Change Management
Digital Bridges’ Change Management Methodology
What makes our Change Management different?
At Digital Bridges we have worked in many organisations where we have seen change management just getting a cursory nod and then being handed over to the Communication or HR team, who have never been trained in the art of Change Management to implement.
This is when you see a proliferation of posters (especially behind the doors in the bathrooms and lifts). If you are lucky there is an announcement by the CEO which is also positioned under Announcements on the Intranet or staff newsletter and employees may even get new screensavers, chocolate gifts on their desks with cute cards and long winded emails about what to expect.
Sometime a contracting technology company may bring in a Change Management consultant who has studied some of the text book methodologies from the 90’s.
At Digital Bridges we have created a methodology which is all about people, it’s all about high touch Change management by walk-about. Of course we follow all the Academic rigour, but it is focused on contacting people via more than communication, but rather by engagement.
We also use data to measure the adoption.
Preparing for change
Define the strategy
When you start you cannot use a one-size fits all approach, people are different, organisational cultures change with new management, academic text books written 20 years ago are irrelevant to South African businesses. Great change management strategies take into consideration organisational and project objectives, rely on adapting to context and culture. At the end of the programme the change should be measurable.
At this point we need to get Executive commitment to the project and the process of change.
Document the Change Management plan
Digital Bridges:
- Identifies specific areas of concern to focus on and build strengths by working closely with the Business Analyst during the Requirements Gathering phase;
- Defines the Communication methods in conjunction with the Communication Team to maintain consistency, take advantage that they already have to hand and keep all streams of communication from clashing with eachother;
- Prepares a Readiness Assessment which identifies the potential challenges that might arise when implementing new procedures, structures, technologies and processes within a current organisational context.
- Develops a Change Agent Mentorship Programme if it is in the best interests in the organisation. This can be a dangerous step, because in our experience only the junior admin staff are nominated by senior management, and they have very little power to implement change. We will work with you to identify Super Users and evangelists.
- Defines the Training methodology which could include formal classroom based training or online videos as well as personal at-the-desk training; and
- Prepares the team.
Project Identity
Create a sense of unity:
- Give the project a name;
- What is the vision?
- Create a slogan; and
- Choose a mascot that everyone can identify with
Use this project identity consistently throughout the project
Manage the change
In managing the change we
- Develop Schedules
- Document the Communication schedule.
- Meetings with Heads of Department schedules (these schedules on our side have casual walk-about time with the employees of that department establishing a friendly presence and engendering trust);
- Develop and document the Training schedule.
- Implement Schedule
- Conduct the Readiness Assessment and provide feedback
- Facilitate the delivery of the communication per the Communication Schedule
- Schedule regular meetings with management teams and Departmental heads
- Facilitate the delivery of the training per the Training Schedule
- Initiate the Change Agent Programme if necessary, this includes regular meetings training on the project (why, what, how?)
- Knowledge sharing during requirements gathering.
Reinforce the change
- Collect and Analyse Feedback
- Gather feedback from stakeholders, for the most part, informally
- Analyse these results and interact with the stakeholder(s) where necessary.
- Diagnose gaps and manage resistance
- Suggest changes to schedules or methods
- Approve these changes and adjust relevant documentation accordingly.
- Implement corrective actions and celebrate successes
- Adjust methods
- Recognise and communicate successes
Approaching Change Management
The change management approach consists of seven broad elements:
- Knowledge sharing
- Communication and feedback
- Engagement
- Awareness sessions
- Digital Literacy
- New job descriptions, functions. KPI’s and skills;
- Training
It’s incredible how much communication goes over people’s heads because they don’t have insights or they are disengaged. Spend enough time explaining the benefits of the whole project, give them organisational context and tell them how it will impact on them.
Digital Bridges works closely with the internal communication team as well as the team that is responsible for employee relations to devise a communication plan.
We will facilitate awareness sessions to introduce the change and sensitise employees to the reason for the change and what it means to them.
Engagement
We meet regularly with the Departmental Management, formally and employees rather more casually (this is an incredibly important part because it allows you to pick up snippets of information which are useful, but that you wouldn’t have gleaned during formal processes, like change fatigue, invisible hierarchies or personal challenges and knowledge gaps which will derail adoption). We always make sure that anyone who needs it has a means to contact us.
Keep celebrating milestones.
Digital literacy goes beyond the competence to operate digital tools, but also relates to the ability to create, represent and share meaning in different modes and formats; ability to interact, collaborate and communicate progress or impending problems effectively using digital tools, and engage critically with technology for developing knowledge, skills and full participation.
Digital literacy not only increases productivity, but it improves the users’ understanding, experience of the system, which increases the adoption.
Job Descriptions, functions, KPI’s and Skills
The way we think, work, interact and what we do is going to change dramatically. This and our productivity and effectiveness measures have to be reevaluated. Digital-Bridges works with HR and Line of Business to effect these changes.
Training
This training is aimed at optimising the way that users carry out their duties by training them on the business processes as well as the system.
Most suppliers will train users for a specified period of time and leave them alone to work on the system. It is a fallacy to believe that users will remember all that they have learned and that they would be able to just start using the system.
We have learned that users need constant refreshing during for several months after starting to use solutions. We overcome this challenge by training a small group of super users who will act as Change Agents, to provide ongoing support.
- We train normal users for a specified period of time – the duration and content of this training will be determined during a readiness assessment, but is expected to include elements like the business processes and migration plan outcomes;
- Then we will provide additional training to the super users;
- Then we will train Change Agents;
- In time, the super users will do one-on-one training for users who have forgotten some functions or even full training for a new employee.
This training will optimise the way that employees use the solution optimally to ensure that organisation realises its returns on its technology investments.
Final details on exact training, frequency and desired outcome should be mapped out in the planning sessions. These are just suggestions and should be based on business environment.
All training should be agreed upfront with the project sponsor as to what the criteria for successful training is. This all depends on the organisation, how critical it is that they know how to perform etc.
Project management close out
At this stage we compile all our documentation from the strategy and the change plan and the other evidence that you have gained along the journey and create an Impact Report which we submit to the project sponsor.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: CELEBRATE AND FEED BACK TO THE PEOPLE