Major IT implementations often fail because the
organisation is so focused on the technical challenges that the
need to help staff manage the change is overlooked, according to a
report by change management consultancy Changefirst.
Only 42% of organisations create a standalone budget for
managing their staff through an IT-driven change programme. This is
despite the fact that user acceptance is being increasingly
identified as a prerequisite of successful IT change.
Findings in the report, The Unplayed Piano: Maximising the Value
of IT Post-Installation, are based on responses from IT executives
in 56 major organisations, including Barclaycard, BA, BOC, BT,
Centrica, Deloitte Consulting, Ernst & Young, Lloyds TSB,
Lucent Technologies, Nokia, Scottish and Southern Energy and
Vodafone, as well as UK public sector organisations.
David Miller, founder of Changefirst and one of the report’s
authors, said the low priority placed on change manage- ment by
many companies was also demonstrated by the fact that 66% of IT
change projects have either an untrained person in charge or no one
taking responsibility for change management.
He said organisations far too often took a blinkered approach to
IT projects.
“Too many individuals have a blind faith that the CRM or ERP
systems they are installing are so powerful that people will have
to change. They believe that the technology itself will drive the
behaviour and people will not have a choice,” said Miller.
But he said the reality was very different, and firms were
learning the hard way to take a more holistic approach.
“The interesting thing is the degree to which the adoption of
change management is driven by the threat of business disruption or
customer dissatisfaction, rather than by the desire to realise
benefits,” said Miller.
“Above all else, it is the fear of project failure that seems to
push change management up the business agenda.”
The report found that just under 50% of senior IT executives saw
themselves as always or often effective at managing change, against
53% who saw themselves as effective only half the time or less.
Next to this, however, only 34% of the organisations polled were
making any effort to formally evaluate their management of
change.
Changefirst said the positive lesson to be drawn from the
research was that effectively managed IT change needs adequate
funding and a clearly delineated change management approach.
It said line managers also needed to have the tools to lead
users effectively through IT changes.
“Things are definitely moving in the right direction,” said
Miller. “IT is now very interested in the whole issue of change
management – that in itself is a step forward.
“IT has moved from viewing itself as a technical discipline to
one that embraces people skills to one that is leading business
transformation.”
Tips for implementing IT change
- Develop the skills to predict the true impact on users of IT
projects and take those factors into account when making project
decisions
- Ensure line managers have the tools to lead users effectively
through IT changes
- Develop tracking and accountability mechanisms for
people-related actions to sit alongside financial, technical and
logistical actions
- Build a capability inside IT departments to support the
business line managers in planning and executing the people-related
change actions.
Source: Changefirst