If you’ve implemented new platforms in a business environment before, you know how critical effective change management is to getting budget approval, additional resources, and cross-departmental support from implementation to operationalization.
There’s usually a high investment cost to change management, and getting buy-in can be a challenge. Stakeholders from various departments are involved in either the purchase, implementation, or ongoing use of a new platform. Each stakeholder may have different needs and opinions that either support the change or could hinder the success of the project. Other stakeholders, such as those in Security or Finance, are tasked with finding alternatives or risks associated with your project. In some instances, the technical knowledge required to implement a complex platform can act as a roadblock to change.
We have helped our clients successfully navigate these internal challenges (and more) as they invest in the digital ecosystems that support the customer lifecycle. That’s why Symetris has developed the Change Management Playbook, an Excel-based tool that will help you streamline, and even delegate, the process of implementing change effectively.
You can adapt this template to your organization's unique structure and standards. Populating the various sections will help you identify each stakeholder’s position and understand how to meet their needs—and overcome their objections—from planning through to adoption.
What you need to know about change management
Change management helps organize the effort required to move from an unwanted situation to a desired one.
During three distinct phases—pre-implementation, during the implementation (transition), and post-implementation (monitoring and KPIs)—people affected by change will move from one state to another, sometimes supportive, sometimes concerned. Our tool focuses on these three phases.
Step 1: Describe your changes
Before any implementation, in Phase 1, remember that there are a number of questions about the current situation, as well as dissatisfactions, and frustrations. This is the best time to document the irritations of the current situation. The aim is to obtain a shared understanding of the problem.
This phase generates a lot of questions, suggestions, and sometimes scepticism. Because of that, it’s essential that you have a clear vision for the implementation, understand your desired outcome, and know why you need the change. This will help engage the whole team and make sure you stay focused and aligned during planning.
You also need to identify your measures of success, which you will return to after the implementation to gauge what worked and what didn’t.
The last thing is to evaluate your organization's position on the change you want to propose. There are three positions:
- Favourable: the change is defined collaboratively, and there is high motivation and buy-in
- Undecided: the change is defined collaboratively but not on all the points, and the mobilization on the project is lower
- Unfavourable: the change is mandatory, without any input from stakeholders, and the engagement and productivity are low
Depending on your organization's position, you will use one of the three strategies: Consultative Management (Favourable), Negotiation Management (Undecided), Obligation Management (Unfavourable).
Document these in Tab 1 ‘Describe your changes’ in the corresponding boxes.