Key communicators

The role of relationship manager is becoming vital for aligning business requirements with technology.

By Joanne Cummings
Network World, 04/16/01

At first blush, the relationship manager's role seems a bit too frivolous for most IT shops.

In the hard-charging world of e-commerce, when projects are turned around in Internet time and dot-com initiatives lay bloodied by the wayside, who has the time, the staff or the money to foster internal business unit relationships? Success goes to the lean and mean, right?

Wrong. Most organizations making successful e-business forays view relationship managers - or liaisons who can help corporate departments successfully navigate technology - as highly strategic weapons. The position is on the rise, and Gartner predicts that by 2003, 85% of companies will establish a formal relationship management program designed to help translate business requirements into IT initiatives.

"The e-business push makes it very apparent if the IT organization isn't in tune with the business," says Barbara Gomolski, a research director at Gartner. "The business groups want to move quickly, but they soon find they can't get the support or strategic assistance they need from IT."

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This scenario calls for a relationship manager, but can also explain the true strategic importance of new projects to IT.

"For us, it's a two-way membrane," says Kevin Book, senior director of technology at Motley Fool, an online financial services company in Alexandria, Va., that has established a formal relationship management program. "With each new project, relationship managers need to properly escalate the cost concerns of the technology group, while at the same time effectively find the most relevant, strategic parts of the business plan to put in context for the technologists."

This helps companies avoid orphaned projects while reining in costs. Motley Fool's relationship management group reports to finance and is responsible for performing cost/benefit analyses.

Finding a person with all the requisite skills is difficult. Most relationship managers have been with their company for years, understand the way the business works and have a strong grounding in IT. Relationship managers are executives who generally earn between $75,000 and $125,000 per year.

"They need to know the business and how to exploit technology, but they really need to be good communicators, negotiators and consensus builders," Gomolski says. "These are people who can rally support and build trust in others."

Michael Newcity typifies that complex skill set. He has performed a relationship manager role for the past year at ABF Freight Systems, although his formal title is e-commerce manager. Employed at the Fort Smith, Ark., firm for almost nine years, primarily within IT, Newcity has a double major in business administration and computer information systems and is working toward an M.B.A.

He finds the role all-encompassing at times. "You're always in the middle," Newcity says. "There is dependency on me for IT expertise, but I need to plan strategy and do research, at the same time I'm interfacing with others in the company. There's only so much one person can do."

If you're interested in becoming a relationship manager, consider the following advice:

Don't take sides. Newcity walks a fine line between IT and the internal units. "Never talk down any side," he says. "Keep a positive attitude, and never point fingers."

One way to avoid conflict is to ensure IT fully understands the business impact of a proposed project.

Get business expertise. Formal education is a plus, but IT types can gain even more business savvy by choosing a mentor who understands all the aspects of the company.

Gartner's Gomolski recommends actually moving into the business side. "Even if it means making a lateral move or doing something for only six months, it's a good idea to get some work experience in the business unit," she says. "You need to gain exposure to the business issues from their perspective."

Listen. Motley Fool's Book says the first lesson a relationship manager learns is to listen. "It seems intuitive, but you'll find that once you're in the middle, there's absolutely a horrible disconnect between these two disparate groups," he says. "Listening and understanding the extent of the problem is the first step."

Newcity agrees. "Sometimes, IT is isolated from the competitive environment of the work they're doing for the business," he says. "They don't get a sense of the struggle or the importance, or the need to do the next project. That's why relationship managers are important."