Directors' Cut: David Taylor on creating an effective user group

"The opinion of the strongest is always the best"
La Fontaine

"Multitudes in the valley of decision"
Old Testament (Joel 3:14)

User groups can be persuasive and powerful vehicles for voicing the concerns of customers of software and hardware suppliers. They can provide lobbying clout when negotiating with a supplier; they are useful forums for informal information exchange; they can help stem feelings of isolation when things are going wrong in your own organisation; and they help to make the supplier/customer relationship more professional.

They also have benefits for the vendors: they have a single point of contact with their customers, and can gain publicity from the user group's activities.

However, many groups drift towards ineffectiveness and irrelevance. Despite being started with the best of intentions, it's easy for this to happen. The members of the group may simply fail to get on or agree on key issues; they may not be representative of the vendor's whole customer-base; one major end user may dominate proceedings, or, conversely, the vendor may be so powerful that it can ignore its user group. The members may also be reluctant to share sensitive competitive and market information.

But the theory of user groups is compelling. So the question is: how can one be set up which reaches the lofty aims and avoids these pitfalls?

One or more customers of a product or service usually set up such groups. They will contact other users and then set up an inaugural meeting. At this meeting the aims of the group will be established. These aims should be kept simple: the group should act as a forum for the exchange of mutually relevant information; it should advance the use of the relevant software or hardware within user organisations; and it should act as the primary liaison and communication group with the supplier.

They can be established as an independent body without involvement from the supplier, or with the supplier's involvement.

Ideally, the IT managers responsible for the products or services at each of the user companies should contribute. Each must be invited to do so, even if they do not attend. It is also important that attendees are empowered to make decisions on behalf of the companies they represent.

The frequency of meetings depends on need, and can be anything from monthly - for projects in progress - or half-yearly. Members of the group should host, and chair, the meeting in rotation.

Where it is seen as beneficial, a technical forum can take place in parallel with the main meeting. This has the advantage of avoiding too much detail in the main meeting, and ensuring that a separate group exists to progress specific actions.

Because the main aim of the meeting is to exchange information and knowledge, members should provide updates on developments in hand, raising any concerns and issues. Each member should be strictly limited to ten minutes to avoid domination by the wafflers.

Inevitably, these meetings do run into trouble. One of the key barriers to open discussion tends to be the fear members have of exchanging sensitive information. These fears should be raised in advance; confidentiality agreements should be signed if necessary.

Discussion often gravitates towards money - eg. how much have we all spent with the supplier to date? - something which people are understandably reluctant to be open about. But there is a simple solution to this: if figures are required, start with the chairman, who thinks up a number, adds their company's spend to that number, and writes the second figure down on a piece of paper. Each company adds their spend to that number as a cumulative, always folding over the paper so that the next person only sees the total cumulated figure. When the paper returns to the chair, they subtract their first made-up figure (which only they know) and announce the final figure. In one simple exercise the whole group knows how much they have collectively spent without anyone knowing anyone else's individual figure.

Supplier involvement is another thorny issue. The best way round this is to hold the first half of the meeting without the supplier, and invite them in for the second half. To make the meeting of value all round, provide a summary of your group's findings to the supplier. The supplier should be asked to announce new development and communications to the group before going public.

To avoid arguments (or a lack of discussion) it might be wise to hire a professional facilitator, who will ensure a smooth flowing meeting that achieves its aims.

It's important that the chair and/or facilitator does not let meetings turn into an attack on the supplier. It is not constructive. If there are people who want to do this, or there are real problems that individuals want to get off their chest, have a session at the start of the meeting specifically for this.

As well as regular meetings, users can also organise an annual conference. This would usually be for larger suppliers, or where there are many customers. At this conference, strategic issues can be raised, discussed and debated in more detail.

User groups which are properly set up and run, and which have involvement from most customers, are one of the most relevant, informative and powerful alliances that can be developed in the industry. By following these guidelines, the chances of this happening are much greater.

* David Taylor is the former head of IT business services at Cornhill Insurance and now president of the UK IT directors' association, Certus. He is also CEO of IT Turnaround (http://www.dtaltd.co.uk )