Collegiate Project Services
Higher education isn’t our business…it’s our passion.
Latest posts by Collegiate Project Services (see all)
- Is Your Project In Trouble? A Checklist - May 10, 2016
- 5 Ingredients for Project Success - April 14, 2016
- 4 Common Barriers to Systems Change - February 9, 2016
Enterprise system implementations represent one of the most, if not the most, complex transformation initiatives undertaken by a higher ed institution.
And projects that big are definitely not “too big to fail.” And not every implementation will be recognized as a top 100 technology project of the year.
One of the biggest sources of project risk are the very people upon whom the greatest burden of change will be felt – and whether or not they will resist that change.
The Root of Change Resistance
Change resistance is really rooted in the individual’s fear of the unknown and the natural reaction to protect oneself from the perceived negative effects of the change- real or imagined.
So it stands to reason that if campus leaders can make the unknown more ‘known,’ then the apprehension and fear should dissipate. Patterns of change resistance can be broken and when they are- everyone wins.
But how do campus leaders get to the heart of what’s driving the fear and resistance in the minds of staff? Where’s the mindreading app for that?
Here’s a strategy – simplistic, but effective: institutions can begin to understand the patterns of fear and resistance by plainly asking campus stakeholders…what are your biggest concerns about this project?
Some of the more commonly heard refrains at schools about to begin an implementation are:
- Can we manage our regular duties and maintain service levels while working on the implementation?
- How will we get the right training to the right people at the right time?
- What if the new system won’t fit our current processes?
- What if we lose historical data during conversion?
- Will decisions that impact everyone be made in a vacuum by small groups?
Getting to the Root of Stakeholder Concerns
We still don’t have a mindreading app, but what we do have are the Top 10 Concerns of campus stakeholders about to embark on an enterprise system implementation project.
Typically the greatest concentration of concerns are in the areas of staffing, communications and training. In fact, the majority of schools that we have worked with ranked these in their top 3 stakeholder concerns.
For institutions about to embark on a major systems replacement or upgrade initiative, the Top 10 Concerns can be reliable predictor of what fears will be present for staff.
The next step is taking these valuable insights and developing a plan to calm or even eliminate those fears.
5 Steps to Reducing Change Resistance
We recommend 5 steps to break down resistance and effectively manage change on campus:
- Identify
- Engage
- Communicate
- Educate
- Assess
Step#1: Identify.
The first step is to identify your stakeholders. Campus stakeholders are not created equal. Take the time to analyze and understand the stakeholders for your implementation project. Determine their needs and expectations. Then determine what you need from these stakeholders to help your project be successful.
Use your communication tools and experts to tailor the messages you’re sending to students, faculty, and staff. Messages that you deliver to the staff in your functional and technical offices are not the same messages you would delivery to your faculty. Students will have an entirely separate set of interests and concerns with the project.
Step#2: Engage.
One of the most important ways to reduce the fear and anxiety around a systems implementation is to engage your stakeholders. One of the best ways to engage stakeholders is to give them a voice—a voice to share their fears, concerns, issues, and unanswered questions.
Provide an open environment to engage stakeholders and help foster a sense of involvement, gain buy-in and build support for the project. Offer your stakeholder community the chance to raise questions and provide feedback. Possible avenues include formal assessment processes, online surveys, forum discussions, or facilitated brainstorming sessions.
Step#3: Communicate.
While communications is one of the top concerns stakeholders have concerning an ERP implementation, communications is also an effective tool to address other top concerns. Following are some effective communication strategies:
- Consider dedicating a communications specialist to deliver regular updates to your stakeholders – via broadcast emails, newsletter or campus publications articles, or even periodic town hall meetings.
- Vary your communications approach and provide regular updates to keep your stakeholders involved.
- Launch a project website. Effective project websites include stakeholder-specific channels of information, important timeline information for transition planning, and a continuously updated list of common questions and answers.
Step#4: Educate.
Many of the top concerns or misconceptions result from lack of information. Educate your staff, faculty, and students on the benefits of an ERP solution. Help them understand what to expect in terms of impact to services, current processes, and what improvements your institution will realize from this implementation.
At the same time, provide your stakeholders with realistic expectations including the following:
- Duration and schedule of the project.
- Effort required for the project.
- Processes to be used to manage the project.
- Support and training to be provided.
Step#5: Assess.
The last step is reducing resistance to change is assessing the readiness of your institution to move forward with the implementation. Your institution also can begin its own planning efforts to address the organizational impacts. Some of these areas include:
- Examining your current staffing levels in the departments that will be most impacted by the implementation.
- Considering who from your institution will be well-suited to leadership roles in the project.
- Analyzing the project management practices at your institution and determine if the right skills are in place to manage this large and complex project.
- Continuing to communicate, educate, and set expectations throughout your planning processes.
Knowing the top concerns your stakeholders may have will help you know the right steps to take to reduce anxiety around an enterprise system implementation at your institution. Once you’re fully prepared to address those concerns, you can effectively help ease the minds of all those involved and focus on getting your team ready to successfully face the challenge ahead. All without having to hone your mind reading skills.
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