For example, with ERP implementations we see companies investing the time and energy to select the right system but spend no time at all to ensure that the people who have to use the system buy in to the decision.
Then they wonder why, when it is time to start the implementation, employees resist moving to the new system.
Why do business leaders too often neglect the people-side of change? It is usually because they think of change management as something intangible, something that they cannot control, measure, or track. They know how to develop a project plan for technical implementation of a new initiative (for example, an ERP system), but they don’t know how to develop a plan with tangible and practical steps to help people embrace the new system. They know how to manage projects, but not how to manage change.
It is not for lack of talk about change management. The same business leaders have shelves full of books about change management, cultural change, and leadership. But too much of what has been written about change management is theoretical. After reading the book, the leader still doesn’t know what to do in terms of practical steps to take care of the people-side of change.
A real change management program is not something soft or nebulous. After years of research and real-world experiences, change management professionals have developed many methods and tools that can make change management as tangible and practical as project management.
Read the rest of this post on the Strativa blog:
Change Management Doesn’t Have to Be a Game of Chance
