As the digital wave continues to sweep across today’s business landscape, many organizations find themselves lost in the towering quest for innovation. However, behind every successful transformational project is a team responsible for bringing it to life.

Ensuring the correct individuals can effectively navigate and thoroughly understand your initiative is critical to realizing its value. In fact, 70% of the barriers to a successful Salesforce implementation can be traced back to change management.

In this blog, we detail why a strapping change management plan is critical to a project’s success and outline the challenges of implementing one.

What is Change Management?

Change management encompasses the methods a company uses to define and implement change within internal and external processes. These methods include identifying the steps required for change, preparing and supporting employees, and monitoring activities to guarantee a successful implementation. Essentially, change management is a repeatable process that uses a holistic set of tools to drive meaningful change. It exists on two different levels:

Change management at the project level – A set of processes and tools to manage the success of a project and the people involved. At the project level, the goal is to ensure that desired project outcomes are achieved.

Change management at the organizational level – A set of processes and tools to increase change adoption and enablement across an entire organization.

The Value of Change Management

Sometimes — even when an organization meets technical requirements — a digital transformation project falls short of expectations. Often, implementation issues can be traced back to poor change management practices.

After all, an organization’s people are the ones who bring critical changes to life. Ensuring the right people are on board and taking the steps required to fuel success can benefit your implementation by:

• Improving Project Outcomes — Strategic change management practices empower companies to achieve optimal results and enjoy a greater return on their investment.
  
• Increasing Project Efficiency — Managed projects run more smoothly; they cost less and take less time, enabling companies to get to the next level faster.
  
• Offering Greater Project Control — With a comprehensive change management plan, organizations can keep a pulse on the amount of change occurring to ensure that too much isn’t happening at once.
  
• Decreasing Confusion and Resistance — When a standard approach is in place, each employee knows what to expect and understands their role, which limits frustration and resistance.

Addressing Change Management Challenges

While effective change management can fast-track project timelines, getting it right comes with its share of challenges. Below are a few of the change management issues organizations may face when implementing a digital transformation initiative:

• Employee Resistance to Change: Sometimes, employees will talk negatively about the change and not participate in it. They may continue to use old systems in place of the new digital tools your organization is ushering in.
  
• Past Failed Attempts Discourage Adoption: If a previous digital transformation project has failed, employees will often question whether the next one will succeed.
  
• Lack of Adequate Training: If employees don’t know how to use your organization’s new solutions, they are unlikely to adopt change.
  
• Poor Communication: Sometimes, leaders don’t focus on explaining why the solution will improve operations and benefit users. Employees who don’t understand the benefits are unlikely to support the change.

Wrap-Up

Sometimes, employees may feel more comfortable working with an older tool simply because they are used to it. Learning to navigate new software requires staff to step out of their comfort zones and embrace change — a task that’s easier said than done.

At Gerent, our experts are happy to provide your organization with specialized change management support. We understand the obstacles involved in launching a digital transformation project and are prepared to help you navigate them.

To learn more about how we can help your company thrive in its transformative journey, reach out to us today!