Organisations have become aware of the need to support change in their projects, be it organisational, business or IT related. It is now seen as a separate area of expertise. What are the challenges, and what are the keys to success? Our Senior Change Management Consultant, Nadège Martinet, reflects on her change management assignment with a major watchmaking company, in connection with the rollout of a critical business solution for 1,200 users in some twenty countries. She answers questions from Alain Geerts, Head of our Governance & Service Management Service Line.
AG: You're in charge of this major project for a prestigious client. Can you tell us about the specific change management issues involved in this project?
NM: As with many projects, the primary objective is to deliver a brand new system. A system that is sustainable and has quality data. But the main challenge is to ensure that it is adopted by as many users as possible because it is this adoption, through the relevance of the data captured, that will support the achievement of the company’s strategic objective.
Then it’s a matter of adapting to the project. In this case, there is no need to convince users of the benefits of the change and no need to work on the ‘why’. Although communication is always important, the second specific issue, which follows on from the first, is training in our case. We need to ensure that the 1,200 users are fully trained and comfortable with the tool to ensure a smooth and effective rollout. Change management must therefore ensure that a robust and structured training system is put in place.
AG: As project managers, we've all included training and communication in our project management. What does change management bring to the table?
NM: The main difference is the user-centred approach. The project manager generally ensures that effective training is put in place from a methodological point of view, with organised sessions and defined groups. Change management focuses more on the design of the training and the pedagogical approach, which is also validated with the customer’s training team. The implementation of a mixed training plan (e-learning, face-to-face sessions, materials, etc.) nowadays takes a lot of time and the project manager has too many responsibilities to devote to this issue.
Training becomes a process that can also be used to identify potential resistance and ambassadors for change. This in-depth work on buy-in ensures that everyone understands the benefits of the new system and creates a self-sustaining network of people who promote the project. The change manager’s job is also to provide direction, to make the link to the strategy and operational vision of the management.
AG: From an organisational point of view, how does the change management framework you designed and implemented align with and support the overall project?
NM: One of the keys to the success of such a project is the intelligent and complementary pairing of the project manager and the change manager. In this project, we are working hand in hand to integrate change management from the outset. I’ve introduced a contributory approach that involves the end-users at every stage. This allows us to tailor the system to real needs on the ground and ensure a smooth transition.
Another interesting point that isn’t often mentioned is ensuring that the teams maintain a high level of commitment throughout the project. I work a lot with the project team to make sure that everyone is doing well and staying motivated, in particular through anonymous questionnaires and regular updates. This is how I position both acceptance and commitment in change management.
AG: Is there anything else you can think of that you've put into practice and what it's brought to the project?
NM: Another important element is the involvement of users, in our case markets, in training. We have set up a programme where experienced users train their peers. This approach is very effective in terms of understanding and buy-in because these users, who have become in-house trainers, know the specifics of their market as well as the people they are training.
This involvement not only makes it possible to be more effective, but also often results in significant financial savings by reducing the need for external trainers.
AG: How do you measure the acceptance of change in a project before it is rolled out?
NM: This is often a point that project managers don’t have time to deal with. I try to put in place specific adoption indicators that can be tracked all the way through to go-live, which we call readiness. The new system may be ready, but until the change indicators are in the green, we don’t roll it out. This is mainly based on questionnaires at the end of training courses.
So far, we have some very encouraging indicators. The training courses have been well received, and the user confidence index is high. What’s more, we see a marked improvement in the commitment of the project teams, a key factor in the success of the project.
AG: Is change management only aimed at large projects with significant resources, or is it realistically also aimed at smaller projects?
NM: What we need to see is that change management is a way of making savings, at least in the medium term, if not in the short term. It helps avoid costly mistakes and speeds up adoption. So it’s not just about very large projects!
The important thing is to match the level of support to the adoption needs of the project, to what I call the return on investment of change management. To enable pragmatic and considered questions, we at Itecor carry out a short audit which allows us to assess, in just a few questions, whether a project needs change management or not. This specific assessment is carried out upstream in a very rational way.
AG: Finally, based on your experience, what recommendations would you make to organisations that want to integrate change management into their projects?
NM: Change management is not new and is based on established methodologies and tools. However, to reduce it to a simple question of tools would be too simplistic. Above all, it is based on a strategic and human approach, a defined environment and a specific corporate culture, all of which are essential for the success of a transformation. Every organisation, every project, every application solution is unique, with its own specific ingredients. Effective adoption can only be guaranteed if the specific characteristics of each organisation are considered.
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