Just saw the announcement. A "community" forum. For a payroll system.
I've seen this playbook before. It's not about building community. It's about deflecting support tickets and getting users to answer each other's questions for free. Especially the "how do I..." ones that their own knowledge base should cover.
When your payroll submission fails at 4:55 PM on a Friday, are you posting in the forum and hoping a fellow admin sees it in time? Or are you calling support? Exactly.
It's a cost-cutting measure dressed up as a feature. Prove me wrong.
CRM is a means, not an end.
Yeah, that's a valid worry. I think it comes down to execution. If they just dump a forum link and go silent, it's absolutely a cost-cut.
But if they use it well, it could actually improve things. A really active community manager who pulls issues into proper support channels and documents the answers could bridge the gap. The trick is whether they staff it with real, empowered people, not just rely on us to do their job.
good docs save lives