For Lasting Change, Don't End OCM At Go Live
Sustainment is part of every good organizational change management (OCM) consultant’s methodology, however, time and again, they are not given the opportunity to actually execute the sustainment plan. All too often, once a new technology is launched, the project is declared done, the budget has been spent, and the OCM consultant’s assignment is ended. Don’t roll off the OCM team too soon! When an OCM consultant has the opportunity to support an effort post go live, they can add value towards driving adoption and achieving lasting change.
Navigate Bumps
No matter how well executed the project, odds are something won’t go quite as smoothly as planned. A change impact may have been overlooked or missed, the technology may not work quite as expected or have a bug. As a result, training may need to be updated or communications about system updates may need to be drafted and sent. Having an intact project team in place, including OCM resources, ensures that an experienced team is in place to help navigate these bumps until the technology and organization have had a chance to stabilize.
Middle Management Support
During any change, middle management is, well, in the middle: dealing with leadership from one direction and their people from the other; the introduction of new technology is no exception. Not only do they have to manage the change, but they also have to keep the business running, while going through their own change process! It is important to recognize the critical role they play in successful change and to ensure that they are getting the support they need, especially, after the new technology is in place. The OCM team can ensure that targeted and active support is in place for this key stakeholder group, and any other sensitive groups, so that they and their teams are set up for sustained success.
Ongoing Support
It is a misconception that just because people have attended training, that they are ready for Day 1, without some level of additional support. No matter how well people are aware, understand, and are committed to the change, they are still experiencing change and all of the highs and lows and successes and challenges that come along with it. They may just need a gentle reminder to reference a relevant help document, benefit from easy access to project team members walking the halls, or require permanent embedding of superusers in their busines function. The OCM team can not only help design the right support approach ahead of time, but also make sure, post launch, that the system is in place and delivering the right level of support in the right way.
Evergreen Education
With the fast pace of technology change, system-related documentation can become outdated the very day its published. The lean size of OCM teams often dictates that they primarily focus on go live education events, but it is critical that they have the opportunity to develop a long-term training strategy for the new technology. Who will own the education process? Where will education content be stored? How will the content be updated and who will update it? How will new hires be educated on the new system? These are questions that the OCM team can help facilitate to ensure that the investment in the new technology is supported by an evergreen training strategy.
New technology can launch over night, but deep-rooted change takes time. If people don’t accept the new change, the project fails, time and money are wasted, and future change efforts will prove to be more difficult. Set up your change program for success by ensuring that the organizational change management team can see the change not only through to the end, but all the way to a new and lasting beginning.
Contact ChangeStaffing to learn how our consultants can help drive adoption of new technology to achieve sustained change.
A very special thanks to Jessica Thurber, Change Management Consultant, for her thought leadership and for collaborating with us on this blog.