Why Change Management Is Important

(1607 words/7-minute read)

Challenges In Technology Adoption Despite Successful Implementation

Have you ever had a project where you implemented the technology and felt that you got everything right? You followed the plans, you identified their requirements, which were traced right to the solution and got an end result that you were proud of.  You delivered a solution that actually did everything the business needed yet for some reason, people simply weren't using this fabulous solution. People did not want to take the technology because “the paper is easier” as they say. That even your numbers and metrics and data that showed how much more productive and efficient and effective the new system could be, people simply were not using the system.

Addressing the Challenge of Change

The trick with this is there wasn't a user problem. It wasn't about them using the system.  Instead, you have a problem with change.  The people were struggling with changing their current systems. Systems don't only mean technology, though that is part of the equation.  “Systems” refer to all the things in place around the technology that allow the technology to deliver value. If you have systems and processes in place that don't support and enable users to actually use your technology, then you are absolutely wasting your time and money. The vendors happy because they got their money and moved on to the next technology project. But you're the ones stuck with an expensive bill that's not returning the ROI expected. When this happens, you want to look at all the systems around you in place and ask if they enable the application of the technology?  Or, are your systems a barrier to value realization of your technology investment?  Look at everything around your system. This is why great change managers are so successful.  They see not only what is needed to implement the change, they see the other things that can hinder your efforts as well as what can be utilized to exploit the capabilities added to the organization. 

Evaluation Rewards and Penalties for Technology Adoption

Like here is something you might not think about: what are your rewards and punishment systems in place? What I mean by this is are there any penalties for not using the new system?

Or is there anything that's rewarded with using the new system.  This does not have to mean negative consequences like human resources reprimands or monetary incentives.  Does productivity go up when using the technology?  If users do not see a difference with using the solution or not, then there is no incentive to use the new technology.  But then if you do not have any rewards in place for greater productivity, then it may not be enough to just tell people they can get their work done faster.  Staying late to have to get work done because they are not using the new solution when others are leaving earlier because their work is done (because they used the new solution) might be the incentive to motivate others to transition and adopt the new ways of working.  But this kind of question – what rewards and negative incentives are in place to support technology adoption – is best ask earlier in design and development so that they are built into the full solution scope, rather than after you launch.
 

Updating Policies to Mandate Technology Usage

Now your policies could be another system that's affecting the usage of the application. Do you need to change your policies so that it says you only operate on the digital platform, that paper is not accepted?  Are there policies that state reports must be produced via the system due to accuracy requirements? If you don't have some governing rules out there that include the usage of the system, again, you might have found another bottleneck. Users resistant to new processes and technology are often the ones that will quickly point out that there is nothing that says they have to use the system.  Again, these are part of solution requirements.  What do you have that says people have to actually use the technology?

Redefining Roles and Responsibilities in the Digital Transition

What about roles or responsibilities? These are often clearly documented and defined, especially if you work with organizations that have union workers. Going from paper-based systems to digital solutions can see that activities like scanning hard-copy papers and checking emails and saving attachments are new responsibilities of different roles. Thinking about your users and what their job descriptions say today and reviewing them for post-solution consideration is something you want to do before you dive into the software.  You will need time not only for the review and approval processes, but also the buy-in.  You want that to happen before you start trying to show them which buttons to push as you will have to answer the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) question when you touch job duties.  As well as technology can slide where the responsibilities lie. Think about creating monthly reports.  In the past, this was often a management activity to pull the data and look for trends and insights to report to executives. With technology, we can see the system automating much of the manual steps that the actual activity of ‘pulling reports’ and checking data for accuracy can then change to non-management users.  Managers simply use the reports for their recommendations and actions.  But again, if you do not articulate the division of work and responsibilities in your position descriptions, you may be creating another roadblock to staff usage.  The technology changes can easily lead to not just how work tasks are performed, but who performs them now and why. 

The Comprehensive Approach of Change Management Experts

These kinds of things are all the ‘other items’ that change management experts thrive in identifying and addressing.  They see everything that goes around what you are actually changing. Organizational design and redesign and development comes from looking at all the people, processes, and technology in the environment. They see that your brand new application or automation of paper processes will work even if you switch out the selected technology.  They see how simply adding second monitors for staff could be the ‘make or break’ component to a great new ERP system. But you have to look holistically at how the business operates. Look beyond how just the technology works. Simply put, if you do not have change management professionals involved in your technology implementations looking at the business it can be really hard to see the ROI of your investment.
 

The Critical Role of Communication in Technology Adoption

But when talking about value realization, people's time and money are most clearly wasted with technology simply due to miscommunication.  Miscommunication, or often lack of communication, is one of the biggest pieces that can be addressed before, during, and after any technology implementation. And the earlier you work on communication, the more successful not only the implementation but more importantly, the adoption of the technology, can be.  It is an easy change management tool that is normally lite on costs.  It is one of the biggest reasons why change managers love to make a communication plan. Change management communications thinks about having periodic and consistent updates on what is and is not changing.  Knowing what components are open to feedback and input and what has been predetermined are the puzzle pieces that your users need to understand where they fit in the overall picture. Timely communication of what changes are happening, what is planned and also unplanned creates a line of trust throughout and beyond the project work.  Rarely will teams and staff complain of overcommunication.  Yet, you often hear quite loudly when people are frustrated from lack of communications. And these need to start as soon as there is approval to make an idea a reality.  Build the ground swell and momentum so people look forward to what is coming rather than fearing the uncertainty.
 

Maximizing Organizational Value Through Effective Change Management

Change management is not just about making people feel good about the change or driving people to use a new process or tool. Change management is about enabling the organization to get the maximum value out of their time and monetary investment. You do not necessarily have to hire vendors to come in and do this, though common with external consultants. But I definitely challenge you to ask who is looking at everything else going on with any technology implementation? Who is looking at cross functional lines of business?  On an IT or even HR solution, who might seek out if the financial reporting processes could be modified to take advantage of the new data and the system? That across-silo view that brings the business value (versus just a department value) is where the organization realizes the return on investment is change management.  You want professionals who help enable users to take advantage of the system while also building in that accountability that will deliver the planned value of the investment.

Ensuring Regular Use and Business Value from New Technology

Technology implementation is fun! I personally love all the setup configuration, figuring out the buttons, how things work, what the technology does and doesn’t do. That's a gift to any analyst when you grant the freedom to play with new technology. It's like a new toy at Christmas!  But you want that shiny new object to be used daily. Only with regular usage and wide-spread application are you getting your true ROI.  After all, technology that is never used or, more importantly, never leveraged for business value, is nothing more than a big paperweight.