CRMs Need High-Touch OCM

As part of a larger grid modernization effort, our client, a Fortune 500 utility company, recently implemented Salesforce. ChangeStaffing was engaged to augment the organizational change management (OCM) team provided by the system integrator. We recently sat down with one of our consultants, Robin Mitts, to discuss the change management lessons learned:   

Project Highlights:

·      One of the first utility companies in the world to implement Salesforce

·      Scope included 3 million customers and 1000+ internal users

·      Additional project complexity due to utility regulatory compliance

OCM Lessons Learned:

1.     Give Change Management a Seat at the Leadership Table

OCM representation on the program leadership team is critical to success. This enables an OCM team to directly engage key leaders and bring laser focus to the awareness and resolution of people related issues prior to go live.

2.     Provide Change Management Team with System Access

The ability for the change team to access the Salesforce system enabled the most impactful change interventions.  The change management team was able to ensure that system functionality aligned with business requirements and expectations and facilitate realignment as needed. The training lead was able to further test the system with day to day business scenarios and identify previously unknown defects before release.

3.     Provide Customer Service Organizations a High Touch Approach

The change strategy included high touch activities such as road shows, face-to-face training, and go live support. As part of a road show, the project team visited every impacted location to engage local leaders and users. During go live, members of the project team walked the floors to identify issues; these issues were fed back to the central implementation team; the change team then drafted bulletins that were distributed to all customer service leadership and users to communicate reminders and fixes. Through this high touch approach, the project team developed two-way relationships with the business throughout the project lifecycle that ultimately facilitated a smooth launch.

Contact ChangeStaffing to learn how our organizational change management consultants can help your organization effectively implement new technologies such as Salesforce.com. 

A special thanks to Robin Mitts, change manager, coach, and consultant, for her thought leadership and for collaborating with us on this blog.