Change Management and Implementation 101: A Practical Guide

Organizational change can be beneficial if managed correctly, with progress, growth, productivity, and more profits all potential advantages.

However, implementing any change initiative—whether a new software, process, or management structure—is notoriously hard. It can be a logistical nightmare, with resistance from leaders and employees all too common. It’s likely why half of the change initiatives fail in any organization.

But this doesn’t have to be your experience as long as you have a successful change management process. Read on to learn what change management is, why it’s important, and how to successfully implement change for your organization with a 5-step change implementation process.

What is change management?

Change management is a structured approach to handling organizational change. It encompasses all an organization’s actions to plan, implement, and guide it from a current to a desired future state. 

Organizational change can either be incremental or transformative, where: 

• Incremental changes are small, gradual changes in response to evolving needs. For example, minor changes to an employee onboarding process or slight product modifications.
• Transformational changes are significant changes to structures, processes, and cultures. They often mark a fundamental shift away from the status quo. For example, changing your company culture, launching a new product line, or restructuring an entire department.

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So, why is change management critical?

At a high level, effective change management helps organizations smoothly transition from a current to a desired future state, overcoming various complexities in the process. These complexities include the logistics of implementing change and the challenges around overcoming the resistance to it.

Dividing deeper, effective change management helps companies:

1. 1. Effectively communicate the reason for the change and the goals of it.
   2. Get employees to overcome any resistance to change and buy into it by including them in the entire process.
   3. Improve employee engagement and morale because employees feel like active participants in the positive transformation of the company.
   4. Mitigate potential risks like errors or negative impacts on satisfaction thanks to proper risk assessment and strategies to minimize their effects.
   5. Align any proposed change with the organization’s strategic objectives.
   6. Maintain productivity by accounting for disruptions and implementing measures to reduce their impact.
   7. Drive growth and profits by aligning change with strategic objectives, enhancing efficiency, and boosting productivity.
   8. Sustain change over the long term through ongoing monitoring, feedback, and adjustment.

But, how exactly do you effectively implement change?

Implementing any change—no matter how big or small—requires a plan: steps you can follow to transition from where you are to where you want to be. Here is a five-step change management process you can follow for successful change management implementation:

Step 1: Prepare for change to get buy-in

Proper preparation mitigates risks, aids with planning, and is crucial for getting buy-in from everyone. Jeff Bullough, Fishbowl’s Director of Implementation, explains:

“What we often see with our customers while implementing the software is that while they have ‘support’ from their leadership on paper, they do not have the true ‘buy-in’ support. 

Big changes will cost time and money and, unfortunately, some leaders think that paying for the software is the extent of that cost. Without the internal support and resources from those leaders, the project managers we work with are destined to fail.”

So, during the preparation phase, you need to:

• Clearly define the change
• Get employees and leaders to recognize the need for change
• Identify sources of resistance
• Find ways to overcome any resistance

As a practical example, here’s what the preparation stage may look like if you’re planning on implementing inventory management software (IMS):

1. Assess current inventory management processes to identify areas requiring improvement. Existing systems may be outdated, with you relying on Excel spreadsheets to record and track inventory.
2. Gather data and engage employees by including them in the software implementation process. Speak to those in relevant departments like procurement and logistics for feedback on how they currently handle current processes and what would make their lives easier.
3. Use the data you’ve gathered to get everyone, including leadership, on board. Communicate why there’s a need for implementing new software by referring to current challenges and problems and highlighting what benefits the new software will provide workers and the company, like time and cost savings.

Step 2: Create a strategic plan to guide implementation

Step two is about answering two key questions:

1. What is your vision for change?
2. How will you achieve it?

Your vision is about outlining the planned benefits of the change. In the case of implementing an IMS, this may be to improve efficiency, remove manual input, improve productivity, and reduce stockouts.

How you achieve this vision involves creating a detailed strategic plan that includes:

• Your strategic goals for the project
• Clearly defined success criteria. What metrics will you use to measure the success of software implementation? Examples include order fulfillment speed, inventory turnover, productivity increases, and stockout reduction.
• A change management team. Who’s responsible for overseeing software implementation? Who signs off at each phase? 
• Project scope with milestones, timelines, and deliverables. Deliverables may include:
  • Reviewing and choosing a suitable IMS from available options.
  • Deciding how to roll out the software—gradually, in phases, is usually a good way.

Step 3: Implement the change gradually

It’s time to execute the plan. During this stage, it’s essential to empower employees by giving them clear instructions on what to do and addressing any challenges that may arise. 

The implementation phase for a new IMS may look something like this:

• Procure a suitable IMS that meets your vision and goals.
• Roll out the software gradually and scale as needed. Consider starting with a small pilot group in a particular area of your business to test things out against the success criteria and iron out any kinks. 
• Provide comprehensive training so employees know how to use the software.

Tip: Choose a software partner that provides the tools, services, and support to help with implementation.

The right partner will work with you to understand your business and guide you through the best way to implement the software. 

Some software, for instance, provides implementation packages that include:

• Warehousing and manufacturing options
• Data migration
• Ongoing support
• Training aligned to core inventory workflows
• Training for each specific role—not blanket training that stifles technology adoption
• Access to an implementation specialist to guide you

Step 4: Reinforce changes to make them sustainable

Change is a continuous process, meaning you cannot implement something and forget about it. Otherwise, it will not become embedded in your company culture, and you’ll end up backsliding.

Here are a few ways to reinforce change and ensure it sticks once the software is implemented:

1. Provide ongoing training and support for employees to help them adapt to the change. In addition to initial training, offer refresher courses that not only focus on the technicalities of using the software but highlight the broader benefits for those using it and the organization as a whole.
2. Maintain open communication. The person leading the change initiative should lead by example, sharing regular updates and successes the change has brought about, addressing any challenges people may be having, and reminding people that constant feedback is welcomed. Just remember to act on this feedback to demonstrate that it’s valued. This encourages more employees to do the same, creating a constant feedback loop. 
3. Positively reinforce behavior by rewarding good actions so employees are more likely to repeat them. For instance, praise employees who excel at using the software by giving them the “Software Champion” title.

Step 5: Evaluate progress to make adjustments

The final phase of the change management process is to conduct a project post-mortem to determine if the project was successful or not. This phase involves:

• Reviewing progress against KPIs or success criteria. Did you speed up order fulfillment? Are there fewer stockouts? Did inventory turnover increase?
• Collecting feedback from employees on their experience using the software. Is the software easy to use? Did they encounter challenges when using it? What did they like and not like? Do they have suggestions for improvement?
• Analyzing the data. You can use the data gathered from reviewing progress against KPIs and collecting feedback from employees to identify areas for improvement. For example, if stockouts decreased but you now have excess inventory, you may need to optimize your reorder points. Or, if many employees struggle to use a specific software feature, more training may be necessary, or the software requires updating.

The bottom line on change management

Change management can help you smoothly implement organizational change while driving growth and profits. Of course, the key to taking advantage of it is to follow the proper change management process:

1. Prepare for change to get buy-in 
2. Create a strategic plan to guide implementation
3. Implement the change gradually and scale up
4. Reinforce changes to make them sustainable
5. Review progress to make adjustments as needed

Do that, and you’ll not only improve the odds of your change initiative succeeding but also that of your company.