deliberatepractice partnered with our client to assist in the change management aspect of the implementation of an integrated cross-functional business information system. As one of a few major changes that were occurring across the organisation, our client was keen to maximise the engagement and buy-in of employees to the new system, making the transition from old to new systems as smooth as possible. Engaged to partner with our client only 4 weeks before the “go-live” date, deliberatepractice outlined the following key focus areas to assist in:
- Development of a change management plan
- Development of a communication strategy and plan
- Programs / approaches / tools to equip key stakeholders and project team to effectively lead through change
- Programs / approaches to ensure the maintenance of employee productivity
- Programs / approaches to maximise employee engagement and morale throughout change
- Channels for the collection of employee feedback and improvement suggestions
- Alignment to the business drivers, culture and values
During a recently conducted Employee Opinion Survey, our client had identified the following top three opportunities to maximise employee satisfaction:
- Reward & Recognition
- Communication
- Work and Working Conditions
The change management approach and planned activities were consistently linked to each of these areas, including the measurement of success.
The overall approach followed John Kotter’s 8-step Change Model:
- Create Urgency / Need
- Form a Guiding Team
- Creating a Vision
- Communicating the Vision
- Remove Obstacles and Empower
- Create Short-term Wins
- Build on the Change
- Anchor the Changes
At each stage tailored initiatives were developed and implemented. An example of one of these initiatives included establishing a group of influential employees to be a conduit for the project team regarding change support, communication and feedback.
The communication strategy and plan developed for the project had activities that supported the employees’ journey from awareness and understanding of the change, through to their support and involvement and ending with the goal of commitment to the change. Outside of the project team and executive team weekly meetings, other communication activities included:
- Weekly e-newsletters communicating the week’s activities, future planned activities, FAQs, improvements, “bugs” and reward and recognition initiatives
- Friday recap sessions – an informal review by the CEO recapping on where the project status and questions answered
- “Pulse” survey – conducted before the “go-live” date and then 1 & 3 months after
- Setting a “Sharepoint” project page on the intranet where “bugs”, suggested improvements and feedback could be registered and “cheat sheets” accessed
The greatest indicator of success for the change was determined to be employees transferring from the old system and processes to the new ones with minimal interruption to business outputs or any negative impact on employee satisfaction. Fortunately this was achieved and a plan for continuing to anchor or embed the change has been established which includes celebrating successes and integrating changes with current policies and procedures such as position descriptions, quality procedures, induction processes and on-going reward and recognition initiatives.
Our client is happy to provide a reference for this assignment upon request.