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CRM Applications Go Internal (continued)

For every positive reaction, though, there's adamant criticism that using CRM for internal IT staffing purposes is a bad idea. "As a manager, I find it appalling and hope never to hear of companies actually adopting this as a primary perspective to take toward their workforce," laments Fitzgerald. "Human beings are complex systems -- they are, by their very nature, 'high touch.'"

In between the adopters and the antagonists, though, are plenty who have yet to consider the idea. "This isn't a connection that is spoken of a great deal in the HR/talent management market and I've not heard it spoken of directly having to do with managing IT staff," says Lisa Rowan, program manager in HR and Talent Management Services at IDC in Framingham, Mass.

The Human Factor
There are still plenty of questions about how well CRM software would adapt to talent management.

Fitzgerald cautions would-be users to remember that the goal of a CRM system is to capture information that leverages a one-to-many relationship between salespeople and customers. "There is, in general, no correspondence between the ratio of salespeople to customers and the ratio of management to IT staff -- meaning the software isn't designed to solve the problem," she says.

Human factors raise further doubts. "Who would be maintaining the system, i.e., operating in the traditional role of sales? Certainly not the business units. Staff elsewhere in the organization is interchangeable to them," exclaims Fitzgerald. "Would it be the IT management staff? If so, this begs the question of why they can't achieve the same benefit in a more personal manner." (article continues)

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