Creating a Drumbeat for Change

Just-do mindset and focus on getting around blocks

Delivering new technologies on their own does not change the way people work. Audiences, both users and their management hierarchies, must be convinced that new systems are better than those they are currently using, even if they are dissatisfied with them. BT Global knew this from previous rollouts that had faced resistance. The result of working with Sweeney Communications was a strategic framework alongside engagement, communication, resistant management and training route maps it can use for future digital transformation.

Looking for an Outside Perspective

Getting on for 1,000 contract managers and contract accountants spread around the world were using spreadsheets to track costs, obligations, risks and opportunities for the complex contracts they manage.

Not only was this time-intensive for teams; the system was at risk of failing the latest audit and governance requirements, plus data was not standardised making comparisons difficult.

Users were frustrated as data was held in multiple systems that did not talk to each other. Data was input manually on multiple spreadsheets and this was time consuming. Different teams wanted the same information in slightly different formats for analysis, outputs were complex and didn’t support business growth.

Executives were frustrated because data they received did not come in standard formats for comparisons, plus data arrived late in the monthly decision-making cycle.

BT Global’s solution was to move contract reporting data to the cloud with access via a Customer Data Platform (CDP) that is intuitive to use. This is automating data feeds and analysis. Data is available as soon as it is uploaded, everyone sees the same information, it is easy to enrich in sophisticated ways without undermining its credibility.

However, there was a concern at executive level. Four technology rollouts in the past couple of years had faced resistance from the same audiences leading to delays. In each case the programme team had not engaged stakeholders, begun communication activities early enough or planned to manage resistance until rollout.

Programme director Mike Buhagiar explains: “We knew we needed to make a clear and simple case for change based on the marketplace and customer realities our contract management teams were experiencing.

“We tend to leave the people side of change too late with a tendency to focus on the day to day project delivery; I knew from past experience that the sooner we started engagement the smoother the transition to new ways of working would be.

“To do this we needed to bring in an outside perspective, new thinking, to challenge us and make things happen. To be the grit in our oyster.

“It’s very easy to inform people using email and social feeds. However, simply broadcasting messages is not sufficient. People become jaundiced and “war weary”; they get fed up with receiving facts and detail. So we needed consistency and variety in messages to be sure people would pay attention to these important changes we were making.”

Uncovering Critical Success Factors

Mike Buhagiar was expecting significant resistance at rollout as contract teams’ systems and ways of working would change. He knew that while they were unhappy with the existing systems, they did not like being forced to change and they would not like the standardisation being introduced, as they wanted more autonomy not less across the global portfolio.

His criteria for a good engagement solution included a common set of reinforcing messages supported by all the key sponsors, and a cycle of communication activities that quickly moved people from negativity, through neutrality, to positivity.

He would know communications were working when he was getting fewer queries and phone calls from contract teams because they were reading, listening and engaging with messages, plus feeding back their views so the development team could see where the pain points were.

“Culture is deeply ingrained in BT and so behaviours are hard to change quickly; people take lots of convincing. I was conscious this would be a hot spot for successful delivery.

“We needed much more focus on ownership through the line, line managers to reinforce messages, reinforcing accountability from more senior managers, and single foghorn messages people would remember easily and share willingly.”

While he was developing the business case, Mike reached out to Sweeney Communications for some initial discussions to understand the situation and decide if they wished to work together.

During a subsequent, more detailed call they explored Mike’s criteria for a good solution, potential resistance, his concerns and the value he was looking for, plus of course timescales and budget.

‘We chose Sweeney Communications because you recognised our areas of resistance and had the mindset to resolve them. I was confident you weren’t going to give up. You would stick to the message and not let senior stakeholders off the hook. You had tenacity, would not listen to noise, instead keep us focused on the right things to do.

“During your presentation to sponsors one person said ‘I don’t know why we are listening to this’. You listed all the reasons and they have turned out to be key in winning support for the programme.”

Initial Research

Once the business case for Hermes X, as the programme is known, was signed off, the first piece of engagement work was qualitative research to understand stakeholders’ awareness and attitudes.

A representative sample of stakeholders was asked about their biggest frustrations at work, expectations of Hermes X, benefits they hoped for, concerns they had, what would convince them to support rollout, how they wanted to be involved, and how they wanted to receive updates.

Fifty people across the globe (China, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, USA and United Kingdom) participated. They said they were highly frustrated by issues managing clients that the existing systems created.

Legacy systems did not provide the data they needed to manage their contracts, they didn’t trust data inputs or data outputs, and said they spent too much time rectifying input errors.

