Susan Harkus

User-centred architecture
Engaging content & communications
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Supporting business change through emails & intranets

Supporting business change through emails & intranets

Once upon a time in Pennsylvania...

In the mid-nineties 'of the last century', I worked with a customer software development manager to define a tool-based methodology for rapid solution development.

Our customer had developed new software systems to support a restructure and re-alignment of their sales and marketing processes. In particular, the restructure affected the role and objectives of salesmen.

Prior to the restructure, the sales team was responsible for managing their client base and for developing quotations and specifications in response to product and service inquiries.

Post-restructure, the system handled the quotations and specifications, and the sales force was expected to develop business: broaden the product range that they were selling into their base, increase the volume of their base sales and develop new clients.

Adjusting to change - visualising through information

The new business systems brought change to the whole customer organisation but the changes had most impact on the sales team. Most of them failed to adjust to the changes and left the company.

Why?

Anticipating change in the software development life cycle

Today, the integration of system development and change planning is common practice. Not so for IT projects 10 years ago. This project team was ahead of its time. They planned for change from their first meeting, before a single business requirement was agreed.

• They drew project team representatives from each business function, from information technology to sales.
• They used 'business knowledge' to define the functional requirements of their new systems, as well as their new business processes.
• The made each project team member responsible for informing their functional group about the project AND the 'new way of doing business'.

The sales function was represented on the project team by the Sales Manager.

What influenced successful adjustment to change?

The Sales Manager did not believe that the business changes would work and failed to take clean, uncoloured information back to colleagues. He did not give them the opportunity to visualise what the new world would mean for them. Most had no time to make the personal adjustments needed.

With intranets and email...

Intranets and internal email communications give today's organisations a great opportunity to deliver quality information to staff. Unfortunately, the channels often fail to achieve their communication objectives because they push the organisation's perspective rather than speak to staff agendas.

It is very difficult to envisage how you will 'do your business' after the restructure or the new system implementation, if the only information you get is designed to market the planned changes.

Instead of being an opportunity seized, online information becomes an opportunity lost. And why, when the analysis of staff priorities, assumptions, fears and reservations provides the insights that you need to write empowering information.

Talk to me

If you are using online channels to distribute information about change, talk to me about how agenda and tipping point analysis can increase the effectiveness of information support for your change program.

Call me on 0439 734 231 or email me.