Change management strategies for effective ERP implementations

The first step in effectively managing technology change is to identify and evaluate the attitudes of individual users and influential groups and to determine:

·       Who are the resisting individuals?

·       What are their interests?

·       What are their needs?

·       What are their beliefs and values?

Leaders can use knowledge gained from the previous stages of the ERP project to design strategies that can best overcome users’ resistance to the ERP system, and to convince as many users as possible to adopt it. The goal should be to try to modify users’ thinking processes that are negatively influencing their attitudes.

Top management must create awareness for the ERP system by communicating its benefits to workers. In many cases, ERP implementations fail because of lack of this type of positive communication. Knowledge about what the system can deliver to the organization and its workers can build anticipation for it. The success of future initiatives depends on building a cumulative base of credibility by management.

Workers who hear how the new system will yield a positive cost-benefit analysis to them as individuals by improving their daily work life with minimal costs are more likely to develop an interest in the ERP system.

Positive reviews of the new system, and the perception that it is of high quality is another factor that influences user acceptance.

Hands on training is important to help users adapt to the new system, and to help build a positive attitude toward it.

 It’s also important to have a performance system to monitor the progress of ERP change management efforts. It’s imperative that top management ensure that  workers’ anxiety and resistance to ERP is under control. 

Last but not least, top management commitment is critical for the success of the ERP implementation process. Change requires a strategic vision to ensure long-term success. Leadership is the number one facilitator of large transformation efforts. ERP implementations will only be successfully accomplished when senior management is totally committed to the initiative.

Adapted from: Change management strategies for successful ERP implementation by Adel M. Aladwani, Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 7 No. 3, 2001, pp. 266-275. # MCB University Press, 1463-7154. http://bit.ly/eaAyNj