Tools are only useful when employees use them.
A business might digitally transform with a new ERP solution and nail the implementation from a technical perspective. But without employee buy-in and adequate ERP change management, even perfectly tuned processes and software solutions will fail. Employees will work around the system, using consumer shadow IT solutions or attempting to keep doing things as they were done before. They might not fully take advantage of ERP features and capabilities. They might even lose morale and think about quitting.
Employees need to understand why workflows and systems have changed as a result of digital transformation, and how to use them. Crucially, they also must embrace this change. That is where ERP change management comes in.
The 7 Keys for ERP Change Management
Part of a properly structured ERP implementation is having a plan for onboarding employees and getting buy-in. While features, workflows, and technical considerations often dominate the discussion about ERP rollout, it can be argued that ERP change management is ever more important. Change management, therefore, must be considered early and as an important component of an overall digital transformation strategy.
We’ve helped businesses implement more than 500 ERP solutions over the years, and we’ve found that there are several keys to effectively handling ERP change management.
1. Plan it from the Beginning
Make sure to include ERP change management in your ERP implementation roadmap. Just as you map out process needs and functionality requirements, and timelines for phases of a rollout, have a structured plan for managing employee adoption and change management.
Your change management plan should include a stakeholder analysis to ensure that all key stakeholders are involved, and a current state analysis that outlines how work is performed before a new system is implemented. The plan should also include the new way that processes will operate, a check-in schedule, and metrics for ensuring that employees are on board and using the new system, as well as an opportunity identification assessment for tying your digital transformation project into larger goals and policy changes at the company.
2. Engage Key Stakeholders for Guidance and Advocacy
Adoption comes from having the new system make life easier for employees and cultivating advocates within the company who can promote and guide coworkers on the new system.
Identifying and engaging key stakeholders throughout the company during the planning phase helps ensure that the new ERP solution is fit for purpose and meets the workflow needs of a given department. It also seeds ERP change management advocates throughout the organization, which can help with employees embracing this new way of working.
3. Clearly Explain How the Change Benefits Employees
Nobody likes change, but almost everyone likes improved work conditions. So one of the most essential keys for ERP change management is effectively communicating how these new tools and processes ultimately make life easier for a given employee.
When explaining change and the new way that work will be performed as part of the organization’s digital transformation, tailor the messaging to the needs of each department and stress the ways that work just got easier. Advocates within the company will play a significant role in identifying the benefits for each employee's job function.
4. Communicate Early and Often—and Make it Come from the Top
Build excitement for the new ERP solution and the benefits it will bring by updating employees early and often about the state of the project and its expected advantages. This way, employees will understand that change is coming long before they must adjust their processes, and they can even look forward to the new processes when they are tied to workflows that make life easier.
Make sure that this messaging comes from the top of the organization, too. By having updates from both the C-suite and departmental managers, employees will understand that this is an important organizational priority supported by leaders throughout the company.
5. Double Down on Training and Support
Any new ERP solution will radically alter how employees perform daily tasks, which requires training on the new system. Employees will also require guidance on new workflows built into the system.
Plan and allocate sufficient resources for onboarding employees to the new systems and workflows. This should include group training sessions, manuals, and cheat sheets for using the system, and clear post-implementation support so employees know where to turn when they don’t remember something from the training.
Establish metrics for this onboarding process as well, and periodically test to ensure that all employees truly know how to use the system properly.
6. Embed Change Within the Company
There will be a natural tendency by some employees to revert back to what they knew before. Change must therefore be embedded in the organization so there’s no going back.
As part of the ERP change management process, develop new structures, controls, and rewards that recognize and sustain the change over time. With a culture that stresses change and the new processes, employees will more likely adopt the new workflows and the ERP solution overall instead of going around it.
7. Periodically Refresh Employees
The work is not done after an ERP solution has been rolled out and employees trained. Employees will forget things and slip into patterns that don’t fully take advantage of the new ERP solution. New employees will join the organization and need both training and support. There will also be new functionality and processes that evolve within a company.
So, as a final piece of change management and onboarding employees, there should be a well-established schedule for ongoing training on the new processes and the system overall. This ongoing training schedule should be established during the implementation process, even before rollout.
Get Help with ERP Change Management
As an SAP Gold Partner, we’ve been helping businesses with ERP implementation and change management for more than 30 years. We understand both the technology and the needs of business.
So if you need help with the change management process, or have other questions related to digital transformation or ERP implementation, contact one of our experienced consultants by calling (801) 642-0123 or writing us at info@nbs-us.com.
