Is your organization moving at light speed into the future hoping employees will catch up? If so, pump the brakes! We need to talk about organizational change management (OCM).
Today, we’re sharing seven change management tips that are especially relevant to business transformation initiatives.
7 Change Management Tips for Business Transformation Success
1. Build an OCM Team
In addition to C-suite leaders, your OCM team should include team leaders, department heads, and subject matter experts. Look for employees who are well-respected and influential throughout the organization. You need them to champion your project and get others on board.
At the same time, some team members will have responsibilities such as developing training materials or outlining a communication plan.
Change Management Case Study
The client recognized their need for more comprehensive change management, so they asked us to fill in the gaps. We developed a robust communication plan to supplement the vendor’s communication approach.
2. Expect and Plan for Resistance
Not everyone in your organization will be accepting and supportive of the business changes. The earlier you can prepare for change resistance, the better.
Together with your OCM team, create a plan that details how you’ll respond to employee concerns and questions. This is known as resistance management. It requires a strategy that outlines exactly which steps your team should follow when communicating with change-resistant employees.
3. Be Open and Honest
Nothing fuels water cooler chatter more than being kept in the dark. When employees are only getting whispers about what’s happening, their natural inclination is to assume the worst.
This is why it’s critical to keep the lines of communication open at all times. While you might not be able to disclose every single detail about the project plan, you can give your teams a big-picture overview.
Then, make sure you’re available to answer their questions and help them work through their concerns.
For instance, they might fear that their jobs will become obsolete once you implement a new ERP or SCM system. This is the time to remind them how important their role is and explain how their job responsibilities may shift once the new software is up and running.
The more they understand what’s down the road, the more likely they are to embrace new processes and technology.
4. Utilize Readiness Assessments
There are many types of readiness assessments, but one of the most essential is a business readiness assessment. This helps you analyze if your company is truly ready to take those next steps.
What impact will process changes have on individual employee roles? Is our culture accepting of change? What is the scope of change?
The answers to these questions can help you understand if you’re truly prepared for a business transformation. Sometimes, you may find that a little more work needs to take place before you begin.
5. Prioritize End-User Training
When your employees feel equipped to use new enterprise software, they’re less likely to use workarounds, like Excel spreadsheets.
At every stage of the project, keep end-user training top of mind. Don’t believe the myth that your teams will learn on the job once the system is live. If you go this route, you may realize that they’ve reverted to their former processes.
An ERP consultant or enterprise software consultant can help you customize the generic training materials that your vendor provides. Generic training forces employees to sit through sessions irrelevant to them, and then, they’re too exhausted to stay awake for the parts about their own functional areas.
6. Create a Culture of Change
For a change to be successful in the long term, you can’t focus all of your efforts on this one project. Instead, you need to create an overarching culture of change within your organization.
This is a culture in which every employee feels confident enough to make suggestions and drive innovation. It’s an environment in which creativity is rewarded, and change is positioned as something to be celebrated, not feared.
7. Consistently Reinforce the Change
Your work isn’t done when the new systems are live. Rather, this is the phase where you must reinforce change.
Take the time to analyze how well your team is adopting the new processes and technology. Are all your employees using the new system without issue, or are you encountering roadblocks?
If you notice any areas of concern, try to address them right away. The quicker you can mitigate issues, the sooner you will realize the benefits of digital transformation.
Change Management is Vital to Business Transformation
A successful business transformation can breathe new life into your company. However, without a change management plan, all these efforts could be thrown off course.
Organizational change doesn’t have to be the most difficult part of your project. Consider these change management tips as you begin your project, and your employees could become the strongest asset on your project team – suggesting process improvements and driving change.
Contact our organizational change management consultants below to learn how to engage employees throughout your project to ensure speedy adoption at go-live.
