Managing the Change of Implementing a New Records Management Solution
Anticipating the change issues up front will save you time, money and user frustration in implementing any new records management solution within your organization. Understand that users are the most affected by the new system; it is going to impact them big time! You're asking them to change what they're used to; from simply dumping files on their local drives and network share drives. Managing the change is key to any successful implementation.
There needs to be a new perspective with the users – there is a proper place to store your records. Clearly, there will be new processes and you definitely need to use technology, whether it’s an ECM/ERM solution of simply copying files to a centralized archive.
Are your users prepared for change?
Defining and scoping the user community of any new ERM/CRM/ERP system is a significant task. However it is the key to understanding how best to address searchability, the building of one or more catalogs or electronic file cabinets and security models.
So, who are these users in your organization? How are you targeting them so that you understand what they're trying to get out of the ERM system?
Is there a single group of users, or multiple groups? There may be, for example, certain departments, such as marketing or sales, that lean towards the “leading edge” and are more likely to adopt new technologies and seek out more efficient processes, while executives or line workers tend to be removed from the direct actions of the ERM system, and may be more reluctant to move to systems that put them directly in control, or with more responsibility for creating, finding and managing their corporate information.
In the management of the change for your groups of users, make certain you're aware of other factors in that group that will be affected by the change. Factors such as recent downsizing, job security, etc. Be prepared to adjust your project scope to align with unique needs of each group.
If initial use of the system is going well, and suddenly use falls off… that's a very bad sign and you need to take a look at why it happened. Is it because of usability? Is it because of cultural problems? Was the initial surge only because of an intense push from management, and the “regular users” lost interest shortly after management moved on to the next quarterly goal? Is it because of technical issue or a procedural issue?
These are issues to keep in mind as you go about probing what the current state of acceptance of proposed changes is, and to keep aware of through vigilant and continuous monitoring as the ERM system grows and matures.
Regardless of the kind of change, whether technological, cultural, procedural, role-based, or any other, it must first be decided if an organization is ready to face the change and adjust to it. Change may be coming whether it’s welcome or not. Determining readiness is a big factor in the potential success of your ERM project.
Organizational change is always going to appear threatening to people as it is often linked to job security. Some enterprises freely disseminate information regarding strategy changes. Other firms are very secretive and feel that this is for senior management only. The project management team should be as open and honest with staff about change as they possibly can. Typically, people will more readily embrace the change process if clear information is available.
Of course, downsizing or drastically changing the way people work will obviously bother people. Sometimes, you have to deal with this. Disgruntled staff may try to obstruct your project and you’re going to have to manage that process.
Assess your enterprise’s readiness for change. The readiness of both the management to support the change and the affected workers to accept and adapt to the change are the most crucial factors in the success, or failure, of your project. Management may be far more ready to change than the potentially-effected workers, particularly if the idea for the proposed change is coming from management – as it typically is. However, just because you have meetings with middle or senior management who are very enthusiastic about this new project, doesn’t mean that the organization as a whole is ready to change.
Enterprise readiness does not take a huge amount of time to assess, but it is a very crucial activity. Early assessments into an ERM environment are useful diagnostics to understand maturity levels within the organization, and how work is currently accomplished. It will also give you an appreciation on how success your implementation will be.
DISC provides readiness assessments to guage your tolerance for change, and ensure successful solution acceptance.