From quill pens to manual typewriters to networked computer systems, the drive toward newer, faster, better office machines has been unrelenting. Today's agency managers, charged with keeping their offices up-to-date and on budget, have increasingly difficult jobs. They know that their agencies cannot survive without good, solid technology implementation, and so they invest time, money, and reputations on the promise of what technology can deliver. But once obtained, they struggle with the implementation and integration of these systems, fighting budget restraints, legacy systems, ingrained work habits, and often generation gaps in acceptance.

However, as office technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, the human factor remains grounded in fundamental business principles — with a 21st century upgrade. With each new advance in computers and electronic media, the relationship between agency management and technology becomes evermore complicated and interdependent. Today's agency management system is not just about the tools. It is also about how people use those tools and how supervisors manage their staffs and hold them accountable to the standards the agency defines.

To effectively utilize new technologies and processes, agency managers must take traditional job descriptions to the next level. The roles at the heart of an agency's staff — sales and service — must be clearly defined by task. For example, most job descriptions for a traditional CSR say that the person "is responsible for all aspects of service to the client." But the role of the CSR is actually much more specific, structured around daily tasks and agency service standards.