What to look for in an implementation partner?

This isn’t something people always think about, but you don’t want to invest time and money in a partner that’s at risk of going out of business. You want a financially strong business who can support you in the future.

You also want to consider how long the business has been running. This will give you an indication of the years of experience the team has and the portfolio of work they have completed.

The first phase when working with a partner is for them to understand your organisation better. User stories should be collected, this is to help understand how the team are currently using their software and what tasks the new system needs to be able to complete.

Part of this is to demonstrate the software with some of their complexities that could cause a challenge. Ideally, you want to configure a light version of that complexity with some of your data. The partner can run that process against it and show you how that complex process would work in the new system.

Then, you’re making an informed decision about whether the software is right for you. You don’t really want to sign up a contract until you’re confident that it is the right software for you, even if you’ve gone through the selection process.

There is no such thing as a completely smooth go live. The most important thing is the relationship with the vendor and the kind of service that the partner gives when there are problems. That’s why local support is also important, consider time zones and processes for reporting any issues.

Once you’re stable (which usually takes 4 to 8 weeks) and people are well coached and know what they’re doing, this is the time when you need to pick up the Digital Success work.

Digital Success is where the partner understands your strategy and you set out the goals for the future. You look back on your goals from the implementation and then think, what are the goals for the next 12 months so we can get even more value out of our new system?

Fundamentally, all association software completes the same purpose. When looking at new systems you really want to be trying to find out what it doesn’t do relative to your needs.

If the system doesn’t complete tasks you need it to, what solutions are available? A partner should be able to advise on customising your solution to meet your needs. You will need to consider if your staff will be able to work on a solution, if you need to work with a specific partner, and if you’ll be committed to working with them to maintain it.

There is the documentation of the actual software itself and how that functions, and documentation on how staff should complete tasks with the new software.

Ultimately this comes down to training, but of course training and documentation nowadays is far broader than just a Word document of ‘here’s how you do it’. It could be education, videos or webinars. You want to look at the training provided by the implementation partner and software vendor.

Certifications are important but should also be looked at in context. A certified professional means that they’ve passed a test on best practice, and they’ve had to use client references to say their work meets a certain standard.

Whilst a consultant might have had years of experience working with the software, they might never have implemented it for an organisation in your sector.

Look at the types of organisations they have worked with. This includes reading case studies and reviews.

Choosing the right implementation partner is about more than just technical expertise—it’s about building a relationship. Your partner should understand your unique requirements, challenges, and provide ongoing support to help you get long-term value from your technology.