I have already touched on my opinion regarding the need to manage change processes associated with a new or upgraded HRIS and my surprise regarding the number of organisations that appear to underestimate challenges in this area. If you agree with me that organisations need to in fact allocate significant time and monetary resources to manage the change then the next decision for HR to make concerns who is best equipped to manage the change?
It appears that many vendors, including SAP believe that organisational change is most effective when it is lead and managed internally and such organisations should educate themselves about change management and the activities that could be undertaken. In contrast, the number of available consultancy organisations that can be contracted to assist with this area appears to be increasing.
As always there are advantages and disadvantages associated with both of this approaches. I would be interested in hearing more about your opinions regarding who is best suited to manage change- employees or consultants- and also some of the advantages or disadvantages which you think are associated.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Importance of Change Management
As we all know, the world and more specifically the world of work undergoes continuous change. Some of the changes that organisations experience are part of the external environment and to a large extent outside the control of the organisation and its management. In contrast, internal changes experienced by the organisation can be managed and controlled to a greater extent. Regardless of the source of the change, organisations need to manage change.
The need to manage change is seen by many members of organisations as an essential part of an organisation. Overall, HR professionals are even more aware of the need to manage change as it tends to form part of their job description. Given the accepted importance of change management I am always surprised to read and hear about organisations that fail to proactively address and account for change management processes when implementing or upgrading the HRIS in their organisations. As more and more academics, practitioners and consultants present information regarding HRIS projects, those of us who are interested in this area appear to be presented with one of two stories. The story of the successful HRIS (and I use that term loosely) or the story of the HRIS project that went terribly wrong. For the projects that experienced difficulties, a common theme is shared, that of the need to manage the associated change processes.
Even if your organisation purchases and implements 'best practice' HRIS software, your organisation should not expect to achieve the most value add from the system if they fail to inform and manage the changes to be experienced by the workforce. People that are involved in your organisation need to be aware that they will experience change, how and why. Without this education and communication it is believed that your HRIS project will be limited in its success. Many of you would agree with this approach and observation which then begs the question: given the importance of change management, why is it that so many organisations appear to invest too little time and resources into managing this area?
The need to manage change is seen by many members of organisations as an essential part of an organisation. Overall, HR professionals are even more aware of the need to manage change as it tends to form part of their job description. Given the accepted importance of change management I am always surprised to read and hear about organisations that fail to proactively address and account for change management processes when implementing or upgrading the HRIS in their organisations. As more and more academics, practitioners and consultants present information regarding HRIS projects, those of us who are interested in this area appear to be presented with one of two stories. The story of the successful HRIS (and I use that term loosely) or the story of the HRIS project that went terribly wrong. For the projects that experienced difficulties, a common theme is shared, that of the need to manage the associated change processes.
Even if your organisation purchases and implements 'best practice' HRIS software, your organisation should not expect to achieve the most value add from the system if they fail to inform and manage the changes to be experienced by the workforce. People that are involved in your organisation need to be aware that they will experience change, how and why. Without this education and communication it is believed that your HRIS project will be limited in its success. Many of you would agree with this approach and observation which then begs the question: given the importance of change management, why is it that so many organisations appear to invest too little time and resources into managing this area?
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