Change Management and Enablement
Summary
Once your organization has completed an IT transformation and modernization project, your organization will need to help your team adjust and embrace the change in order to get the maximum value and leverage out of it. Promoting and enabling the change and any new systems will greatly enhance the adoption and the ROI. Many times ROI for IT investments is hard to measure, but more users utilizing the system will ensure you utilize your investment to its fullest potential. Often times the network effects and synergy of a new platform are the key drivers of further adoption and value. Once the team is aligned and interacting positively, growth and success follow their increased engagement. You want to get the hive buzzing.
Why
Change can be hard. It can be confusing, frustrating and time consuming. They key is to make clear to people the purpose, the goal, and the path to success, and then support them through it. Teams work best when they work together. Working together through change means supporting people appropriately. You have to answer questions, provide support tools and methods, and be patient while people learn the new strategy and approach to doing things. It is important to retain your top talent and keep them happy – using change management and enablement techniques will help your team get up to speed and back in the groove as quickly as possible.
What
Change Management and Enablement are the practice of informing, educating, engaging, and encouraging your team members to get involved, learn, and utilize new tools, processes, and data. You will want to invest in documentation, training, and support. If you empower your employees, they will enjoy their work as they feel more autonomy and success in their respective areas. The enthusiasm people feel, and the moral boost it brings are contagious. The leverage you gain by having engaged and capable employees on modern infrastructure is significant. The right tool for the job, in the hands of someone that is passionate about getting things right is what drives business to new heights. By making life easier, and supporting your team, you can be sure they will sacrifice for you in the future when you need it most.
How
Your organization can utilize announcements, town halls, lunch and learns, training sessions, demonstrations, user guides, runbooks, and checklists to help your users adopt new processes, systems, data and strategies. You can offer them support in the form of mentoring, utilize consultants, and provide them demo solutions to study and practice with. In some cases you might even have a dedicated support group for a new platform or application.