If you’re considering digital transformation, you probably know it entails significant operational changes. Whether you’re changing your entire business model or certain business processes, these transformational changes are challenging for organizations and their employees.
Many executives and project teams struggle to integrate organizational change management into their projects. In light of this, we’ve outlined five tips for preparing your organization for change.
5 Ways to Prepare for Change
1. Ensure executive alignment
Most organizations have at least one executive who is not on board with the project goals or is working against the project. Your executive team needs to be aligned with each other when it comes to the definition of success, the proposed IT strategy, and the role of the IT department within the project. In other words, executives should be on the same page before you begin implementing any organizational changes.
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2. Facilitate organizational readiness assessments
How can you implement transformational change without understanding your employees and your culture? Conducting an online survey and series of focus groups can give you an idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your organizational culture. This insight can identify the root causes of change resistance and help you determine strategies for implementing change.
3. Conduct organizational impact assessments
You can simply inform employees that their jobs will change, or you can explain exactly how they will change. An organizational impact assessment helps you understand the degree of change and nature of change so you can effectively communicate this to employees. Communication should be targeted, personalized and continuous.
4. Customize your training materials to fit your business processes
While ERP vendors can provide training materials, the training isn’t customized. When you train employees using these materials, you disregard the nuances of your organization and individual departments. Employees will be frustrated, and training won’t be nearly as effective.
Training materials should be tailored to your business processes. A training program should cover more than just how to use the ERP system. Employees also need to know what processes and decisions need to happen outside the system.
5. Develop a comprehensive organizational change management plan
Merely focusing on end-user training and basic employee communications will not lead to long-term transformational change. An independent consultant can help you define the change management activities that will enable digital transformation.
How to Communicate With Employees
1. Look for signs of resistance
While employees may appear to embrace change, subtle forms of resistance may still exist. Be on the lookout for signs such as reduced productivity, absenteeism and conflict. When developing a communication plan, you should pay attention to change resistant employees.
2. Develop a communication plan
A clear understanding of stakeholder needs allows you to develop a targeted communication plan outlining key messages for each stakeholder group. The plan should also specify when and by whom information should be communicated.
3. Provide leadership
Executives should provide clear, consistent and repeated communication of project goals, and they should explain how these goals align with the organizational vision. Without this type of communication, employees won’t understand how new technology will help the organization grow, better serve customers and become more efficient. Instead they’ll assume the organization is using technology as a cost-cutting measure and a strategy for eliminating staff.
4. Facilitate two-way communication
When will training occur? When will changes roll out? How can I express my concerns? These are common questions employees have during ERP projects. Executives and the project team should hold meetings throughout the project so employees can ask questions and express concerns.
5. Establish a project brand
A brand is a value proposition that encourages loyalty. A brand for a digital transformation project should reinforce the importance of the project. When communicating with employees, don’t underestimate the power of branding.
Pro Tip: A branding contest is a fun way to engage employees and help them feel a sense of ownership.
6. Create a project portal website
This serves as a central location for employees to find timely project information. Available materials should include implementation plans, upcoming events and training schedules.
Smaller organizations sometimes use a bulletin board to disseminate information in lieu of a website. Regardless of the medium, a central location for information encourages collaboration and participation from all stakeholders.
7. Utilize change agents
These are people inside the organization responsible for communicating key messages to end-users. As trusted advisors and super-users of the new technology, they are likely to hear different thoughts, concerns and reactions than executives hear.
Is Organizational Change Management Really Necessary?
Many executives believe organizational change management is a luxury rather than a necessity – even if they’re undergoing a digital transformation that’s radically changing their operational model. Time and resource constraints prompt executives to cut organizational change management from their project budgets in an attempt to complete the project as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, executives that forgo change management typically find their projects require more time and money in the long run as they scramble to increase system usage after the technology is already implemented.
Executives that do believe in organizational change management often struggle to develop an actionable plan. If this describes you, Panorama’s ERP consultants can help your company prepare for transformational change. Request a free consultation below to learn more.
