Common Mistakes in Technology Implementations
Expecting technology alone to solve inefficiencies, inconsistencies, data errors, or lack of alignment and collaboration between departments is a common mistake companies make.
The Impact of Inadequate Change Management
Failures in technology implementations, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and delays in Return on Investment (ROI) can stem from poor change management or insufficient involvement of human capital and organizational leadership.
- Lack of understanding of potential impacts on activities, functions, and responsibilities
- Misalignment of expectations among different departments
- Uncertainty causing resistance to change
- Delays and additional costs
Automation Doesn’t Fix Structural Errors
Initiating an implementation expecting technology to solve inefficiencies, inconsistencies, data errors, or lack of alignment and collaboration between departments is a common mistake that can erode trust in the project and the technology teams responsible.
While technology is a key enabler for business processes, it’s crucial to understand the prerequisites for its adoption. This includes clearly defining business rules, delimiting project scope, and anticipating its impacts. Data cleansing should also be conducted before migrating to the new system.
These aspects must be known by all project participants, who should have a realistic plan of responsibilities and goals considering the time teams will dedicate to activities without disrupting daily operations. Clear communication about who will form the implementation team, when they will do so, and how their workload will be affected is also necessary.
Moreover, involving the personnel impacted by the new system from the start is essential. Explain clearly what changes entail, when they will take effect, and provide adequate training on the tool’s use. This can help mitigate uncertainty, especially if there’s fear that their role may become redundant due to automation.
Leaders should be the first advocates of the implementation, as their role is crucial for fostering collaboration and change acceptance within their teams. They should participate in project-specific activities like defining and validating processes, cleaning and standardizing migrated data, setting business rules, defining test scenarios, identifying processes outside the system requiring legacy interfaces, among others.
Considering Impacted Audiences
A common error is overlooking the audiences directly or indirectly affected by change. Identifying different interest groups and designing a clear communication plan with targeted messages, key times, and well-defined responsibilities is necessary to keep clients, suppliers, administrative and operational users, as well as internal collaborators whose activities will change post-implementation informed.
- Standardization of client or supplier names with inconsistent variants feeding master data catalogs
- Definition of key dates or concepts required for order issuance and invoice reception
- Timely communication of payment dates to avoid supply delays or service payment issues
In conclusion, for a technology implementation to yield expected benefits, considering the human factor is fundamental. Beyond traditional change management, organizational commitment levels must be made aware, starting with leadership.
It’s important to note that this isn’t an IT-exclusive project but a transformation enabling new work methods requiring standardized practices, cross-departmental collaboration, and an organizational mindset shift.
Key Questions and Answers
- How will you sensitize your team about the benefits and each person’s role in achieving them?
Ensure all stakeholders understand the project’s goals, their responsibilities, and how technology will impact their work. Clear communication, early involvement of affected personnel, and leadership advocacy are key.
