Organisational Change Management Essay

Organizational Change Management encompasses all activities aimed at helping an organization successfully accept and adopt new technologies and new ways to serve its customers. Effective change management enables the transformation of strategy, processes, technology, and people to enhance performance and ensure continuous improvement in an ever-changing environment. A comprehensive and structured approach to organizational change management is critical to the success of any project that will bring about significant change. Fig I. Adapted from State of Oklahoma CORE Project Change Management Plan In any large implementation, the Project Team can expect to experience resistance and reluctance to change. The Organizational Change Management will provide the various stakeholder groups information about the project’s purpose, scope, benefits, timeline and training opportunities as well as how the individual job environment will change due to the implementation of the applications. The messages we will provide via this plan will be customized, based on the specific needs of each group affected by the project. It is the intent of the project team that this Organizational Change Management effort will lessen the â€Å"Production Dip† that is inevitable in any varied and complex project. 2. Objective †¢ Discuss the Organizational Change Management team and explore ways Organizational Change Management can work with Apps Delivery †¢ Cover Organizational Change Management tools †¢ Explain Organizational Change Management metrics 3. Organizational Change Management Scope – Overview a. Stakeholder Management The impact of organizational change imposed by implementation of a project should always be taken into account. To promote a successful delivery, identify who will be affected by the business process and technology changes that the project will cause. 1* For each stakeholder, determine their degree of support for the project and their influence on the organization. Develop a plan for how to build greater support among those with the most influence. 2* Identify stakeholders’ current and target level of project awareness. Ensure that stakeholders have an accurate understanding of the goals and anticipated impact of the project. 3* Assess your organization to identify enablers and challenges to implementing the project 4* Enroll stakeholders to participate in initiatives and to advocate/facilitate change. b. Communication Good communication is the lifeblood of any project. It is essential that the Project Manager provide timely and high quality information about the project to all stakeholders. It is equally important to listen to the stakeholders. Actively solicit their feedback and then respond constructively. 5* Identify the stakeholder groups in your project (e.g., senior management; end-users; sponsor) 6* Develop a communication plan that specifies who will get what information at what time, in what format and through what means of delivery (See section on Communication below) 7* Monitor feedback and respond in a constructive manner Discuss and record lessons learned throughout the project. Use them to improve how the next project may be carried out. c. Training Many IT projects fail because the user community receiving the product of the project (or the IT group responsible for maintaining it) does not receive adequate or properly focused training. It is important to understand the training needs of each stakeholder group, develop targeted training activities, and deliver content with the appropriate method. A good training plan will serve as an effective road map for training activities. d. Stakeholder Objectives An Audience Assessment will help you to determine the best feedback channels for each identified stakeholder group. It is important to understand the major questions and concerns that these groups may have, so that adequate attention can be paid to correcting misunderstandings, filling in the gaps, undoing rumors, etc. If you understand what the potential barriers to acceptance are, you will be better prepared to take proactive action to eliminate them. On the basis of these data, the project team will take appropriate steps (e.g. meetings with stakeholder groups, set up an information web site, distribute a newsletter) to alleviate the concerns of our Stakeholders and ensure that additional difficulties with perceptions about the project do not arise. These actions are detailed in the project’s Communication Plan. 4. Communication Objectives Effective strategic communication is the key to successfully implementing large-scale organizational initiatives. Interview your major stakeholders and find out what information they need. Based on this information, establish a formal Communication Plan that spells out in detail who requires what information, how they will get it, who will provide it, and the means and timing of all regular communications including reports, meetings, postings on web sites, etc. Consider every means of communication at your disposal to get the work out about the potential benefits, timing and training opportunities associated with your project. Make the Communication Plan available to all stakeholders, and be open to modifications in it as your needs change. Communication is the glue that binds internal and external stakeholders to the vision, mission, goals and activities of the project. Effective communication engages the hearts and minds of all stakeholders by facilitating movement along the continuum presented below. Fig II. Taken from State of Oklahoma CORE Project Change Management Plan 5. Training Objectives As stated earlier, training may be a crucial component of your Organizational Change Management Plan. Especially where business process is changed or new skills are required, it is paramount that employees be fully prepared before they are expected to perform new duties. The following steps will