Your organisation probably sucks at change management. I can confidently say this because almost all Not for Profits I’ve worked with don’t do it well, especially regarding a technology or system change.
Let’s start with the definition as change management is a pretty fluffy word that’s thrown around a lot. So, what does this really mean?
What is change management?
My first job in IT was as a project manager for the original SAP implementation at NASA. One of my first major tasks was to convince the Executive Director that they needed to invest in change management as part of the overall program.
He thought it was a waste of money.
So, I started with this definition:
Change management is basically the activities that you do to help your staff and stakeholders adopt the new technology and return to full productivity in the shortest amount of time.
This is necessary because when you change any IT system, your staff will essentially have to relearn their jobs.
What are the key activities in change management?
I gave that NASA executive three main activities at the time, but today, I give my clients five. They are:
- Communications – This is for all stakeholders impacted: staff, volunteers and clients. When, where and how will you communicate these changes to them? The sooner you start, the better.
- Role Alignment – Staff/volunteer roles will change whenever a major application they work with changes. Do you need to change their job description?
- Process Changes – Implementation and ongoing maintenance costs will be cheaper if you change your business processes to match the system rather than customise the system to match your processes. Have you identified the process changes and incorporated them into training?
- Training – All users will benefit from training to reduce change pain and to get the best out of the system. What’s your training plan for implementation? What about for new staff/volunteers and refreshers?
- Data Migration – It’s highly unlikely that you can move all your data from one system to another. What are you going to do if you need historical information for auditing or other purposes? You need a plan.
These are the basic activities that should be a part of every new system or technology implementation plan.
What happens when your change management sucks?
Any one of these symptoms can be a result of a failed Change Management process:
- Staff productivity decreases.
- No one knows how to run required reports.
- Increased complaints from clients.
- Higher than average staff turnover.
- Decreased revenue.
What happens when you have good change management?
Depending on the technology your changing, these are signs of good change management.
- Staff productivity bounces back to normal quickly after Go-Live.
- Staff morale is higher as they gain benefits from the new system.
- Costs could go down.
- Revenue could go up.
- Management has the reports and insights they need to make good decisions.
Final thoughts
Good change management costs money and takes up resources. However, the cost of not making this investment could be significantly higher.
So, don’t be one of those Not for Profits that suck at change management, and include these key activities in your next technology-related project.
I regularly help Not for Profits with software vendors and software selections and the complexities of change management. Let me know if you need some help.
P.S. If you found this article helpful, you might want to read these too:
- When IT vendors behave badly during a procurement process
- When you asked for a Rolls Royce CRM on a Kia budget
Tammy Ven Dange is a former charity CEO, Association President, Not for Profit Board Member and IT Executive. Today, she helps NFPs with strategic IT decisions, especially around investments.