Inside ASI-AP

I hosted our first boardroom lunch of the year yesterday - 30th April - and we had an invited audience of finance managers and finance executives. We had a slightly smaller crowd than expected with a few same day cancellations but overall I was very happy with who was in attendance.

Last year we used the theme of "what keeps you awake at night" as a means of getting feedback and prompting discussion. This year I am adopting a new theme based on the 7 business drivers of high-performance non-profits and the iMIS Business Excellence Framework (iBEF). The 2 business drivers I used for this luncheon were "automation" and "process".

My challenge to the finance execs was to set a big ugly goal of eliminating data entry by 2012. See more in the copy of the speech below (Powerpoint attached as well).

Instead of asking for feedback on 3 things that "keep you awake at night" I asked for feedback on 3 things that you could "automate within your department". I have started a new wiki page to track these answers (note an ASI staff only login is required to view this page since it is confidential).

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Luncheon speech for Finance contacts MD Boardroom Lunch 30 April 2008

Good afternoon and welcome. It is my great pleasure to host our monthly boardroom luncheon today. My name is Paul Ramsbottom and I am the Managing Director of ASI Asia-Pacific.

We have 2 objectives today. Firstly, networking. Networking – ohhh, I hear some of you sigh - not another networking event, our calendar is already full of them! Well that may be true, but today is a little different. Firstly, all of you in the room work for non-profit organizations. As an aside, you may be surprised to learn that the iMIS community in Australia is made up of almost 2,000 people like you. But we need to go a step further. The other thing all of you have in common is that you are finance managers and executives. And for that reason, I know you have common challenges that you face in your jobs, and we would like to think that over lunch you will talk about some of those challenges.

The second objective is to talk to you about iMIS. Which I will be doing after lunch.

So – let's get started. You have 2 tasks to complete before we serve lunch. The first is to look at your profile form in front of you. We would like to share your contact details with the rest of the group here today, but to do that we need your permission. So please check your details are correct, cross off anything you do not want us to publish, and if you are OK to share just with this group here today, tick the box.

At the bottom of the same profile form you will see space to write 3 things that you would like to automate in your job or in your department. Automation? Huh? Why would you want to tell me that? Well, let me be a little more specific. If you are an iMIS customer, I want you to be specific about 3 things you do using iMIS that you would like to happen automatically – as part of an automated process – and this could be a task you currently do in a manual fashion or it might be something your team does. If you do not use iMIS, then consider whatever system you use to manage your membership and finance programs, and what you would like to automate with those systems. The what you would like to automate list will not be published, it is just for my reading.

[break for 5 minutes to let forms be completed]

Now you job over lunch is introductions. Here's how we are going to do this – you need to nominate someone at your table to be the "introducer" – and it can't be one of the ASI staff. Each of you need to introduce yourself to one another at your table, and then the introducer will stand up after main course and briefly introduce your table to the room.

So nominate your table introducer and introduce yourself to your table, and we will being serving main course.

[Main course served]

Welcome back. And lets hear the introductions from each table.

If you are looking for things to talk about at your table over desert, I'd like to draw your attention to this card: "7 Business Drivers of High Performance Non-Profits". Pick 1 or 2 drivers from the list to discuss.

[Desert served]

[Main presentation]

Welcome back, I trust you enjoyed lunch and your conversation with your peers.

Let's move on now to our second objective of the luncheon – an update on iMIS 15.

Before I do, however, I just wanted to give a brief overview of ASI and iMIS generally.

iMIS is the only complete, upgradeable, web-based not-for-profit business software system available. iMIS provides a broad range of relationship management, marketing communications, commerce and business intelligence functionality. That all sounds fancy, but there are really some pretty basic principles here. iMIS gives you a single, complete system to manage your members, your donors, manage your events, manage education and training, manage your marketing, manage your website and process all the commerce related to your members and donors, including online e-commerce – all in the same system! But I will come back to this shortly.

So, that's one of the reasons your organization would invest in iMIS.

Another reason, and equally important, is because ASI believes in customer for life. We believe once you buy iMIS you will never have to buy another system.

Customer for life – that is a big commitment to make. And for us to make that promise, we have to do 2 things. We have to keep iMIS upgraded with both current technology and with current business practices. And secondly we have to give great service and support.

Unfortunately for us, when you first buy iMIS, customer for life is a pretty hard message for us to get across. You generally buy iMIS to solve some business problems. And iMIS needs to keep solving your business problems, today and into the future. So we have to keep you up to date. Customer for life.

Which is a great introduction to iMIS 15. iMIS 15 is the next upgrade of iMIS from iMIS 10. Importantly, iMIS 15 is an upgrade. It has already been shipped to you on a CD that you can use to upgrade from your iMIS 10 system. It is like an upgrade to Windows or to Office.

So what's new in iMIS 15? How I would like to explain this today is by talking to you about the 7 drivers of high performance non-profits.

[slide click]

ASI wants you be a world class organisation. With a commitment to innovation and excellence. To support that journey towards excellence, a quality framework provides the basis for ensuring everyone in your organisation can strive and create customer satisfaction at continually lower real costs. Common quality frameworks are ISO 9000 and Six Sigma – you may have heard these names in the context of TQM – or Total Quality Management – principles. But today I would like to bring to your attention the Australian Business Excellence Framework.

The Australian Business Excellence Framework is Australia's Framework for innovation, improvement and long term success, applicable to all organisations including non-profits. The Framework has been designed to assist organisations to measure current performance and build a pathway to long-term success and is based on a set of 12 time-honoured principles of leadership and management.

