OCM: More than just Communication & Training
When beginning a large project, one that will impact multiple business groups or impact one business group in a major way, leadership teams often know they need to consider incorporating Organizational Change Management (OCM). The definition of OCM can vary vastly depending on who you ask. Many identify communication and training as key components and something OCM can help with, but often neglect to see the opportunity to identify and mitigate risks. Both are critical to project success. An experienced change management practitioner can be a valuable asset to an organization’s leadership team and can provide much more than communication and training.
Sponsor/Executive Support
Throughout a project, a strong change practitioner will partner with project sponsors and leaders to help identify risks and resistance to the project. They can offer solutions and mitigation strategies that will align with the desired future state of the program. By having someone actively monitor the potential resistance toward the project, the project team can proactively support staff during the transition. Using a high degree of emotional intelligence, a change practitioner can identify people who are actively resistant, are at risk of burnout, have personality conflicts, and other issues that can impact the success of a project. A change practitioner should have direct access to the project sponsor. This allows for more effective support and increases the ability to manage risks and issues with the same attention as the budget, schedule, quality, and technical risks, as tracked by the project manager.
Understanding Current and Future Processes
In the early stages of a project, it is critical to understand how staff currently do their work. This is useful for the project team and the vendor to ensure the solution meets requirements and to gain a better understanding of the change(s) staff will be undertaking with the new solution. OCM change practitioners will work with business analysts and subject matter experts to identify and observe how they do their work and will use the information to ensure OCM plans resonate with project stakeholders. As the project progresses and the final solution becomes clear, new processes can be developed to represent the way people will accomplish their work within the new solution.
A thorough understanding of current and future processes allow change practitioners to build communication and training plans that will most effectively support the groups who will experience the most impactful changes. Without identifying the change in processes, project training and communication will likely be system or technology focused. This can be ambiguous and cause confusion for staff as it checks a box, but is not likely meet the real need to support staff in the transition.
Building and Supporting a Champion Network
Implicit in the term "organizational change management” is the importance for all levels of the organization to be invested and engaged in the project. To improve engagement, change practitioners help sponsors and project leaders identify champions within the organization. These key personnel serve as cheerleaders amongst staff. They are often closer to staff and have both their attention and respect. Change practitioners can provide coaching to champions with key messages for both formal and informal communication as well as coach sponsors to address any raised concerns. Visibility between the sponsor, leadership, and the champion network is key so staff feel champions are committed to the success of the project.
Monitoring Readiness Progress
Regularly assessing staff readiness with consistent, brief assessments are critical to effective change management. Assessments allow for honest feedback and provide the project team with quantitative data. Readiness assessments are not limited to internal stakeholders. External staff and customers should be included as well. This data should be measured at the beginning of the project to develop the baseline and throughout the project to measure the readiness progression, this includes assessing just before go live. Assessments help change practitioners know where to focus change activities and provide valuable information for champions to support staff.
During a system implementation, it is easy for organizations to believe they are ready for go live when testing and training is complete. After training, staff may be feeling lost or that they didn’t get enough practice with the new solution. They may even be unsure how to do their jobs within the new solution. It is critical to ensure all staff or business groups have new processes documented and that they are well understood prior to go live. Readiness assessments help to provide the right balance between technical readiness and staff/business group readiness to ensure everyone is ready for the proper change and steps for escalation if necessary. Efforts to overcommunicate changes affecting all stakeholders will help increase adoption and reduce resistance.
Communication and training are most valuable when people are engaged, committed, and heard by supportive sponsors and champions. OCM will improve and increase project success by supporting business process changes, building champion networks, and monitoring the project’s readiness progress.