While we often show the change process as a linear set of activities, my experience with clients tells me that while the emphasis may be placed primarily on either of the 3, people, process or technology, that a change in one leads to a change in all three areas.
Imagine the importance of helping employees understand how their jobs will change when a new computer system is installed and corresponding processes change. This is what I see overlooked the most often.
Another challenge is documenting processes. While this would seem to take time to create and maintain, imagine the disconnects that go undetected. Additionally, what is the impact to your business when a person misses work or leaves the organization.
A simple example of what I do with clients is to get everyone in a room together before we launch a change. We lay the detailed steps of the change out on a spreadsheet and project it on the wall. We than walk through:
- Who will perform each step?
- What do they need to make the changes (training, practice)?
- Does this change impact staffing levels?
- Can we stop doing anything as a result of this change?
- Who needs to be informed about the change beyond those doing the work?
- Does the change as proposed work?
- What other impacts do you see that we may not have noticed yet?
I have used this process with several clients who are implementing complex computer system changes and it seems to help supervisors and employees work through the changes, identify issues, and feel prepared to successfully accomplish their jobs when the change actually happens. An added benefit - they get to participate in the process and influence the success.
These sessions are scaled to meet the size of the change, for minor changes, they can happen in a very short meeting. For larger changes, the participants dedicate more time. The amount of risk will also impact the amount of time invested in this type of meeting. Photo credit: Joelmutate
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