What is the role of the business relationship manager (BRM)?
•
68 likes•67,362 views
The document discusses the role of the Business Relationship Manager (BRM). The BRM acts as a liaison between corporate services/IT and business units within an organization. Key responsibilities of a BRM include managing projects and priorities, maintaining relationships, and advising business units. The role of a BRM varies depending on their orientation - those with high business orientation have more influence, while those with high service orientation focus more on customer satisfaction. Effective BRMs understand both the business needs and corporate services/IT capabilities.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (19)
Similar to What is the role of the business relationship manager (BRM)?
Similar to What is the role of the business relationship manager (BRM)? (20)
More from Simon Chapleau
More from Simon Chapleau (15)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
What is the role of the business relationship manager (BRM)?
- 1. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP MANAGER (BRM)
- 2. 1. The Role of the BRM • What is a BRM? • How the role varies G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 2
- 3. WHY WE NEED BRMS? Manage Complexity G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 3
- 4. CORPORATE SERVICES ARE A MONOPOLY 1. Users are captive, they can’t choose a different supplier 2. System usage is mandatory 3. Fixed budget, corporate services wants to restrain usage, not encourage it If users are captive, why is satisfaction important? G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11
- 5. ACCOUNT MANAGERS VS BRM Commercial account manager BRM • $$$: Increase sales • $$$: Prioritize limited budget • Scope: Meet the specific needs of its clients • Scope: Meet the need of its clients and of the organization • Responsibilities: Few beside sales • Measure of success: Client satisfaction VS • Responsibilities: Enforce corporate policies • Measure of success: Client satisfaction Despite its similarities, the role of a BRM and a commercial account manager are actually quite different. G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 5
- 6. BRM - DEFINITION The BRM is a liaison between corporate services and the business. The BRM has significant knowledge in subject matters pertaining to both CS and the business. The BRM is responsible to understand the business, assist in the prioritization of projects, ensure that projects align with the technology that best provides maximum return on investment, and direct CS strategy in support of the overall business strategy. G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 6
- 7. EVOLUTION OF CORPORATE SERVICES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. CS Leadership Architecture development Business relationship Technology advancement Vendor management 1 Driving Innovation 2 3 Delivering Change 4 Outsourced to ESPs Embedded in the business Supporting 5 Infrastructure Demand Supply G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11
- 8. THE BRM IS THE LIAISON BETWEEN CORPORATE SERVICES AND THE BUSINESS Projects Business Unit 1 Applications Support BRM Business Unit 2 HR Business Unit 3 Corporate service Business Units The BRM acts as a linkage between corporate services and the business units. G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 8
- 9. …BUT BEING IN THE MIDDLE HAS ITS DRAWBACKS Budgets Needs Capacity Priorities Policies Frustrations Constraints Availability G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 9
- 10. ROLES OF THE BRM Manage projects • • • • Manage portfolio Evaluate project objectives New project analysis Business solution design Project issue resolution • • • Manage project intake process Manage project prioritization process Monitor portfolio health Manage relationship • • • • Relationship with business Relationship with CS, shared services Negotiate SLAs Relationship with vendors Advise • • • • Involved in business strategy Monitor competitors / peers Monitor industry trends Identify opportunities for operational efficiencies G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 10
- 11. KEY INTERACTIONS Application Architects Business Partners Relationship Manager Finance Managers Project Managers G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 11
- 12. 1. The Role of the BRM • What is a BRM? • How the role varies G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 12
- 13. FAMILIES - DIMENSIONS Service orientation Business orientation • Customer service approach • Customer service training • Managing business relationship • Understanding the organization • Influencing business practices • Involvement in business planning G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 13
- 14. • Excellent Customer service • Poor strategic planning • Focus on cost control • Static environment Service Orientation CS FAMILIES • Excellent customer service • Strategic partner Butler Agent Accountant Nanny Business Orientation G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 • Excellent strategic visions • Poor user consideration 14
- 15. EXAMPLE OF FAMILIES Butler Agent Great product, great service, great ambiance. Enjoy your 4$ coffee. They’ll coach you to lose weight. They make something difficult (tracking calories) simple. Great price, low service. Don’t ask for help or advice. Apple knows what you want better than you. That’s why they don’t release their roadmap. Accountant Nanny G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 15
- 16. HOW THE ROLE OF THE BRM VARIES Accountant Butler Nanny Agent Low High Low High Manage projects Manage portfolio Manage relationship Consult BRM Influence G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 16
- 17. FIND OUT MORE! Get our new book: Green Elephants How Internal Service Providers can deliver amazing value Available on Amazon www.GreenElephantTeam.com/book G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11 17
- 18. VISIT OUR SITE FOR MORE w w w. G r e e n E l e p h a n t Te a m . c o m G R E E N E L E PH AN TT E AM . C OM 5 1 4 . 6 1 2 . 0 5 11
Editor's Notes
- There is a TV show called how I met your mother. Perhaps you are familiar with it. In this show there is a character called barney. Barney is a womanizer played by Neil Patrick Harris. Throughout the show we see this character in his huge office, constantly talking on the phone to the North Korean government but yet we never know exactly what it is he does for a living. When his friends ask him point blank he simply replies “Please!”, as if it was very obvious. Throughout the seasons we never have any clue as what is job might be. Sometimes being responsible for business relationship management can feel like that. There is a test I like, it’s called “Does your mom understand what you do for a living?”. Unless your mom works in a big company or in a similar industry, chances are she has a hard time understanding what it is you do on a daily basis. But in the case of BRMs, that often extend of their own colleagues, internal clients and peers. Since there are no definition so what exactly a BRM do, we’ve compiled to most frequently used descriptions and roles and responsibilities in this section. We will see what exactly is a RBM, how the role varies from one organization to another and what competencies a BRM should have.
