Change Management is a process which facilitates organizational transitions in human elements, practices, procedures etc of your company. Hence what is change management refers to the process of creating awareness about the natural resistance felt during the process.
People, process and system together forms an Organization and it’s existence depends on the proper interdependency between them. So an effective Change Management properly educates people about the change and makes them aware of the need, benefits and growth.
Change Management in ERP Implementation
An ERP system brings lot’s of change in business organizations regardless of its size/type of industry. Resistance to that change is quite common during ERP Implementation. Employees will have anxieties about optimizing resources, how it will benefit them, the impact on future growth etc. ERP system increases employees exposure to new data and processes. This will bring changes in their daily tasks and will have a learning curve. Hence an effective Change Management plays a vital role in ERP Implementation.
An ERP implementation in an organization introduces drastic change in your Company’s operational and functional behavior. This transformation will not be natural and resistance to this change can occur from all levels. Hence Change Management handling becomes crucial during implementation of an ERP.
Top 5 Change Management Techniques for ERP Implementation:
1. Employee Engagement
An important part as employees are the frequent users whose dedicated actions make a ERP solution successful in your company. The data and records created by employees without failure is the base of the implemented ERP system. Hence the cooperation and participation of employees should be ensured. This can be achieved by selecting a Change Manager from the In-house team created for ERP Implementation detailed in Best 10 ERP Selection Criteria.
2. Management Engagement
Management shares an equally important role like employees, in an effective ERP Implementation process. Change Management risk can be nullified if immediate Managers in every department accepts the change and make positive steps to ensure the complete acceptance of this change by his team. This demonstrates the idea that an organization’s use of ERP will be fully realized only when all relevant parties accept the change and integrate the new system..
3. Effective Communication
Effective Communication plays a vital role in convincing the need of change and accepting the same by all. For this the Change Manager should be able to answer the questions raised and clear the fear of employees. Change Management requires a soft, empathetic and understanding approach.
Team leaders of large organizations need proper Communication plan for an effective Change Mangement. So team leaders can communicate effectively to their teams to convince the need. Company’s goals and objectives, employees working style, culture, language, level of understanding, education etc are the key factors which determines an effective Communication plan of your company. Change managers need to recognize the concerns raised and address them with due respect. Proper answers provided to team will gain the confidence which makes change management hassle free.
4. Training plan
Organizations has to make training plans in advance. It should include several theory & practical sessions, and workshops that helps to automate specific business process of your organization’s industry. The training should ensure that end-users have gained adequate knowledge, skills, and state of readiness. Their performance will be improved as required as a result of this training. Past Experience on your organization or on similar industry can be taken into account which in effect will support Training plan preparation.
5. Change Management Progress Plan
A standard Change Management Progress Plan is not practical in an ERP implementation process. Since changes will differ based on many factors like industry type, size, location, business process customization etc. Even then a roadmap will give a fair idea to manage expectations, customization and training. This in turn helps in analyzing the involvement of every stakeholder, stage wise progress, change impact assessment, training plan preparation, policy change requirements, future business processes etc
In conclusion, Change management helps your company to understand the reasons behind the change, its implications and benefits. Change Management is a customized strategy for each stakeholder to support the business objectives and adopt the change without fear. Hence a standard set of practice or protocol can be a Change Management Progress Plan.