Change Management & de-risking your ERP implementation

Clare Morrissey is a Change Manager and Project Manager for Global ERP implementations with Microsoft Dynamics D365 F&O (since AX2009) with over 13 years experience.

ERP Advisers Ltd - Change Management Methodology - ADKAR Model example

The fundamentals of change management including ADKAR, ‘People/Process/Technology’ mantra, the Change Curve Model, Lewin's Principals are all designed to help structure the change your organisation is going through, communicate effectively to all stakeholders and help your team cope with the psychological impacts around organisational change.

In simple terms, any change introduces periods of instability, and it’s at these points of instability when there is more chance that something Really Bad could happen. Understanding the likelihood and impact of those possibly drastic events, and mitigating them appropriately is the whole point of change management – De-risking your implementation and ensuring a greater chance of success.

In smaller ERP implementations or organisations, change management will be incorporated into the Project Management workstream, whereas larger organisations will have dedicated teams – whichever approach, ensuring adequate time is allocated to engage with all stakeholders, develop relationships, understand concern, and liaise with the product delivery team is vital, and should not be underestimated.

Your Change Management team are the content creators, graphic designers, sales & marketing and communication experts of your ERP project, as well as event coordinators, team builders, therapists, press secretaries, life coaches, cheerleaders – the conduit for everything your project delivers! The type of people who excel in these roles are usually creative minded and lead with empathy, humour and passion. This helps to overcome cultural, knowledge & language barriers, and to navigate your period of change successfully - as well bringing a human and tangible touch to your ERP implementation – something we all need in this age of artificial ‘intelligence’!

For more information on Change Management, Project Management or Governance for your ERP implementation contact info@erpadvisers.co.uk .