The basic tenets of change management are human-centric. At its core, it revolves around preparing individuals, teams and organisations to adapt to change, minimising resistance and fostering acceptance. Whether the Change Manager follows Prosci’s ADKAR methodology, Lewin’s Change Model or Kattar’s Eight-Step Process, the emphasis is on people-oriented strategies.
This naturally implies that change management is inherently tech-agnostic. The frameworks are a scaffolding to manage transitions, whether they involve corporate restructuring, cultural shifts or the introduction of new software and workflows.
The focus remains on guiding people through the change journey, irrespective of what’s driving that journey.
Except…
Currently, one of the most common drivers of organisational change are digital transformation. Businesses implement advanced enterprise software, migrate to cloud-based platforms, adopt artificial intelligence and embrace big data analytics as part of their growth strategy.
Technology, in that case, is not just incidental but key to the change. The change manager needs to be able to speak “the language” when engaging the stakeholders and identifying their points, concerns, skills gaps and risks. Change professionals can then tailor strategies to the specific technology involved.
Are there challenges? Sure.
But these are by no means insurmountable challenges.
The earlier change is brought to the table, the less of a challenge it becomes.
The change practitioner needs to know the language. They don't need to know the nuts and bolts of the solution.
The opening stages of any half-way decent change journey involve the change practitioner working closely with the Project Manager (understanding the scope, timeline and critical milestones), the stakeholders (building personas and identifying pain points) and the sponsor (to understand the desired end state). Cross-functional collaboration (which should be baseline for any change exercise) is essential. The change practitioner should focus on simplified workflows and highlight the benefits of the new technology.
Ultimately, technology informs the way change management is carried out without altering its foundational principles. Advanced knowledge of the implemented technology is good, but the level of understanding required by a good change practitioner is easily obtained through early cross-functional collaboration.