“Everyone can be a technologist.” I read this statement in The Harvard Business Review and it summed up something I’ve seen play out repeatedly: people with no software background stepping into system administrator roles—and thriving.
After spending over a decade advising more than 20 teams on how to organize, optimize, and maintain their systems, I’ve distilled what I’ve learned into six tips for anyone managing a Grant Management System (GMS).
1. Listen to the end user.
When a colleague has a system request, ask questions and note the details to make sure you heard the need correctly. The better your understanding of the problem or the need, the more likely you are to come up with a solution that will satisfy it. As you design the solution, iterate, seek feedback, and listen again through regular check-ins. Solicit and be open to feedback and keep a pivot on the table when the need shifts.
2. Leverage your resources to assist with problem solving.
Consult with the GMS provider’s Client Success Team and take their recommendations. Don’t hesitate to reach out to members of their system admin community to ask how they achieve their organization’s goals in the system. Plug into Idea Lab conversations. Build connections with other users and staff who can offer valuable thought partnership.
3. Don’t over-engineer.
Always start with the simplest solution. Streamline statuses, types, and workflows where possible. Be sure you’re using terminology and processes that align with your organizational culture and the end user’s goals and objectives to help with adoption.
4. Show, Don’t Tell.
Create and refine portals regularly to guide users & tell stories (there are so many great new portal ideas out there right now helping fill all sorts of needs). Reveal fields for tracking/monitoring and provide list view options to make data more accessible so users can self-serve critical information and simplify dashboards for higher impact.
When troubleshooting, communicating or demoing, host live demos or use screenshots as appropriate.
5. Document. Document. Document. (This is your system’s easy button)
Think ahead and create resources that will support adoption and seamless system continuity in the event of staff turnovers and transitions. Use field names, instructions, and descriptions religiously to add clarity for users. Create and maintain workflow documentation for every process for users to reference. Adding details to support ticket resolution notes can help you when you reference back later.
I like to create a searchable private cheat sheet/wiki for myself to avoid solving the same problems over and over again.
6. Commit to Knowledge Sharing and a Growth Mindset.
Maintain an open source of system knowledge within your organization. Cross train and build in redundancy to ensure that no single person holds the keys to your system. (If you won the lottery today, would someone else in your organization be able to fill your seat and follow the information you left behind?)
Build trust, authenticity, and empathy through transparency. Displaying your continual growth and learning can help others to adopt the system. It’s ok to be honest about mistakes and pivots — being wrong sometimes shows you’re learning, but of course, use discretion.
Your organization’s GMS does not need you to be a cookie cutter copy of your last GMS. Your perspective is your superpower.
Celeste Orr has been a SmartSimple system administrator since 2014 and currently works as a senior consultant with the Philanthropy.io team. You can find her at celesteorr.com/consulting and philanthropy.io/team.