help you establish a training program appropriate to your project: Review your organization’s policies and procedures and determine which of them may require modification. Work with the organization to help them adapt to the changes. Learn the impact your project will have on individual jobs and workflow. Where impact is substantial, ensure that focused training is available. In the tables that follow, record the groups relevant to your project, their specific training needs and information about the training materials and facilities that you will use. Establish an appropriate curriculum. It is possible that the same material should be presented in very different ways depending on the background and skill level of the audience (e.g. business staff may require a less technical presentation than IT staff). Find or develop well qualified trainers. Create a plan for the post-implementation training support that may be required as new employees come into the organization, or as existing employees change jobs.) The project is expected to require significant modifications in the organization’s workflow and policies. So that the employees will be properly prepared when the new system comes on line, the project team has conducted extensive analysis of training needs. Based on this, the team has produced a plan that should smooth the way to a successful implementation. Steps taken include the following: a. Perform and Analyze the Results of a Job/Workflow Impact Analysis This system implementation will result in changes to business workflow. These changes will have a significant impact on the skills required of some of the people who will use the new system. In order to ensure that adequate training is provided, the project team performed a gap analysis between skills available and skills required, as follows: 8* Identify those positions (i.e. jobs) affected by the new system 9* Used specific tasks to link positions to new workflows (i.e. linked tasks required in the workflows to tasks performed as part of individuals’ jobs). 10* Noted those tasks that have changed. 11* Listed the skills required to perform each task 12* Determined if existing employees already have the skills needed to perform the new or changed tasks 13* Have arranged for training where skill gaps exist 14* Mapped positions to components of the new system 15* Are taking steps to ensure that each individual receives training for the components they will use 16* Will modify recruiting profiles to reflect new skill sets b. Provide the Organization with Information Necessary to Prepare for Upcoming Changes 17* Reviewed the policies and procedures of each major group in the organization that will be impacted by the new system (e.g., divisions, departments, etc.). 18* Identifed those policies and procedures that will change as a result of the new system. 19* Provided a checklist of needed changes to each organizational unit. 20* Assist organizational units in development of plans to adapt to the changes. c. Develop Curriculum and Content It proved necessary to develop very focused training programs for the various stakeholder groups in this project. Therefore, the training team has tailored the curriculum (topics covered, reference and other training materials used) and the content (specific information to be delivered) for each group. The training will be provided in settings appropriate to the content and group responsibilities (e.g., Technical group in the computer room; office personnel in a training room). The training team has paid serious attention to methods of delivery, and as a result while most employees will receive classroom presentations, certain groups will receive hands on training. In addition, several Powerpoint-based presentations will be made available on the project web site as a means of distributing key information about the project to all stakeholders. The following list was used as a guide in development of this training program: 21* Staff will receive training on new business processes prior to technology training, in order to help understanding and acceptance. 22* Advance arrangements have been made for all facilities and equipment required for training. 23* The training team will hold overview sessions with employees to explain conceptual differences between existing system and the new system. 24* Focused hands-on training will be provided where it can be expected to have significant impact. 25* Given the extensive nature of this implementation, the training team has developed module-specific curriculum outlines with learning objectives, agendas, materials, instructors, etc. 26* Training materials will be made specific to each audience. 27* We will use the train-the-trainer method as a means of cutting cost and also ensuring that training can be made available in the future. 28* The training team plans to develop job aids (checklists, workflow summaries, etc.) for use after rollout. 29* The training team w ill conduct surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of training. The organization will use this information to improve the training program in future implementations. 6. Training Plan Strategy Identify different audiences who require training Conduct training needs assessment and skill gap analysis Document requirements for the training team –Training development Schedule Prepare managers and supervisors to coach their employees through the change Develop Transition plan Train Organization resources 7. Organizational Change Management: Approach and Resources For best results, the entire project team and all new users of the system should adopt the role of Change Agent for the project. Following are some of the tools identified for Organizational Change Management to be effective in a large and complex implementation project. Review these tools with the project team. Select those that will provide the most benefit to your project and summarize how you intend to use them.