Client: Global Financial Services Firm
Project: Change Management for PPM Rollout
Overall Project Mission
A major financial services firm wished to implement an integrated, enterprise-wide information technology management system to improve IT effectiveness and efficiency. The approach was to perform an extensive pilot and then implement the software in the major lines of business (LOBs). Each LOB was very large and had its own IT organization and CIO. In addition, the extensive functionality of the software (project, resource, and portfolio management) necessitated a staged implementation to ease the burden on users and increase the likelihood of success.
The Communications & Change Management Challenge
The implementation of the new IT management system would affect over 12,000 people in several lines of business around the world. In addition, the breadth of functionality meant that the system would affect almost every IT management process, from IT portfolio management at the CIO level to time & expense entry at the project team member level. Further, the LOBs were decentralized; thus, the program’s core team had no direct influence over LOB decision making. In order to achieve success, the program core team had to persuade a diverse group of independent LOBs to embrace significant changes to their processes and systems.
The Program
A Communications & Change Management program was launched to help ensure the success of the wider implementation effort. The program addressed issues and communications for two sets of stakeholders. The first set included core program stakeholders, e.g. LOB CIOs, program steering committee members, and pilot/implementation core team members. The second set of stakeholders was the LOB user community who would have to buy into the program to make it a success.
Program Communications – The team quickly implemented a plan to manage the messages communicated to influential program stakeholders, e.g. LOB CIOs, steering committee members, etc. The team met weekly to determine key messages and the medium of communication. In addition, the team developed and distributed a monthly newsletter to keep program team members and other interested parties apprised of project activities.
Stakeholder Analysis – The team worked with LOB representatives to define the key stakeholder groups and to identify how business processes would change. Next, potential barriers to change were identified, and the team developed mitigation approaches (e.g. communications and HR incentives) for each barrier. Finally, the team conducted a change readiness assessment to identify which stakeholders required the most attention.
Communications Planning – The team then developed a detailed communications plan that defined key messages, target audiences, information sources, communications channels, and delivery timing. In addition, generic e-mails and presentations were developed to provide a starting point for the LOBs who would be running their own change management efforts. Next, feedback mechanisms were designed to enable change management teams to track the effectiveness of their communications.
HR Incentives – The team placed a strong emphasis on developing HR incentives to motivate users. The team worked with HR representatives to push for the development of a standard career path framework to reward proficiency in project management (PM). The team worked with a project management center of excellence in one of the LOBs to transform it into a firm-wide user community that supported PM certifications, forums, training, and peer mentoring.
Transition – The team delivered a complete package of communications and change management materials that could be tailored to meet the needs of individual LOBs. In addition, the team developed a detailed approach document describing how to implement the change management materials to guide the LOB teams through the process.
