Although I used to think that you
should not break something if it is not broken; I am now convinced that in
order to make improvements, change must happen and that change requires you to
break things in order to build other things. If change is to happen, old
processes and old habits, no matter how well they are working, must be broken
to make way for the new. However, change does not just happen on its own, it
must be managed; thus the term coined by the large management consulting firms
- change management.
In the relatively short period of
time we have been a company we have seen some churches manage the change to our
software very successfully and then others who have failed miserably. It is
amazing how the ones that manage the change well seem to embrace the software
and are excited about the possibilities of having a new tool at their disposal.
Then again, not unlike corporate America, many times the churches
that fail at the change management aspect of a system implementation blame the
software for the failure.
But as the solution provider, I
see a different aspect of their failure because I see many other churches that
are being successful with the same exact software. That is one thing about a
true SaaS (Software as a Service), the system that one customer uses is the
same as what all customers are using from the code base (capabilities of the
system) to the servers (performance and response times) to the support
departments (Delivery, Training and Technical Support). Since it is the same
software and the same organization supporting that software, there are only a
handful of variables that can cause the differences: business processes, data
quality, network configuration and performance, success of the training of the
people and change management.
To eliminate as much of the change
management problem as possible, consider the following guidelines during
project planning:
- Provide leadership from the
top - do not allow failure to adopt the system by the staff as an option;
- Establish a sense of urgency
to get the project done - no one wants an implementation to take longer
than it has to;
- Get all of the influencers
and users of the system on board; do not let anyone shoot from the bushes;
if they do not want to be part of the new solution then they are part of
the old problem;
- Create a vision for the
church and how the new systems and processes are going to enable that
vision to be achieved. The only way to rally behind change is a new vision
or a burning platform that requires change no matter what! Even with a burning platform situation
is present, casting a vision creates a rallying point which the
organization can strive for during the tough times.
- Communicate the vision - over
and over! Staff needs to be reassured that leadership believes in what was
once said. By repeating the vision, people have no excuse to getting the
message and thus getting behind the vision.
- Encourage "out-of-the-box
thinking" that can get people envisioning how things can be improved.
- Plan for and create early
wins to build momentum. This process should be active not passive - look
for who has the most to gain from the changes and implement their system capabilities
first. Look for those on staff who
have the most to lose because of the new system and isolate their ability
to sabotage the project. Celebrate the early wins, but do not let up
thinking that the job is done.
- Hire and/or develop the
employees who can implement the vision. Do not let "avoiders of change"
short circuit progress. Do not allow the staff the option of going back to
Egypt
to make bricks! Reinforce the vision
and the reasons for the change.
Change is never easy; I guess it
is engrained in how God made us, at least some of us. But by doing the right
things the right way, "change" can be successful. Conversely, doing the right
things the wrong way or the wrong things the right way will not be successful.
Shortcutting the change management process can lead to frustration,
disappointment and ultimately failure. But also remember, improvement requires
change!
Grace
to you as you go out and improve,
jhook