Software has become a significant expense for community foundations. Based on my own review of publicly available financial reporting, community foundations may spend between 10 percent and 30 percent of their administrative budgets on technology expenses. Yet, even as organizations invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in these platforms, many fail to make similar investments in a one-time deep dive that will improve day-to-day operations that would enable them to maximize the benefits of new software, increase their positive impact in the community, and improve their skills so as to be better prepared for future implementations of technology projects and tools.

Purchasing and installing a new software platform provides an opportunity to make a one-time investment that will lead to daily operational success, while delivering as much as a 9:1 return on investment (ROI) over three years. This kind of deep dive makes organizations more nimble, saves time and money, and allows employees to focus on their missions, all while reducing the burden on staff. That last point is particularly important in a sector that has an annual employee turnover rate of 19 percent, nearly double the private sector, and where 30 percent of employees say they are burned out, and another 20 percent are at risk of burning out.

Here’s an example: One foundation I worked with found itself constantly behind on accounts payables. Their process required several handoffs throughout the organization, and that led to delays that were creating tensions across the team. When they implemented new accounts payable software, the foundation conducted a process improvement deep dive that mapped how bills were collected and paid, allowing them to identify the source of their tensions. They discovered that there were 110 steps in their workflow for paying vendors, meaning that they were dedicating thousands of hours each year to a function that was not core to their mission.

Through a four-hour training and additional deep dive coaching sessions, the team cut by one-third the time required to pay vendors, giving staff more time to invest in the organization’s mission and freeing up resources to serve their community.

Four misconceptions that cause inefficiencies and prevent savings

Community foundations can save an average of 2,800 hours on day-to-day operations through deep dive training and coaching, yet leadership too often neglects to make these investments. Here are some of the misconceptions that most often contribute to this mindset.

1. New software is enough to fix daily operations pain points. Some foundation leaders may believe that software alone can address process inefficiencies, but if daily operations are inefficient, new software will simply automate a broken process. The software may create efficiencies, but organizations cannot transform their system, much less tap into its full potential, without addressing the challenges that led them to acquire new software in the first place. A one-time coached deep dive can help mitigate the inherent risk of installing software by making it faster and easier to fully integrate the new system and train staff.

2. Vendors will handle process redesign. Similarly, many leaders believe that their software vendor will map and redesign processes to integrate new platforms into their existing workflows. While software vendors may address some process issues, they typically focus only on the best-case scenarios. A deep dive examines the entire process—the good, the bad, and the ugly—to identify necessary steps, unnecessary steps, and inefficiencies. I have seen community foundations cut more than 50 steps from a process they perform every day—significant improvements they wouldn’t get by relying on a software vendor’s help. 

3. I don’t need technology skills. The time when foundations could get away with investing in new software every 20 years is long gone. Systems are constantly changing, which means that community foundations need good process skills just to keep up. A deep dive will build “process muscle” for employees who are not typically process-oriented, easing the transition to a new platform.

4. Software updates are too frequent to merit a coached deep dive every time. Software implementation is becoming table stakes for community foundations, and the idea of conducting a deep dive and related training every time may seem intimidating and costly. Fortunately, the deep dive process includes coaching that enables foundation staff to develop the skills they need to conduct their own process review the next time the organization adopts new software. This makes the initial deep dive a one-time investment that will pay off for years.

Software investments are becoming a significant burden for community foundations, and this is not likely to change any time soon. Investing in deep-dive process improvement training and coaching can help foundations mitigate the risk of technology investments, while allowing them to make changes that save time and money, improve working conditions for staff, and enable the organization to reinvest in their mission.

As founder and president of Innovation Process Design Inc., Lee Kuntz has spent more than two decades using process improvement to solve the unique challenges facing leaders of complex service organizations.