Technology Partner is a Luxembourg based company specialized in project development, consulting and automation of business processes. Since its launch in 2018, Technology Partner has supported its clients on change management issues. Brice Bortolet (COO) and Charline Pennisi (Sales Executive) of Technology Partner explain why an IT project without an in-depth analysis and an adapted approach can slow internal acceptance and jeopardize its success.
How do you manage the barrier to change at Technology Partner?
Barriers to change, during the development and implementation of a new tool, are an integral part of our daily lives. Overall, the main situations we have been confronted with are projects dedicated to the change of internal processes.
In this case, the modification of everyday life can lead users to be resistant to this change. It can also be a source of stress or perceived as a threat rather than a help.
Why does an IT or process automation project require a change management approach?
This approach must be part of the project roadmap; if not applied and followed correctly, it could then put the project at risk. Monitoring indicators can be set up to monitor the evolution of project acceptance within the teams. Sponsors and stakeholders must, of course, be included in this process. However, they are not always aware of the change that an IT project implies.
The modification of a user’s daily life can be induced by several factors, for example:
- The modification of his workflows
- The evolution of interaction interfaces
- The change of interactions with his colleagues, etc.
What is your experience on this subject with your customers?
In many cases, we see initiatives based on the implementation of new tools/technologies, rather than projects based on the analysis and evolution of flows or human resources. Furthermore, when a project involves big changes, large companies set up services dedicated to analyzing their processes, although this is not the case for all companies.
Despite their analyses, we often see a lack of perspective on the processes to be automated. We then undertake to evaluate these again, in order to fully cover the issues and provide a more neutral side to the project. Thanks to our analyses, we can also suggest courses of action and recommendations, in particular to promote the adoption of change among end users and management.
In this context of change management, how do you intervene?
We first organize workshops. Their total number is defined according to the project’s need and complexity.
The first sessions are more general: we identify the need, the problems, the processes and the workflows. As the analysis then becomes more technical, we involve our Project Manager and our technical team.
During these collective work sessions, we also work on interactive models. This allows users to materialize the tool they will have to use, which is an important step in the visualization and acceptance of change.
On the client side, we solicit sponsors, people in charge of the project, and key-users. Key-users are very important because they allow us to understand their business in depth. In order to support potential refractories to the project, we can also integrate resources that have a positive influence on them, in order to facilitate acceptance within the team.
A word to conclude?
We will say that technical analysis remains the most important although we should not underestimate the Human and the psychological and emotional aspects that are just as essential to carry out the success of a project.
