Change Management

Changes within an organisation can affect its operation, often leading to a temporary dip in the performance of individual staff members and of the organisation as a whole. In extreme cases, they can even stall the whole endeavour and cause the project to fail. We have had many a chance to observe that human microcosms do not change by decree, but our experience also shows that they do have the capacity to integrate change if this change is managed appropriately.

Our change management service is designed to assist your organisation as it deals with the temporary destabilisation that the implementation of your project may induce. The aim is to obtain the support of the complete workforce, and to mobilise the energies of all its members.

A range of tools designed to enable you to manage change is presented below. But, even more so in change management than in any other activity, a realistic and relevant approach will need to be tailored to the specificities of your organisation.

• Cartography of populations: Which groups are involved? This is a census of the stakeholders (HR and non-HR) that will be affected by the project in one way or another. This exercise will also strive to identify the objectives and concerns of these diverse groups (or of specific key individuals).

• Operational gap analysis: How big a step is involved? Before emitting recommendations and carrying out change management activities, it is crucial to gain an understanding and to analyse the discrepancy between the current situation and the target situation for all identified stakeholder groups. Various aspects must be taken into account (e.g. activities, tools, workloads, levels of responsibility, lines of command). This information will notably feed into the elaboration of role-based training programmes. The ultimate objective is simple: defining the height of the threshold the various contributors will have to overcome to meet the objective.

• Communication plan: How is the project perceived? Raise awareness of the project, inform the right people at the right time, with appropriate messages in a suitable format, with due regard to the various sensibilities and concerns, using the available channels … to name but a few of the considerations that will need to be addressed. The outcomes of this analysis will feed into a detailed communication plan to be implemented throughout the course of the project, and which may have to be adjusted as the project unfolds.

• Training programme: What will the affected individuals need to know or do, at which point? Training is a cornerstone of change management, but it can only be effective if it is designed relevantly in terms of target audiences and scheduling. Even in the context of the implementation of an ERP project, a broad view of the issues must be taken (considering not just the tool itself, but also the underlying processes and so forth). Process analysis will provide valuable information in this respect (by means of operational gap analysis). A training plan is only apposite if it is based on a sound assessment of the discrepancies between the current and the future situation. And, naturally, it must be based on a relevant and realistic schedule.

• Go-live support: What happens if there are problems once the new system is launched? To support you throughout the crucial first weeks, we can put structures in place to assist users and facilitate the change once it has become effective. We can, for example, design online support, supply FAQ information, provide coaching for specific key functions, set up a hotline – and consider any number of other options. Our mission does not end as soon as the new system goes live, but only once it is sufficiently well-established to function smoothly.