Drive action that maps to the technology-implementation process. They will be your most valuable go-to strategies as the project rolls forward.Ģ. Don't axe the change management or change communications line items. Other stakeholders? They're often left behind until it's too late - when individual and cultural dysfunction, resistance, misalignment, workarounds and outright sabotage reign. Project kickoff is often an event that only the ERP project team is excited about or even aware of. Early project planning is dedicated to obsessing over key milestones, tollgates and go-live dates. In the implementation models traditionally promoted by ERP vendors, from the outset, vendor selection and system integration are intensely focused on technology. Engage employees early, often and frequently. They can help improve your chances of success in implementing any enterprise-wise system, such as ERP, CRM, product lifecycle management (PLM) and enterprise asset management (EAM).ġ. Here are five critical lessons learned from years of driving technology adoption through creative, frank change communications. They serve as a strategic roadmap and set of tactical deliverables to optimize technology implementations by accelerating employee engagement and user adoption through go-live and beyond.īattle-scarred IT leaders, who have been through dozens of enterprise-wide IT implementations, tell us our approach is unique. It's that sense of urgency that led to the creation of our tech-agnostic, frank5 Change-Communications Process and best-practices communication toolkits (see Figure 1). Now that's a burning platform for change - at an organizational, functional and extremely personal level.

Organizations excelling at these practices are '3.5 times more likely to significantly outperform their industry peers through a deep understanding of culture and behavior.' Drop this finding into the high-stakes, high-pressure context of transforming a business with enterprise-wide technology and the value is even higher. In fact, a Towers Watson 2013/2014 Change and Communication ROI Report quantifies the business value of effective technology change management and communication practices.

Why do ERP implementers accept such poor return on investment (ROI) metrics year after year? Given the millions of dollars organizations invest in new technology platforms and the integrations needed to optimize the business, shouldn't they invest a fraction of that amount in the very people who can make or break a business transformation: their employees?īased on the work of my company, frank, which specializes in technology change management and communications in guiding Fortune 500 organizations such as Cargill, Cox, GE, ING and PepsiCo through enterprise-wide IT implementations, we answer with a resounding yes to both questions.

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