RealDolmen : Why Training, User Adoption and Change Management will make your change a success

What is training?

Clearly, training employees is nothing new. In most organizations, this aspect is included in the plans and budgets for a change project. The purpose of training is to efficiently provide employees with the knowledge and skills they need to feel at home in their new situation and to perform to the best of their ability.

The Realdolmen Education Center specializes in providing standard training courses (in open agenda or upon request) and setting up and implementing large-scale (customized) training programs.

In the ADKAR model, training corresponds to the Knowledge phase. This means that it is only the third part of the process. komt in het ADKAR-model overeen met de 'Knowledge'-fase.

What is User Adoption?

It should not simply be assumed that users will be able to work effectively with a new application immediately after they have completed their training. Learning a new way of working from start to finish often involves a process comprising a number of different steps and iterations.

To steer this process in the right direction, Realdolmen has produced a User Adoption Framework based on Michael Sampson's User Adoption Strategies. Our User Adoption specialists devise the right approach in consultation with the client and then implement the project.

User Adoption consists of four different steps, each step comprising a number of sub-components that can be combined according to project type, target audience, scope, corporate culture, etc.

• Winning attention - How can we ensure that end users are aware of the planned change? How can we demonstrate the importance of it for their work situation?
• Cultivating basic concepts - How can we ensure that end users are familiar with the basic functions of the new solution? How do end users learn how to use the new solution?
• Enlivening applicability - How does the new way of working apply to the specific situation of an individual or team? How will end users work within the framework of the new solution?
• Making it real - In the last phase, we ensure that the old way of working is genuinely left behind. All data has been migrated, the manner in which the team/individual will work has been defined, and so on.

In the ADKAR model, User Adoption focuses primarily on the Knowledge and Ability phases. Evidently, the first step of the User Adoption Framework (winning attention) is aligned with the Awareness phase, but on no account does it replace the first two phases.

What is Change Management?

Any change requires a willingness to change on the part of the organization, the management and the employees.
The actions required to move from the current situation to a new situation must be aligned with the organization and its culture, the employees, the agreed timing, the historical context, the potential resistance and the intended result.

Change Management involves far more than simply helping employees use a new procedure or application as efficiently as possible. Change Management is more than simply making sure to communicate in the event of a crisis. It involves managing a change from the emergence of the issue (or the reason for the change) until long after the solution to the problem has been rolled out. This requires clear plans and initiatives with regard to:

• Training
• Coaching for all roles involved
• Avoiding and managing resistance
• Visible sponsorship
• Effective communication
  

Realdolmen uses the Prosci ADKAR model as a basis for its Change Management methodology. Unlike Training and User Adoption, this approach focuses on all five phases of the ADKAR model.

A fundamental difference in approach

This positioning of Training, User Adoption and Change Management means that the approach and/or choice around the appropriate initiatives will be fundamentally different for each situation.

To clarify this, the overview below compares these three aspects at a number of crucial levels:

Do I need Training, User Adoption or Change Management?

The right mix and proportion of the three components for your organization and the change that you are planning will depend on a number of different factors, including:

• Which initiatives and actions have already been implemented, are in progress or are planned?
• What progress has the project (implementation) already made?
• What expertise is currently present in your organization?
• Who is ultimately responsible for the long-term success of the project?
• What is the definition of project success?
• …
  

It is up to the providers of these services to help you make the right choice.

Johan De Rop, Enterprise Architect & Change Manager

Johan Roosen, Senior CRM and Change management consultant