Change mangement

Change management in an IT Project:
10 ways to make it work !

 Step 1: Make sure you know whom you’re
targeting
 age, gender, experience, tasks,…
Analyze till you drop 1/3

 Step 2: Define the change and its impact
 use strategic information by management
 talk to the users
 compare available information on the change to what
users are actually doing

 Step 3: Draw up a neat matrix, list,…
 what different user groups are there?
 what is the impact of the change on each group?

2. Plan, schedule, and plan some
more

 Start thinking about the best strategy for
implementing the change
 Make sure that you have a plan for:
 communicating about the change
 training the people involved
 providing support after the go-live
Plan, schedule, and plan some more 1/3

 Blend all these aspects into one change
management plan

 It is the change manager’s responsibility to
involve the IT, communication, training, …
departments
 Remember: everything is subject to change,
also planning

3. Start… and never stop
communicating

 Rule nr. 1 - Start communicating as soon as the
word about the change gets out
 What will change?
 Why will it change?
 What will be the consequences for me?
 When will this happen?
Start… and never stop communicating 1/3

 Rule nr. 2 – Target your communications
 Don’t send out only general communications that can
be read by anyone
 Some of the user groups that you defined may need
more detailed info than others. E.g. middle
management vs. average employee.

 Rule nr. 3 – Never lie
 Only communicate information that is correct
 Be honest. Respect your employee.
 Create realistic expectations about what the change
will or will not imply

4. Timing is everything: get it right

 Draw up a timeline
Timing is everything: get it right 1/2
week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4

 Follow these basic rules:
 Put communication initiatives first on your timeline
 Communication, training and support initiatives
should at all times be nicely tuned to each other
 Make sure that your employees do not have their
most important training moment more than 2 weeks
before the go-live
 Define a specific timeline for specific user groups like
help desk, trainers, etc.
 Have a plan B ready in case things go wrong...
Timing is everything: get it right 2/2

 Make sure that top management provides you
with the organizational strategy for
implementing the change
 Involve middle management for all sorts of
practical and strategic reasons
Get EVERYONE involved 1/3

 Make sure there’s a platform that end users or
employees can use to share questions and
concerns
 Performing observations, interviews, … with
employees can give you very valuable input when
defining the impact of the change
 Involving end users or employees will generate
support for the introduction of the change in the long
run

 Appoint change agents
 Change agents should:
 Have the right position in the company – Make a mix
of various levels (end user, middle management…) in
the company
 Be enthusiastic – Their enthusiasm will motivate more
moderate employees later on
 Be prepared to go the extra mile – Introducing a
change is never easy. You need to be able to appeal
to change agents who are very motivated to take
your company to the next level

 Make sure that you have a well-considered list
of advantages for your end users
 Don’t try to fool people by not talking about the
strategic considerations for introducing the
change
 Explain these strategic considerations in an easy-to-
understand way
 Cut down on the management talk and keep it simple
Sell your change 1/2

 Make people understand why they need to
change.
 As people start understanding the strategic
considerations for change – and the personal
advantages that might be in it for them – they will
also start getting motivated to change.
 Motivate people
by being motivated!
Sell your change 1/2

 Detect the signs that indicate resistance
 Show people that you care about how they feel
and that you are motivated to share
information with them!
 Deal with the reactions and questions that you
detect
Don’t ignore resistance 1/2

 Things will go wrong at some point
 Set up the necessary mechanisms for gathering
feedback:
 Set clear goals that can be measured
 Evaluate training
 Evaluate the effect of training
 Set up a communication channel
 Learn from your mistakes
while solving these
problems!
Learn from your mistakes 1/2

 Make sure your users WANT to change. Make
changing fun!
Making changing fun! 1/2

 Organize a contest in which several groups of
users compete in displaying their knowledge of
the new system.
 Right after the go-live, have users of the new
system compete to realize well-defined targets.
Of course, you will need to reward the winners.
 Use your imagination!
Making changing fun! 2/2

10. Accept that managing change is a
never-ending story

 Change is not a one-time effort
 Even when your new tool, application or
technology is live, you need to keep on making
it work
 It’s never too late to change… But you cannot
start preparing for change too soon!
Managing change is a never-ending story 1/2

 Contact Human Interface Group if you want to
receive custom advice on how to make your
change work!
Managing change is a never-ending story 2/2

See also our white paper “The People Factor in Change Management”
http://www.higroup.com/wp-request-changemgmt
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+32 (0)15 40 01 38
www.higroup.com
@higroup
Human Interface
Group
Human Interface
Group
info@higroup.com

Change mangement

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