Let The Experts Guide Your Change Management Strategy
Every major IT initiative a company undertakes – whether a system implementation, modernization, or optimization – presents a vital opportunity to not only to modernize tools or improve business operations, but to provide your people with confidence and ability to fully use new technology. When going through an IT project, the technology and processes are rightly main focuses. Long-term success, however, depends on whether your people can understand, accept, and sustain the change caused by new systems and processes.
One of the challenges in delivering a project is the responsibility for guiding many users through unfamiliar territory. Projects often assume or expect that staff will adapt to the new systems and succeed quickly, while in many cases managing their regular daily responsibilities. That is a massive challenge, and without the proper support the transition can become risky.
This is where change management becomes essential to the success of IT initiatives. Change does not need to feel chaotic and frustrating like it so often does with complex projects. With a change management plan and assistance from a dedicated change management consultant, people can have confidence at go-live that they will be able to use the new system effectively on day one. Building confidence is one of the ways that change management works to deliberately reduce risk.
Change Management Protects Technology Investments
Change management is often viewed as an added cost because its value can be difficult to quantify immediately. This view leads to the mistake of not prioritizing change management and moving forward on technology projects without planning dedicated time and attention for change activities. Projects that do not emphasize change management often lead to underwhelming results. Per PROSCI, projects with excellent change managers are up to 7 times more likely to succeed than those without.
You have likely seen this scenario play out before. A new system is launched, and on the technical side everything is fine, but a few of the expected benefits are actually felt and ROI lags. People become confused about how the new changes impact their roles. They then start to return to the processes they know and are familiar with, causing adoption to stall. People not being adequately prepared for change makes leaders question the technology investment, even when the system is working as expected.
Elire helps organizations understand the importance of change management by incorporating dedicated change management activities early in the project lifecycle. We ensure that your people are ready for Go-Live, and ready to sustain new behaviors beyond that. Prioritizing change management early protects your investment and prevents organizations from having to spend additional money afterwards to resolve the failure of employees to adopt.
Reduce Project Risk Through Change Management
At its core, change management is risk reduction. It stops preventable failures on the people side from derailing a project from achieving its goals. Without robust change management, risks emerge, including:
- Delayed or extended timelines
- Overwhelmed teams struggling to adapt
- Increased spending post-go-live
- Low adoption and workarounds are being used
Elire’s approach to change management prevents these serious risks. Our methodology blends PROSCI’s ADKAR approach with our long experience implementing ERP applications. Staff and stakeholders who need to be aware of change are informed and trained. Areas where confusion can arise are identified. Communication is aligned between leadership and the project team. Elire makes sure readiness for change is built before go-live and not when problems start to appear. The result is that leaders gain confidence that systems will be adopted and employees embrace change rather than resent it.
When to Know You Need Support with Change Management
The need to address change management usually comes from a pattern of repeated confusion. Warning signs that your people may be struggling with change management are:
- Uncertainty is regularly expressed
- Teams are struggling to balance change with everyday tasks
- Training is not prioritized
- Anxiety about the new system is expressed
If these warning signs are present, the project is susceptible to change management risks. A change management consultant can help address these risks before they escalate and severely impact the project’s success.
Final Thoughts
Change is experienced by people, not by new systems. How informed and assured people are will determine if the new IT additions gain momentum or stall once they go live.
Change management creates readiness. It helps develop clarity in what is often a time of unknown. Elire brings proven experience that allows your people to understand what is changing and how to be prepared for the first day of using a new, complex system.
To ensure your next initiative moves forward with fewer surprises and a clear path, investing in change management is not optional. If your organization needs assistance with change management, contact [email protected] to request a copy of our one-sheet, which details our service offerings.