How do you celebrate ERP change management success?

In addition to fostering a positive working environment, celebrating ERP change management success contributes to creating a culture of continuous improvement, where employees feel recognised and are encouraged to put forward their best efforts.

ERP implementations are highly visible projects with significant changes to people, systems and processes. Having positive publicity and messaging helps create enthusiasm amongst other parties who may be apprehensive. Also, there can be a phased approach to many ERPs, according to business function, division or region. So as enhancements to the core ERP are made to suit the deployment of one division, the changes may also be of benefit to others. These can be communicated in various cascades in a targetted manner.

Celebrating ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) change management success is pivotal for several reasons. Firstly, ERP implementations are complex, often requiring significant time, resources, and effort. Recognizing success fosters a positive organizational culture, motivating teams to embrace future challenges. Secondly, it underscores the importance of change management, emphasizing its role in ensuring smooth transitions and optimal system utilization. Celebrations also facilitate team bonding, fostering a collaborative environment. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to reflect on lessons learned, refining strategies for future projects.

While it is imperative to celebrate the success, it is important to celebrate intermittently. The change management plan should include milestone celebrations in the form of quick wins. This reinforcing of change should spot light the gains made by each business function.

We celebrate ERP change management success just as we celebrate the completion of a marathon. We've practiced, we've learned, we've sprinted, we've been through spots of exhaustion - but we emerged better, both as individuals and as a company.

It's equally important to include metrics of team performance and interpersonal relationships among the measurable outcomes, such as improved cross-departmental collaboration or enhanced communication, to truly gauge the holistic success of the change management.

ERP change management success can be measured qualitatively by the use of periodic surveys, assessing end user confidence with the system, being able to perform inherent requirements of their respective roles and processes in the new system, the ability for them to be independent and cross train their peers, and the level of self sufficiency away from the project team involved with implementing the ERP. A snapshot of active users from the legacy ERP to the new in terms of amount of access, level of transactional processing can be summarised to determine where there may be gaps in training, or use of the new system and a reliance on others. High users such as customer service, purchasing, finance may be focus areas.

Celebrate and Internalize the changes brought In. Also hand hold those not able to changes which affect their work, skills, technical upgradation.

As a former teacher, we used a concept called "Understanding by Design," which preaches "begin with the end in mind." It doesn't matter if it's a math test or an SAP S/4HANA implementation -- if we define a concrete, measurable outcome, we can set our sights on the target and adjust our steps and expectations along the way.

The celebration of milestones should not only be high-level, but also involve smaller, more frequent acknowledgements. These could include shout-outs in team meetings or spotlight features in newsletters, as these small recognitions can keep morale high throughout the entire project.

Scheduling the frequency of key project updates for project members, fortnightly or monthly and then assigning a project member to major functional areas, example finance, supply chain can help assist with providing functional cascades that are purpose fit and relevant for participants. These can be an opportunity to highlight achievements at the right level of individual contributors or project resources where challenges are overcome or new enhancements are available. It can help build a sense of comradery within teams and help other users know who may be available to them on an informal basis to assist. Keeping achievements succinct achieves a better sense of relevance.

The most inexpensive reward providing wealth in return is acknowledging a job well done. This applies to individuals and teams, in formal and informal settings, and can be applied by anyone at any time. "Congratulations" is among the best and yet most understated words in the English language.

Integrating gamification elements into your celebration plans could add an element of fun and competitiveness, further engaging your team members and stakeholders. For instance, a leaderboard showcasing individual contributions to the ERP project can be both motivating and celebratory.

The best celebration I have participated in was creating an emoji game for a health science manufacturer with answers based on their products. The teams were competitive but in the end, it reminded them of the power of their work to change the world, which is at the heart of their mission.

To extend the impact of celebrations, consider establishing a "lessons learned" session where you discuss what worked well in the change management process. This is not only a reflection of past achievements but also a step forward for future successes.

Capturing feedback from parties that may not be across the detail helps assess the level of understanding across stakeholders who may be impacted, but not connected directly with the project. Providing feedback as to achievement may help acknowledge the indirect resources that have been used in the project if this has detracted from their typical day to day responsibilities. Project deliverables can be used in people's half yearly or yearly performance reviews, for development and appraisal.

In Kim Scott's book Radical Candor, she emphasizes the beauty of objective truth. That means celebrations for sure, but without the safety to show room for improvement or see the next challenge down the road, what was the change for?

To make the celebration more meaningful, invite your team members to share their personal stories or experiences during the change process. This provides a more human element to the project and deepens everyone's understanding of its impact on individuals and the organisation as a whole.

Personal stories both good and bad help highlight lessons learned potential for improvement and also the lived experience of the change program. This provides a level of credibility as otherwise there may be a distance between the project team and the business. It helps also to socialise the change management of the programme, where deployment may be staged by business function, division or location. Sometimes deliverables are not able to be achieved by certain deadlines, so future change requests can help be prioritised by getting end user feedback as to the impact of certain processes.