Based on feedback from our largest customers, and taking a subset of the Australian Business Excellence Framework as they relate to iMIS, we have created the iMIS Business Excellence Framework. A framework to ensure innovation, improvement and excellence using iMIS. The iMIS Framework is based on 7 business drivers for high performance. You have a card in front of you with the drivers listed on it, plus on this slide here.

The 7 business drivers provide you with a guideline on all the functionality iMIS can support in your pursuit of business excellence. Even if you don't use iMIS - all 7 drivers are still absolutely relevant to your organisations.

I would like to touch on 2 of the 7 business drivers today. The driver on AUTOMATION and the driver on PROCESS. These two drivers are closely linked – it is hard to have automation if you don't have a clear process, and conversely it is hard to implement process if you don't have the tools to help you automate parts of the process.

iMIS 15 is becoming more and more focused on process than ever before. iMIS 15 gives you tools to manage your acquisition processes and marketing automation tools to manage your renewal process. It provides workflow tools to help you manage automation of repetitive processes and workflow monitoring tools to alert you when things go off track.

Well Paul that all sounds great. But how does all this apply to the Finance department. Great question.

In most associations and non-profits the finance department is the engine room and where the majority of data entry and processing gets done. Secondly, the finance department is typically the first department to have an internal procedure manual written up. So the finance department already understands the importance of a process culture, and secondly most finance departments are in need of more automation. So of the 7 business drivers I think the 2 I have selected are top of mind for you - the finance executive.

I am going to talk about 3 options you have to increase automation and embrace process with iMIS.

The first is Informz for iMIS. Informz for iMIS is the email marketing solution that you typically use for e-newsletters and general email marketing campaigns. But what you may not know is that Informz can also be used for to generate automated emails – called "triggered mailings". Informz will monitor your iMIS database and when it sees any action – like an event registration being received – it will then automatically send an email that you have pre-configured in Informz confirming that registration – automatically and completely hands-off from you.

Second – is iMIS Process Manager. iMIS Process Manager is more about implementing and tracking formal processes in your organisation where people are generally involved as the processes move along from one stage to the next – that is, there isn't too much to automate but you need to ensure compliance to the process – the culture of process. Examples of where Process Manager would help you build a process culture are – (1) acquisition (or sales) processes; (2) membership admission processes, (3) complaint processes; and (4) moves management for fundraisers.

And finally – is the iMIS Task Centre. iMIS Task Centre is a workflow design and management tool that really is best described by showing you how it looks on the screen.

[slide click]

You can see in this case there is both process and in many steps of the process there is automation. The workflow process starts here at the end of the new member application process – it then updates the member type, adds the professional designation, and creates a subscription bill amount; it then formats an email which invites the subscription to be paid online; and then goes ahead and sends the email. Note that all of these steps are fully automated – hands off!

Task Centre allows you to automate both processes that face the member or donor, and also processes that are purely internal.

A relevant example of internal process automation – take a monthly report being emailed automatically to all managers and Board. You may have some Crystal reports that you run every month – Task Centre can run those for you automatically and email them out automatically – completely hands off for you!

[slide click]

So my message to you today is for you, and your departments, to take up the iMIS automation and process challenge.

Using tools like Informz for iMIS, iMIS Process Manager and iMIS Task Centre to implement process and automation. These 2 business drivers of high performance non-profits [point to slide].

Like I said earlier, the finance department is ideally placed to take the lead on these business drivers and make a start and get some runs on the board over the next couple of years. You absolutely must.

To help you see where you will need to be in 2012 – let's call this the big ugly goal – and to give you a focus point …

Data entry needs to be eliminated. A transaction should flow all the way from your member or donor through to your financial statements without any person touching any part of that transaction. The only thing you need to do is a reconciliation between iMIS (which functions are your receivables ledger) and your GL. Now I realise that of course not all of your members and donors can use your website to do their own transactions on your website, but what I am talking about is electronic processing – not just web transactions, but BPay, direct debit, direct credit, credit card deductions, and even if none of those suit, you can outsource your data entry to bureau services and simply get a data file to import into iMIS every day.

Automation and a process focus will help you achieve this big ugly goal. And as you get to reaching that goal, you will find you will be replacing data entry staff with data analysis staff – data analysts.

[pause]

So – there we have a brief summary of iMIS 15 and a couple of areas relevant to your department. iMIS 15 supports you in implementing all of the 7 business drivers. iMIS 15 is available now.

iMIS 15 - is the next step in the journey of customer for life. We promise to keep you upgraded with technology and with current best practice. And we promise to give you great service and support. Anytime we do not do that you need to please let me know. My email, my direct phone number and mobile are on the handout sheet.

That brings us to the end of my presentation. A couple of key date reminders before we leave. If you or one of your team want to see a demo of iMIS 15 you need to register to attend one of our free weekly webcasts – goto our website to signup. I am also very pleased to announce that the NiUG iMIS user group – a true independent user group - is now formally established in Australia. If you are an iMIS user and not already a member of NiUG you need to join. Contact the chairman - Rod Dalglish at the Bus Association of Victoria – and Rod is here today – welcome Rod.

In closing, I just want to come back to the objectives for today. Firstly networking. I trust that the lunch environment, the exclusive finance executive only invitations, the table layouts, the questions on what you could automate in your office, helped you meet your peers today. I welcome your feedback.

Secondly, an update on iMIS 15, the next upgrade to iMIS to keep you as a customer for life. And the 7 business drivers of high performance non-profits – with a particular focus on automation and processes.

Myself and the other ASI team members are available here until around 2.30 if any of you have questions or would like to speak with us individually.

Otherwise - that is the end of our proceedings today, and the luncheon is now closed. Thank you for joining me.