5 concepts to strategically guide effective change management with a focus on people 

As companies strive for a competitive advantage in their respective markets, many are seeking to implement new technologies to make their organizations faster, nimble and more efficient.

Too often organizations focus on implementing the new technology as soon as possible and they take for granted the people side of the change – often assuming employees will adopt the change without additional interventions. This approach can cause major change initiatives to fail, resulting in lost revenue, decreased productivity and low employee morale. 

OCM describes the framework for how organizations manage the impact related to significant changes in business processes, systems, roles or behaviors. An OCM strategy includes the components necessary for a change management plan to be effective and is designed to ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption to day-to-day operations.

Below are 5 key concepts that we use to guide our Vistex OCM strategy and the steps necessary to execute it:  

1. Compelling Vision – A successful change initiative starts with identifying the business reason for the change and the benefits it will bring to the people impacted. Once individuals recognize the reason a change is necessary and identify what’s in it for them (a concept known as “What’s in it for me?” or WIIFM), they will likely become engaged in the change, and embrace and accept it.

   Organizations should pinpoint a central vision statement that will resonate with stakeholders and generate excitement and engagement for Vistex solutions. They should understand the benefits they can expect when they make the transition including increased visibility into incentive programs, more revenue opportunities captured, minimized manual work, elimination of pricing errors, and more accurate reporting to enable faster decision-making.

2. Leadership Alignment – Employees naturally look to their respective leaders to guide the way. Therefore, having the organization’s leadership team centered around and engaged in the change will bring many benefits including increased buy-in and motivation to get involved. 

   Opportunities should be seized to align an organization’s leadership team to the vision and strategy behind the transition to Vistex solutions because engaged leaders can positively influence their teams. Once an organization’s leadership team understands the change for themselves, they should get behind the implementation and show visible support for the solution.

3. Stakeholder Engagement & Readiness – All employees (yes, even leaders) need to be engaged in the change. Since readiness is not a “one-and-done” activity, a pulse needs to be taken from time to time to measure the organization’s willingness to adopt the change.

   All impacted stakeholders should be actively engaged when transitioning to Vistex solutions. From distributing communications geared towards a specific group to offering role-based training, an OCM strategy should include stakeholder engagement and readiness activities that will excite, engage and ready stakeholders for the transition to Vistex solutions. In addition, steps should be taken throughout the implementation to gauge readiness to adopt Vistex Solutions and adapt to the approach and corresponding activities to maximize effectiveness, generate buy-in and eliminate surprises at go-live.

4. Communication – To successfully implement any change, a communication plan needs to be established that outlines how an organization will effectively communicate with its employees. Key messages should be identified and included in the communication plan and ultimately embedded in the messaging to stakeholders.

   A comprehensive communication plan should be developed for how leadership and the project team will communicate the changes to the organization. Key messages that will resonate the most with the stakeholders impacted should be identified and woven into messaging.

5. Training – To adopt a change, stakeholders need to feel comfortable and confident utilizing the new system and/or new processes to fulfill their responsibilities.

   Through role-based, processed-driven training tailored to stakeholders, efficient learning and acceptance of Vistex solutions can be achieved.

At Vistex, we utilize a comprehensive model to effectively transition your organization from current to future state while minimizing disruptions to day-to-day operations and maintaining productivity. Our model guides the end-to-end OCM services and activities that we offer and can be tailored to any industry to meet your specific needs. Learn more about how we can advise you.

We are excited to continue helping you navigate your unique business challenges through the adoption of Vistex solutions and doing so by focusing on the people side of change.