Reaching out to employees just before the ERP Go Live isn’t enough. From a change perspective, there are 3 key stakeholder groups that need to be fully on board for a successful ERP implementation: Senior Leaders, People Managers and End Users. Let’s explore their roles and practical change management actions to get them ready, along with other elements of change management.

1. Senior Leader sponsorship and alignment
Success starts at the top. The full leadership team needs to be fully engaged, with shared understanding of the project goals and the case for change. Then, they can step up and actively demonstrate their support and confidence in the project and respond to their team questions and concerns.

Get leaders on board:
∙Create ownership. Establish a Steering Committee that includes Executive or Senior leaders from impacted areas of the business. Provide opportunities for these leaders to hear project progress, probe for details and ask the tough questions.

∙Recommend change management coaching and training for senior leader sponsors.
We’ve seen sponsors convert into change management advocates as their understanding expands.

∙Build communication and engagement opportunities for senior leaders to discuss the project, explain the alignment to departmental goals and address questions from their management and employee teams. Make it easier for leaders to deliver consistent messaging with support materials such as slides, speaking notes and FAQs.

2.Build people manager buy-in and support
If your supervisor shrugs when asked about a project due to a lack of interest or knowledge, how motivated will you be to participate? Employees look to their people manager for signals on priority tasks and details on how their role and responsibilities may change. Research shows 75% or your managers and 65% of your employees need to be on board for the change to be successful.

Get people managers on board:

∙Support people leaders through their own change journey. Often this is a big change to
absorb, and they’ll be more effective with the opportunity to navigate the change first.
Some ideas include dedicated manager information sessions and sharing communications with managers in advance of employees.

∙Create opportunities for people managers to discuss the project with their senior leaders. Emphasize the project’s importance to delivering team and organizational goals. Bring in Business Process Owners or SMEs who have deep knowledge of both the business and the system to explain what’s changing.

∙Recognize people managers are busy balancing multiple needs and priorities. Keep people managers up to date on the resourcing and timing requirements of their team with as much advance notice as possible.

∙Prepare support materials for people managers to use in team meetings or one-on-one
discussions.

∙Connect with HR. Often ERP implementations drive changes in employee roles and responsibilities. HR can support people managers in the areas where there are the greatest impacts.

3.Find – and focus on – your End Users
It’s day one. Who will be using the new ERP system day-to-day or completing tasks, like reporting, differently as a result of the ERP implementation? These are your End Users. They’ll need detailed information and hands-on training to be successful using the new system and processes.

Get End Users on board:
∙Prepare End Users for what’s ahead and what’s changing, in team meetings, huddles or through other communications. The first time an End User hears about a big change to an everyday process shouldn’t be while sitting in a training session days before Go Live. A steady drumbeat of communication also elevates the importance of the project, so End Users are more likely to prioritize their participation.

∙Demystify the new ERP system through demos and interactive in-person or virtual
sessions. Ask your Subject Matter Experts from the business to walk through a key process, discuss what’s changing and address questions.

∙Build out your training program. What are the core tasks employees complete today and what will be changing? Who will need to complete these tasks? With this direction, we develop role-based training to teach End Users what they need to do in their role with real-life scenarios and hands on practice. A robust, tailored training program is critical to build End Users’ confidence in the new system. Training can include anything from hands-on classroom sessions, online courses, coaching, and mentoring.

∙Provide in-house expertise and support for End Users. Highlight the Trainers and Power Users available to support them before and after the ERP system Go Live. Our consultants are experienced in bringing these key stakeholders on board.

If you are looking to implement change into your organization, we can assist in ensuring that it is successfully implemented. Connect with us to find out more.