7 ERP Change Management Lessons

Overview

Change Management will determine the success of an ERP implementation. This is a fact. 

The technology you choose to implement may be the very best, but success will be fleeting without an intentional investment and focus on the people who will interact with it. 

After reflecting on the last few ERP implementations, I have supported and discussed this topic with my peers; seven lessons stand out. These are in no order, as several lessons overlap or integrate into other lessons.

1. Leadership Engagement

While this starts with the senior leadership team, leaders must be engaged at all levels of the organization. Leaders need to be aligned on, and understand the vision.

Why is the change necessary, and what does success looks like?

This is so much broader than what shows up in the business case. The business case only gives you the financials, but it doesn’t capture the output of the conversations, or the assumptions that each leader makes when they read the financials.

• How work will change?
• Who will be doing the work?
• How the culture will be impacted?
• How the new work can be accomplished because of the new capacity created?

Change often pushes leaders outside their comfort zone, both personally, and their role as leaders. The Change Management approach needs to include dedicated support via coaching and training for leaders at all levels of the organization. Employees look to their leader most during times of change. Organizations can’t assume that because someone has a leadership role, they have the confidence and competency to lead change. 

2. Resources

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) programs often need to invest more in business resources than planned. This can range from an increase of 2 – 5 times the initial budget. Organizations often choose to dedicate fewer resources, even when their vendor partners recommend additional resources.

Organizations can introduce significant risk by limiting the investment in business resources for larger programs. Too often, organizations go to the same person for all things in their area. 

The go-to person for day-to-day business can’t be the same person who represents the team for a large program. The individual doesn’t have the capacity. Organizations need to make choices when it comes to business resources.

• What happens to their existing duties if the go-to person is the right person to jump in as a business SME (Subject Matter expert)?
• Is the role backfilled?
• Are other activities stopped or given to someone else?

Employees are burning out at a higher rate when expected to be the go-to for both day-to-day and project resources. 

Employees face burnout, and organizations are opening themselves to risk if they don’t intentionally build new expertise across each team. The go-to person can’t be the only one with the latest expertise and knowledge. 

A resource strategy needs to consider the activities that have to be completed, and the skills and experience needed to successfully complete them. The strategy also needs to consider each person's personal capacity, and incorporate an approach that invests in creating new SME's to de-risk the business. 

Don’t forget employees still need to take time off when they are working on a large-scale project.

3. Prioritize Change Management

Your employees are your greatest asset. They spend a significant part of their time at work. When change occurs, organizations have a responsibility to support their people throughout the change journey.

Start with Change Management resources; typically, a minimum of three (3) dedicated and skilled resources are required. Factors such as degree of impact, number of different stakeholder groups, and change maturity, contribute to resource requirements. 

Change resources must be present to support both the senior leadership and the working levels. Change resources also need to be part of the program from the early planning stages. 

But it doesn’t stop there.

Business resources are required to support the people side of change. This includes leaders dedicating time to lead and coach their teams through change, business SME's to participate in impact assessments and training reviews, and employees taking on the role of change champion or super user.

Investing in your people through change also includes creating a budget for training, learning, translation, engagement, communication activities, and recognition.

I appreciate the sentiment that some share when looking at their investment in an ERP, and choosing to limit change management activities.

“If we don’t have the technology/portal, then there is nothing to launch. We need to invest in the technology”.

Equally true, is the reality that—if we have the technology and the employees don’t understand how to use it to perform daily activities, the organization won’t deliver the expected business results, meet customer expectations, or provide an employee experience that will continue to attract and retain top talent.  

4. Current State Processes—How Work Happens Today

Knowing where you are going and what success looks like when you get there is critical. We need to know where we are going, and what we are working towards along the way. Equally important is understanding your starting point—how work happens today.

Imagine you are meeting your friends at Canada’s Wonderland. You all live in the GTA and want to arrive at Wonderland at 10 AM. In order for everyone to arrive at the same time, each person considers their journey based on their starting point. Some people will choose to drive; others will take transit. Some will get to the destination in 40 minutes, and others may need an hour and a half. 

