Digital Transformation: Implementing Change

The beginning of a journey is always marked with excitement and anticipation – the first steps filled with boundless energy and positive intent. Towards the end of longer expeditions, the excitement has often faded, replaced by tiredness with a longing eye for the finish line. So too with digital transformation journeys. Once the strategizing is done and innovative solutions are selected, what is left is the grind of onboarding and change management. While not as sexy as the start of the journey, this phase equally as important.

So how to maintain the motivation and keep up the good work?

Before rushing to clear the last hurdle, take a moment to reflect on what needs to be done. Who is affected? How are they affected? How might that impact the organisations and individual performance goals? This will not only help you identify what needs to be done but will also create map of which teams or individuals might need special attention.

Once this is done, create an outline of what will be done, their respective goals, and communicate this clearly to the organisation. People like to see a light at the end of the tunnel – especially when it wasn’t them to decided to travel through it.

The support of management during implementation is, of course, vital. Their support makes the change program credible – that it is a matter of importance and that it is aligned with the business goals.

Where possible, enlist the support of management as part of the internal communication program to help set the tone from the start. Taking it a step further, we have seen that the participation of management in the training is an opportunity to create:

1)  Strong early buy-in from the organisation

2) An appreciation of what is required for digital transformation from management

3) Insight into the work that users are performing

The onboarding of users typically starts with training. Training a large group of users can feel daunting with a mixed bag of change advocates, those who are resistant to change, and those who aren’t fussed either way. Early positive momentum is crucial for long term success.

To do so, identify key users of the solution who have influence, both professionally and informally, to become ambassadors and to create an organic, internal momentum shift. Nominating people as internal experts also creates multiple points of reference, creates clear feedback channels and support structures, and prevents the project lead or trainer from being overwhelmed.

Further to popular online training programs, training should also be done in a group setting. Opportunities for Q&A sessions, shared experiences, and the sharing of ideas on more effective usage of the solution are fostered in such settings. These sessions will often also give the project lead a clearer idea of how successful the onboarding program is going than a percentage completion rate of an online training.