Organizational Change Planning & Implementation

Organizational Change

The greatest risk to the successful implementation of an enterprise-wide change program is the failure to take into consideration major aspects of Organizational Change Management.

Effective change management enables the transformation of strategy, processes, technology, and people to enhance performance and ensure continuous improvement in an ever-changing environment.

A comprehensive and structured approach to organizational change management is critical to the success of any project that will bring about significant change.

Organizational Change Management encompasses all activities aimed at helping an organization successfully accept and adopt new culture, systems, technologies and new ways to serve its customers.

Key success factors of an organization change project will be judged are described here:

a. Stakeholder Management

The impact of organizational change imposed by implementation of a project should always be taken into account. To promote a successful delivery, identify who will be affected by the business process and technology changes that the project will cause.

b. Communications

Good communication is the lifeblood of any project. It is essential that the Project Manager provide timely and high quality information about the project to all stakeholders.  It is equally important to listen to the stakeholders.

c. Training

Many projects fail because the user community receiving the product of the project (or the IT group responsible for maintaining it) does not receive adequate or properly focused training. It is important to understand the training needs of each stakeholder group, develop targeted training activities, and deliver content with the appropriate method. A good training plan will serve as an effective road map for training activities.

d. Stakeholder Objectives

An Audience Assessment will help us to determine the best feedback channels for each identified stakeholder group. It is important to understand the major questions and concerns that these groups may have, so that adequate attention can be paid to correcting misunderstandings, filling in the gaps, undoing rumors, etc. If we understand what the potential barriers to acceptance are, you will be better prepared to take proactive action to eliminate them.

e. Communication Objectives

Effective strategic communication is the key to successfully implementing large-scale organizational initiatives.  Interviewing the major stakeholders and find out what information they need.  Based on this information, we establish a formal Communication Plan that spells out in detail who requires what information, how they will get it, who will provide it, and the means and timing of all regular communications including reports, meetings, postings on web sites, etc.  The Communication Plan has to be available to all stakeholders, and be open to modifications in it as your needs change.

f. Training Objectives

Training may be a crucial component of the Organizational Change Management Plan.  Especially where business process is changed or new skills are required, it is paramount that employees be fully prepared before they are expected to perform new duties.  The following steps will help you establish a training program appropriate to your project:

This system implementation will result in changes to business workflow. These changes will have a significant impact on the skills required of some of the people who will use the new system. In order to ensure that adequate training is provided, we must perform a gap analysis between skills available and skills required.

g. Post-Implementation Steps

The project team has identified super users who can provide support to employees.  This group will receive hands-on training and be given the opportunity to practice on the new system well in advance of final implementation. 

Approach and Resources

 Risk Response Plan for Organizational Change

• Identify all sources of uncertainty in this Organizational Change project
• Uncover and maximize opportunities to promote the change
• Prioritize threats and develop response plans for those that pose true risk to the project
• Use brochures, fliers, white papers or other means of communication to inform those who will be affected of the benefits of the new system.
• Create a web site for the project and ensure that all relevant parties are aware of it. Include the following:
  • Project Status, Progress and Performance
  • Interactive Question and Answer Communication
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • Project Documents
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Newsletter
  • Tutorials
  • Training Schedule
  • Meeting Schedules
  • Meeting Minutes

The meetings also present a forum in which the user community can interact with the project team to discuss project issues and potential user impacts.

• Answer user’s questions concerning the project
• Address particular concerns the users may have
• Provide timely and accurate information about upcoming events
• Ensure the consistency of information passed onto the user community

Implement a Change Management process that allows specific groups to request modifications to the existing project plan.

We provide:

• A documented Change Management Process.
• Change Request forms (e.g., via the web site) that make this an easy process with quick response.
• Training on how to use this process.

Contact:

Stamatis Salonikis

salos@plnwork.gr