In this three part series, we’ll take a deeper look into each of the steps in the software implementation process: Plan, Process and Practice.

If we’ve learned anything in 2020, it’s that there is only one thing you can count on for certain...change. For profit businesses and nonprofits alike are continuing to adjust and adapt to these changes by evaluating their internal processes and customer experience to see where improvements can be made. For many foster care and adoption agencies, that includes making sure that teams and families are able to complete requirements online with new software (like SAM).

1) Set Goals for the New Software

Clearly state the reason(s) that you’ve decided to look for new software. Then, list your organization’s goals for the software. When we ask potential clients about their goals for SAM, the top three responses we hear are:

Saving time by automating processes
Centralizing case management
Improving client experience by offering online services

Write out and prioritize your goals and decide which are most important. These are the goals you’ll implement first. While SAM absolutely can achieve all of these goals (and more), we recommend prioritizing them and beginning with just one at a time. That way you don’t overwhelm your team and admins by changing too many processes at once.

2) Create a needs assessment, or “needs list”

Just as in the social work field, doing an assessment and setting goals are the first steps in creating your plan of action. With software, the assessment phase includes creating a “needs list” of features that you need, then setting goals and making a plan that includes implementation milestones, training, etc.

The features we want on our needs list can then be organized into “must-have”, “nice-to-have” and “later.” Seek feedback from others in your organization as well as past and current clients to help prioritize this list. Some questions might include:

How do we want to use the software?
What features do we need right away to meet our clients’ needs?
What tasks are we doing over and over again that can be automated?
How many users will we have?
Do we need to integrate the software with our other technologies (email, website, fundraising, accounting, etc.) or does the software do any of those functions?
Are there other technologies we can eliminate and/or consolidate by purchasing this software?
How much can we spend?

3) Create your Plan of Action

Now that you’ve created your needs list and set your goals, it’s time to put all of that information into a plan of action. Let’s go!

First, let’s take a look at exactly what implementation means for your agency. What does it look like? How long do you think it might take? How will you know when you’ve completed it?

Make your implementation/roll out plan:

Create a timeline for the implementation and training processes.
Choose an admin and training team
- Choose administrators and training team leads that understand your processes in detail, have the time to learn and the patience to teach the software, and aren’t afraid to test, play and ask questions about the new technology.
Begin to research software programs and schedule demos with vendors

Nicely done! In our next guide, we’ll discuss how to create a Process Map to convert your agency’s specific procedures (or processes) into a digital form. Then, we’ll discuss the important last step, training your staff and clients on your new software.