Systems Implementations: A Missed Opportunity for Change?

Oftentimes, when we are implementing a system, we hire an integrator that has done this dozens of times before. They present us with a project plan, a step-by-step recipe guide and we are off to the races! The goal of the project is: Get the system up and running.

What we see in practice is that the change management is aligned to this goal. As a result, the training is focused on “Here’s the point and click you need to know.” Let’s talk about a big miss we are seeing in practice.

Let’s imagine that John is going to buy some stock in a company. He may have been inspired by a tip from a trusted advisor. He will then research the company to determine an appropriate buy price, look at their history, maybe even evaluate the company to see if they align with his personal values. The bottom line: John used a lot of mental energy, time and experience BEFORE he went into the system to enter the number of shares and his price point. The system point and click is the superficial part.

When change is about a system implementation, organizations are often overlooking the other competency and skill development that needs to happen before an end user sits down at the keyboard. Should there be an upskilling in thought process? Is there an opportunity to bring together two functions or groups? Are best practices being shared across your organization?

Confining your training to system point-and-click only guarantees that your team members will know where they should input data. The quality of the data is what will define your business success. As the old saying goes “Garbage in, Garbage out.” If the quality of your entries is compromised, no system in the world can perform magic.

Expand your system implementation goal. Your system is an ENABLER of business success. It is the people and the work outside the system that drives your results.