5 Step Process to Demystify Change Management in an System Implementation (ERP or otherwise)
Forget the term Change Management. (I know, it’s in the header, but bear with me here).
Have you ever been part of an organization that implemented a new system - like an ERP, or a CRM, MRP, LMS, HRIS, LIMS, or another 3-or-4-letter-acronym of soup …
Only to be met with RESISTANCE from the VERY PEOPLE you were trying to help by simplifying their painful…
copy/paste text
spinning wheel waiting
system crashing to the blue screen of death reboot
no good data decision-making
can’t find the information you want quickly
getting customer complaint calls because your company messed up their order
Jobs?
Meaning - you spent a lot of money to implement a new whiz-bang software that solved these and more problems, and and allows your company to continue to grow and scale, but people just are not using it the way you envisioned.
No? That’s okay. Bookmark this page, and come back to it when you’ve experienced that.
If this article sounds a touch irreverent, that’s because it is. And the reason it is a bit irreverent, is that most people with even 5-10 years of work experience have seen this happen in some way.
Believe it or not, Leaders DO KNOW that end users have to Adopt the new system for it to generate their desired Return on Investment.
The problem is that everyone gets busy, and Change Management (there’s that word again) requires proactive intention.
It’s like training for a marathon. If you start early enough by running 1 mile, then 2, then 3, and so on - by the time the race comes around, you are able to complete it!
But if you wait until two weeks before Race Day to get ready, well… what do you think will happen?
Serious racers will research a training process and work with a coach to develop their own personalized Training Plan. Serious System Implementation Teams will do the same.
The image below shows AJC’s Change Management process for a System Implementation. You can see that
First we research the company with a Stakeholder Assessment.
Then we collaborate with the Steering Committee and Core Teams to…
Develop the Change Plan.
Ensuring the Comms happen appropriately is how most of the plan is executed (i.e. three 3-mile runs per week, then a long run on the weekend).
And the Impact/Risk and Readiness Assessments are the checkpoints for how well you’re doing along the way to see if you are ready for Race Day.
Those results inform the timing and tactics of your Comms and even may adjust the overall Plan (can’t run hills without stopping three times? - time for some hill workouts!) .
