Implementing customer relationship management at construction skills

ConstructionSkills (CS), Sector Skills Council for the construction industry, has a remit of addressing the skills and training needs of the construction sector. With employers being the key customers for CS it is essential to have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programme in place to address employers' training needs. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that would aid successful implementation of a CRM programme at CS. A succession of in-depth interviews together with a focus group revealed the importance for a commonly agreed understanding of what constitutes a successful CRM programme, which should be communicated effectively across the organisation. It was further found that there is a need for top management commitment and a supportive organisational structure in order to successfully implement a CRM programme at CS. An efficient CRM programme is a prerequisite to CS' proactive engagement with construction employers thus enabling it to be more responsive to their skills and training needs.