- A typical business manager cannot be expected to keep up with tall the support organizations that serves him. Between HR, IT, finance there are The same way, support functions cannot keep track of all of the different priorities, orientations and constraints of all its internal clients. The BRM exist simply because organizations have become too large and complex to be able to simply talk to one another. Therefore, the first role of the BRM is to reduce complexity.
- The business literature is very clear on the importance of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has been linked to higher customer retention, increases in sales and overall profitability. In fact, customer satisfaction is now one of the best predictor of the success of an organization. But in CS we don’t have customers, we have users. And there is a big difference between users and customers: they don’t have a choice. Users cannot go out and buy their own computers, software or services. Users also don’t have the option of not using the services. They are mandated as part of their job function to use the software provided. For example, a customer service representative has to use the company’s ERP to track shipments or enter sales orders. For them, voting with their feet and not using the services is not an option. And while companies try to get customers to spend more and use more of their services, in CS we often want to limit the number of services consumed by the users. So if CS departments are monopolies, why is it important for them to manage satisfaction?
- Often, we use the analogy of the commercial account manager to explain what the role of the BRM is. Although there are similarities between the two roles, it is actually very different.
- There are still no official definition of the role of the BRM. But the most agreed upon one is:
- 1. Vendor management, which includes managing and developing relationships with ESPs of all kinds, while negotiating and monitoring contracts and purchasing. With CS capital spending climbing and more systems and services being bought in from outside, vendor management is a key role. 2. Technology advancement, which is application design and development par excellence. The growing need for prototyping and rapid application building, the increasing complexity of systems integration and the growing need for interorganizational systems links makes this a key role. 3. Business enhancement, which includes business process analysis and design, project management and managing relationships with users. This role is crucial for exploiting CS to maximum advantage in the business. 4. Architecture development, which is concerned with developing a blueprint for the overall CS technical design. This role is crucial for providing a foundation for intra- and intercompany working that is both stable and flexible, avoiding the trap of setting the organization in electronic concrete. CS leadership, which includes CS envisioning, fusing CS strategy with business and managing IS resources. With CS now fundamental to business success, this role can make a material difference to shareholder value.
- As CS organization are more an more complex, clients need a way to interact with CS as a whole. The position "Business Relationship Manager" was actually created by CIOs as the solution to a recently definable problem that the business side of things sees a barrier to the use of CS in companies mostly because they (the business, not CS) do not understand what can and cannot be done with CS.To solve this problem, CIOs created the Business Relationship Manager position to act as the liaison between the business and the CS department to facilitate and improve the effectiveness of communication. Which in turn will improve the company as a whole.
- BRM is a difficult position. Constantly in between the objectives and priorities of shared services and its clients the business units, it is often difficult to manage competing priorities. Business units: New projects, bigger better services, new equipment, new technologiesCS: Cost reduction, security, standards,
- Manage projects.
- Business PartnersThe BRM works with the business at several organizational levels. The BRM will work with business area teams to understand project requirements, shape the initial project request, and provide a high-level estimate of the project effort and costs used in cost-benefit analysis. The BRM will regularly report back to business managers on the status of projects.Application ArchitectsEarly in the process, the BRM works with the architects to discuss potential solutions that match the business strategy with the technology strategy. The architects will also provide consulting on additional costs due to additional equipment or increased capacity requirements.Project ManagersEarly in the process, the BRM works with the PM's to discuss staffing needs, high-level timelines, and the associated cost. Throughout a project, the BRM will stay informed on the project status in order to provide business managers with regular status. Occasionally during the project, the BRM will be used in a facilitation role when an impasse between the technology team and the business team occurs.Finance ManagersThe BRM may also need to work and supply information through to either a dedicated CS Finance team or to Management Accountants within the Finance Function. This can cover involvement in the Organisation's annual planning process (The Budget), updates to forecasts, down to providing updates from CS Department & Project managers in helping analysis of CS spend to date.