The strength of any organization lies with its people.
We want you to empower your people and organization today with an effective, actionable change management plan today. That’s why we’ve put together six key aspects of effective change management to help guide you to success.
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As you prepare to implement new technology, business processes, or ways of working, successful change hinges on the ability of your change management plan to support people in their roles. That’s why companies with strong, people-centered change strategies retain more value from an implementation over time as compared with peers.
To craft a successful change management plan, organizations should first determine the type and level of change that is required:
If you need help with this assessment process, AXIA’s free OCM Requirements Evaluation is a great way to get started.
Unfortunately, many companies struggle to effectively prepare and implement a change management plan. Regardless of the scope and scale of the change, all change management strategies should include these six key activities to support an upcoming change initiative.
1. Conduct a change readiness assessment.
Don’t assume that users and stakeholders understand the reasons for the change. Take time to determine whether your organization is ready to absorb the change and identify any challenges you may face. Ask questions like these:
Assessing these variables upfront will help you determine the best strategy for managing change activities.
2. Understand the scope of the change and impacted stakeholders.
Next, spend some time determining and articulating the scope of the effort. Define what processes and teams will be included in the change, and clearly document how they will be impacted. As you promote a clear understanding of why the change is needed and how it will impact teams, people will be more likely to internalize and support change efforts.
During this process, consider possible impacts from a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) perspective. Team members learn and consume information in different ways. As you design a program that supports every team member, consider various stakeholder needs such as language, culture, perspectives, and ways of working. For example, if you plan to use video-based messaging, include closed captioning for team members with hearing difficulties. This ensures that everyone can benefit from all training opportunities and supports organizational inclusivity.
3. Define communication and training tactics based on company culture.
In our increasingly digital world, most individuals consume information in short reels or 3-minute digital clips. The days of communicating information through long-winded emails will soon be over. Change efforts should incorporate cultural learning preferences by talking to different departments and determining how they receive information best. Consider these best practices:
4. Create a RACI for the change team and project team members.
A Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed (RACI) chart helps define roles and responsibilities for various change activities. Use the RACI to manage time and resources allocated to the project. This includes defining when other team members will be responsible or consulted to help build out communication messages, process education sessions, or training materials. This is especially important during large-scale ERP implementations when many tasks occur during the same time. For example, just prior to cutover or go-live, many of the same team members may be stretched thin across testing, data validation, data cleansing, and training.
5. Define key messages and expected benefits for change.
In any change event, the “why” and the “what” are the most important messages to communicate as you promote awareness of the program. Define key benefits early on and help stakeholders understand how changes will impact and improve daily workflows. This allows you to deliver messages consistently and leverage them across all senior leadership teams when talking about the program and its benefits. Answer questions like these:
6. Outline stage-gate milestones to measure change adoption.
Stage gates help you measure the effectiveness of the change program at key points so that corrective action can be taken before you get too close to the impending go-live date. Building these milestones into the plan early will help you measure stakeholder comfort level at each stage and determine what proactive actions should be taken to move team members from Awareness to Understanding to Adoption. It will also ensure that you successfully move team members up the “buy-in curve.” If you encounter unforeseen risks, you can quickly pinpoint which additional measures should be taken before you reach go-live.
Nearly three-quarters (70%) of change management efforts fail because employees and managers don’t believe the projected outcome is worth the effort. When people are invested in change, however, they are 30% more likely to sustain it over time.
At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing change. What works for one industry, culture, or program may not work for another. However, the key components of successful change initiatives remain the same. By taking the time to conduct an early assessment and determine the right plan, resources and actions, you can ensure that your investment in changing business processes or technology solutions reaches its full ROI potential.
At AXIA, we help our clients build change management strategies that extend beyond training to include vision alignment, communication, engagement, and much more. Ultimately, our goal is to empower organizations to implement change that lasts. Contact us today to get started with a 6-week OCM assessment that will help you develop your change management plan and determine what support is needed for your program.