. I could probably spend a whole day explaining why this is a good thing, but often times, making a change to a holistic system like Altru is not just a change for the technological tools you’re using, but affects two other essential areas: PEOPLE and PROCESS.



In most organizations, each department has its own methods, tools, and those pesky spreadsheets that they keep to themselves. One of the opportunities many clients overlook, as part of this shift from many systems to Altru, is the cultural shift this can create. This cultural shift from decentralized information to a shared system can majorly impact not just your Altru implementation, but the long term and how (process!) your team members (people!) work together.

“Do we still have to talk to each other?”

This is a question I hear frequently- usually in a lighthearted tone. Though Altru means everyone is using the same system now, it does not mean that you can stop talking to each other! Altru may CHANGE the conversation you have with your coworkers though. Instead of asking the Membership Manager if Robert Hernandez attended this week’s Exhibit Opening Reception, you can look up Robert’s information and find out yourself. This gives you time to discuss with the Membership Manager what to do next now that you know Robert attended the reception this week.

As I've mentioned in previous change blogs, everyone at your organization is a shared stakeholder in Altru. This is critical for data integrity; you need to ensure that everyone is using the same data entry style. It means that what you do can have a critical impact on another colleague (people!) and how they use Altru (process!). One example I see during implementations is how the Fundraising Hierarchy and the General Ledger must work together. If either one changes significantly, the other can be impacted. If Finance and Development don’t talk to each other, how would anyone ever know until it was too late?

Now granted, your fundraising structure and general ledger aren't likely to change daily, but it’s a stark example of why everyone at your organization must be part of the conversation not only throughout your Altru implementation, but as you continue to use it and grow.

As part of Altru implementations, your consultant and project manager work with your team to try and script the major changes and make sure the goals of your organization stay in alignment. As a consultant, we are there to help you achieve that, but as you continue to use Altru after implementation, you may find it necessary to tweak the processes in Altru. An organization with a culture of openness and sharing can do this with little disruption to the day to day.

For more on change management, check out these blogs or the Altru community.