Understanding where each team is today and how they perform their work is critical for the change journey. Change is personal, and change takes time.

If we aren’t clear on where someone is starting the journey, we may not know how to support them along the journey.

Documenting the current processes creates a foundation to identify what is changing for each role or team. Current ways of working are often different across locations, regions or divisions. When you assume you know the current process, you risk missing key change impacts and risks. As a result, you will be challenged to gain buy-in from those doing the day-to-day work. 

Understanding the current state and involving the employees who perform the tasks signals inclusivity and lets employees know they are being seen, heard and valued.

5. Involve your Employees

Employees need to be involved in change earlier than you think. Because change is a process and it takes time to navigate the change journey, employees need the opportunity to process what is changing before being asked to perform the new activities.

In an organization, leaders are typically aware of upcoming changes weeks or months ahead of their employees. They expect to tell their employees about a change and for them to start doing something new quickly. Meanwhile, as a leader you had the time to hear about the change, see the change, question the change, and process what you need to do differently. Employees need to have time to go through their own change journey. Same as you did.

Consider what type of approach to take to involve employees. Do you need a change network? A dedicated group of Super Users, or maybe both? This depends on the degree of impact and the level of risk the changes will create for your organization.

Please don’t underestimate the resources it will take to lead and manage a Change Network of Super User Network. In a large organization where the change impacts large numbers of employees, managing these networks often requires a dedicated change resource to work with a business lead.

6. Training and Learning

It is important to understand how the training team within an organization supports training development and implementation. This can vary greatly between organizations. When you are implementing something as large as an ERP program there may be a need to supplement the internal team with other external learning experts.

With the size and complexity of an ERP program, it is very helpful to have learning resources that are dedicated to the program and resources that are in the program to understand what is changing and what the future state will look like. While the learning team will leverage the change impact assessment as part of their input, to deliver the most effective training, it is essential that the learning resources have the business and project context that only comes from being involved in the project every day.

The business and project context is also critical when working with a vendor. Often, the technology vendor will also provide some training as part of their scope of work. This is a valuable starting point for training, but it is system-focused.

For employees to understand how to perform their roles successfully after the changes are introduced, the training must include team and business context; and be presented with flows and examples that are personally relevant.

Another consideration is to gain clarity around learning and training. Who is responsible for each activity? Many organizations will deliver formal training, whether that be in person, virtual, or via e-learning. When you are supporting employees through a change journey, a learning journey is also needed. This can include kick-off meetings, Q&A, Ask Me Anything, demos, and experience labs. These activities allow employees to learn about the change, understand how their role will change, and give them a chance to play with the new system. In this way, the learning journey prepares them for the formal training that typically occurs just before launch.

7. Testing

Thoroughly testing the various technology platforms is critical to a successful technology implementation. Testing is also an important change activity. For example, the business SME's and resources that participate in testing need to be onboarded, and often need an accelerated change journey. These resources can also provide valuable insights into validating change impacts and identifying areas where resistance may occur.

As a change lead, supporting and participating in testing will provide general insights into the change interventions that various stakeholder groups will need along the journey. As a change lead you have a vested interest in how participants testing experience and the outcome of the testing.

The business resources participating in testing are often also part of the Change Network and are almost always the first to see and use the system. Helping the testers understand their role as testers/champions, and creating a positive and supportive testing experience sets the stage for future engagement activities.

As a change lead, you don’t need to be a technology SME, but you do need to understand how the testing outcomes impact the solution, employee experience and planned change interventions.

Everyone has a role in change. Organizations have a responsibility to support their employees through the change journey, and employees have a responsibility to get involved and understand what the change means to them. If you are implementing a large-scale change, involve a strategic change practitioner early.

Are you introducing change to your team or organization? Are you interested in realizing the ROI for your project? Do you want to develop your team's ability to navigate change? I can help navigate change and create a structure to support your implementation. Let's connect.