Change Communications

Personal thoughts on the role of change communications in major IT deployments:

Create an image of the future:

• From what to what? What will change exactly? Prevent rumours.
• Present the bigger picture, strategy? Why are we doing this, spending all this money?

Aid the transition phase:

• Ensure all actors have the information required to change: training, timings.
• Reassure about technical worries and uncertainties.

Set expectation:

• Scope will invariably change. Descoping, prioritisation. Big impact on user acceptance.
• Provide workarounds and temporary solutions.

Source: Nicholas Ranken, Lawson Project

Les “sciences molles”: un ensemble d’outils, principes et méthodes qui permettent de prendre en compte le facteur humain lors d’un changement majeur dans l’entreprise. C’est une façon de donner une main courante à ceux qui vont vivre le changement.

L’application des sciences molles à l’intégration des systèmes, six principes tirés de l’expérience Lawson Project dans une grande société de service pétrolier:

1. Sortir le projet de l’ombre, se rendre tangible. Surtout pour un projet informatique dans des métiers traditionnels (sidérurgie, pétrole)!
2. Apprendre leur langue. Il faut adopter le point de vue de l’utilisateur et prendre en compte ses besoins.
3. Générer de l’attente. L’attente, voire impatience, que quelque chose va se passer, va changer.
4. Créer de l’urgence. Personne ne doit perdre de vue le moment crucial de “bascule”.
5. Simplifier le message. Transmettre des messages simples et clairs pour calmer les inquiétudes et dissiper les rumeurs. Travail sur le message lui-même. Forme aussi important que le fond.
6. Créer et utiliser le réseau. Responsabiliser les acteurs locaux. Communication de proximité.

Source: Nicholas Ranken, Frederic Reynaerts, presentation to Atos Origin Oracle/Peoplesoft, BI, CRM and HR departments, Paris, 29 September 2005

Communication: 3 axes

1. Project Communication: internal teams
2. General Communication: corporate comms - act as relay to corporate communication (direction communication)
3. Operation Communications : managerial chain

Scope, specificities of each target audience and group responsibile for
contact (emetteurs)Inventory of existing medias

Internal newsletter:
-Structure comm plan against programme milestones.
-Style brief and factual. Honest, show avancement and blocages.
-Raise user point of view ‘du côté des utilisateurs’.

Manager communication:
- do not force them into “project communication”
- instead give them tools to explain the changes to the impacts/change for their business

Seperate plan for managing communications to social actors: see seperate post

Overriding principles:

Change ahead: urgency!

• Transmit need to change, need to prepare in all communications: use of countdown clocks, timelines.
• Harkness & Kennett study: Over 50% of companies fail in the first phase if change by not establishing a great enough sense of urgency.
• A unique identity (logo, mascot, look and feel) helps to differentiate from many other change programmes competing for employee attention.

Clear & credible

• Active management involvement in content, thorough proof-reading and validation
• Unclear situations: not always possible to communicate an answer – clear honest communication better than nothing.
• Address “What is in it for me” and no more…

Enable and support local messages

• Creation and support of a network of field communicator, provide resources…
• Study into who do employees want to hear from? (Prosci’s Best Practices in Managing Change report, 2003)
• 31% their supervisor/line manager
• 25% CEO or President level
• 11% Change management team

Communication strategy:

Considerable management involvement and buy-in

• Monthly “communication committee” to agree direction, actions and content with all key parties concerned.
• Essential: communicator cannot work in isolation. Requires support and involvement of project management.

Communication plan:

• Gives overview of planned actions. Essential for management understanding and serves as basis for discussions/planning

Actions adapted to each phase of change cycle:

• Change curve well known. Can be summarised as a period of pre-contact, contact and post contact. Communication requirements not at all the same for each period.
• Newsletter, Web = ongoing;
• Kick-off meetings, posters, workshops, brochures/guides = pre-contact/un-freezing;
• Daily communications (progress, updates) = contact/changing;
• Communication of achievement, results, surveys = post contact/re-freezing.

• Focused on specific audience groups and particular needs

• Stakeholder matrix allows for mapping of communication actions to a phase of change and to a clear target audience and a clear communication requirement.

• Innovative communication tools (mix of traditional comms and use of technology)

• Technology can be effective and useful but not solution to all. Face-to-face communications and paper communication essential in achieving change. Must not be underestimated. People need something to hold and look at. Result: hybrid communication tools adapted to deployment needs. Attention: information overload, dangers of “just sending out another email”.

• Mechanism for feedback

• Essential for evolving approach. Various channels (management, communicators,
  team, web surveys).

Network of communicators:

• Put change communications on agenda of local management / steerco

• Create local ambassadors. Speak “their language”. More credible to those receiving message.

• Integrate change messages into local communications

• Change is not just something coming from afar… “concerns us locally too”

• Support project communications

• Relay messages, print and distribute locally…

• Raise feedback and questions

• Important gauge of needs in the field.

Source: Nicholas Ranken

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The Lawson Project covers of the set-up, integration and deployment of the Lawson ERP financial suite and associated business systems to the worldwide locations of a major oilfield services company.

I have been working as Communication Coordinator as part of the Change Management team since the pilot phase three years ago. This blog contains my experiences and thoughts collected during this time.

Teams from Atos Origin have played key roles in areas such as security and configuration management, industrialization of the production system and change management.

Since October 2001, a team of up to 80 Atos Origin consultants (from Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK) has worked in close collaboration with teams from our client, Lawson Software and Hitachi Consulting.

The Lawson Project business system solution consists of a series of best of breed systems: Lawson, Siebel (OFS Invoicer), Business Intelligence (OFS Reporter) and integration with CommerceOne e-procurement marketplace (SWPS).

Overview of the business system solution deployed.

The ambitious deployment objectives and aggressive timelines were consistently met on time and within budget.

Benefits experienced by our client include:

• Global and integrated business system for all geographical areas excluding North America
• Centralised and standardised systems architecture
• Almost ‘real-time’ business intelligence
• Reduced effort in data entry, greater quality control
• Less IT support at field level

Approximately 6000 users in 115 countries across the world are now working with the new systems.

Nicholas Ranken