They had high hopes of Hermes X. They wanted a one-stop shop for all their contract data; real-time and accurate data; automation with dashboards; seamless integration with other BT systems; faster processing.

However, they said that they would have to be convinced it was better than the systems they currently used. They wondered whether users would accept it, whether it would be rolled out proficiently, and how supportive senior executives would be.

Thus, communication activities giving detail on improvements to functionality and user experience, as well as how the rollout team was listening to users, respecting their feedback and taking on board suggestions, would be crucial to successful rollout.

“The findings convinced senior stakeholders that we needed to pay the same attention to engagement and communication as we do to technology development and rollout. They trusted you to develop a comprehensive plan you would own and lead,” said Mike Buhagiar.

Engagement, Communication & Training

We developed four plans: senior stakeholder engagement, end user communication, resistance management and training. Their purpose: to raise awareness, understanding and support so Hermes X was adopted across BT Global, identify advocates and empower them as influencers, and disempower critics and blockers who may try to prevent the rollout.

The plans were documented as a strategic framework to shape activities, plus separate implementation route maps that were logical, structured, measured and integrated into the overall programme plan. Each had:

• Clear purpose and goals linked to BT business imperatives
• Measurable objectives that demonstrate activities are delivering the business imperatives
• Audiences segmented and prioritised by their likely reaction to the change
• Core messaging that sponsors buy into and that audiences embrace
• Portfolio of engagement channels supporting two-way information flows to reach each key audience in the most effective way
• Calendar of milestones and activities linked to programme phases
• Monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
• Supported by internal communications team for final “corporate messaging” changes.

Activities were based on the five-step Communications Escalator developed by Bill Quirke. This is a tool for taking audiences from initial awareness, through understanding, support and involvement, to commitment.

Separate key messages were developed for each of the five key stakeholder audiences for each of the communication escalator steps. Communication activities progressively delivered these messages over the eight months leading up to rollout.

Stakeholder groups received engagement and communication updates each fortnight with the different activities spread across the month to ensure the internal communication practitioners managing distribution were not overwhelmed.

Training was based on the buddying methodology; a simple framework for ensuring people understand and can apply the skills they learn. Trainers trained a cohort of gold users who each then supported up to ten contract teams.

This buddying methodology is about upskilling capabilities as well as how to use new technology. It gives people confidence they can apply their new skills in the practical situations they face and ensures they remember how to do so back at their desks and into the future.

They have space to try out the system on a test platform, make mistakes and learn in a safe place, with ongoing support from someone they trust and can turn to whenever they want.

“We had challenges from senior managers during the early engagement activities. ‘They were saying why don’t we do this through the usual broadcast email channels?’ At one point communications were completely blocked.

“You responded positively, persevered, focused on getting agreement to restart engagement, helping us get around these blocks until they realised the benefits of engagement and how it smooths user acceptance testing and migration,” said Mike Buhagiar.

“What you shared resonated with executives’ thinking. The message got through. Subsequently our director has been using your messaging and some of the tools you shared in other programmes.”

Smooth Migration

At migration overall levels of understanding and engagement were high with contract team members keen to be involved in knowledge-sharing webinars and training sessions.

Contract teams and senior stakeholders are engaged, messages are relevant. Each week targeted communication activities are actionable, with clear themes, messages and responsibilities.

“People are asking to know more, they are positive, they are saying ‘how can I help? What are the things I need to be aware of? How can I get involved? They are more proactive and interested than in previous technology rollouts; They are “pulling” at us rather than us “pushing” at them which is a brilliant outcome in itself” said Mike Buhagiar.

“We have a strong change management enablement plan in place, we are targeting messages very accurately. There is no way I could have delivered this without your support. And it has made the technology piece easier.

“You have created a tempo of urgency, a drumbeat, that has inspired others to work more quickly than they otherwise would have done. You held them accountable for engagement, communications and training – it is what we needed.

“With your just-do-it mindset you acted as a lightning rod conductor, making things happen. When blocks were raised, you would say ‘What is the problem? I’m already talking to the relevant people and it is done.’

“Based on your experience in similar situations, you also provided a sounding board for many of my discussions and presentations to more senior executives. You’ve been the voice of reason in a fog of uncertainty.”

Contact Jo Ann Sweeney

An Explaining Change Expert supporting digital transformation leaders as they build trust and rapport with stakeholders.

Bring Jo Ann in to lead engagement of your transformation, train your team on how to explain change, or mentor key members.

Find out more by booking an exploratory conversation with Jo Ann at https://calendly.com/jo-ann-sweeney/engagement-discovery-call

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