On Weds 26 February, we welcomed Denis Sop a Harvard-certified strategist in change and transformation. He discussed the critical role of change management in successful S/4HANA transformations. Below is a summary of the insights shared and practical advice based on Denis’s extensive experience in SAP implementations.
If you’d prefer to watch the recording, you can do that here.
Project Management vs. Change Management: A Balancing Act
Denis opened the discussion by answering the fundamental question, ‘Which is more important: project management or change management?’. Denis argued that both are essential but serve different purposes. Project management focuses on preparing the solution for the people, while change management focuses on preparing the people for the solution.
Denis used the analogy of a restaurant: you can build the best restaurant in the world, but if no one wants to dine there, it’s useless. Similarly, a technically perfect system implementation will fail if people don’t adopt it. He emphasised that people need to have an appetite for change.
Change Management: A Necessity, Not a Nicety
Denis emphatically stated that change management is a necessity. He argued that even with executive sponsorship and investment, transformations fail without effective change management. He highlights the importance of impacting people’s lives positively and building trust. Denis believes emotion and trust are the fuel that drives transformation. He stresses the importance of connecting with people’s hearts and minds and understanding their motivations for change.
How to Build Trust
Denis suggested proactively communicating with people through town halls and one-on-one meetings. This fosters a sense of involvement and ownership, minimising resistance. He also emphasised the importance of understanding individual motivations and creating a psychologically safe environment.
Common Barriers to Change and How to Overcome Them
Denis shared the most common barriers to change, including lack of alignment across departments, functional silos, lack of communication and lack of transparency. He suggestsed overcoming these barriers by:
- Creating a clear and compelling vision of the future state.
- Maintaining transparent communication.
- Engaging leaders and individuals as change champions.
- Leveraging personal and relational power networks.
Human Resistance to Change: Cognitive and Emotional Factors
Denis categorised the common reasons that humans resist change into cognitive (fixed ways of working) and emotional (insecurities about job security, etc.) factors. He suggested addressing these by ensuring people understand how the change will benefit them and giving them a voice in shaping the change. He introduced his framework for managing change: Awareness → Buy-in → Change → Embedment.
The Importance of Culture in Change Management
Is culture just an excuse for resistance? Denis asserted that culture is critical to the success or failure of change initiatives. He emphasised that change isn’t just about implementing new systems or processes; it’s about people – and people are shaped by culture. He recommended assessing the culture early on, understanding what behaviours are rewarded and addressing concerns about how the change will impact daily work. He also suggested leveraging cultural influencers and change champions within the organisation.
SAP Transformation: Business-Driven, Not IT-Led
Denis believes it should be business-driven, with SAP being used a tool to achieve business transformation goals. He warned that an IT-led focus risks creating a system that doesn’t meet business needs. He believes in aligning IT expertise with business strategy and ensuring the system empowers the organisation. Denis advocated for early stakeholder engagement, defining transformation goals beyond system implementation and prioritising process optimisation and user adoption.
As a reminder, if you want to watch the full recording of this session, you can do that here.
