Change Management

Resistance is a rational response to an ERP implementation ...

… even for the “A-Team.” Understanding why is the key to effective change management.

  • Autonomy is a fundamental psychological need. By nature, ERP systems diminish autonomy.
  • Competence is another psychological need, and ERP systems can turn someone who was an expert yesterday into a novice tomorrow.
  • The feeling that other people care about them is another basic psychological need (relatedness), and a careless ERP implementation can make people feel that the organization does not care about them.

Getting the right things right

ERP systems represent transformational change.

Everyone should know that change management involves communication and training. Post implementation surveys always cite this.  ADKAR, the de-facto standard framework for change management, is vastly better than not using a change management framwork.  But ADKAR has some significant shortcomings. 

Research for the Eight Pillars project revealed the need to significantly augment ADKAR to directly address the three basic psychological needs for intrinsic motivation above (autonomy, relatedness, and competence (ARC)), resulting in the ARC Motivational Framework for ERP Transformation.  ADKAR + ARC = Getting the Right Things Right.

Navigating Change Management

Elements of ADKAR:

  • Awareness
  • Desire
  • Knowledge
  • Ability
  • Reinforcement
Prosci is the organization that created the ADKAR model, and ADKAR is based on sound psychological principles. One of the issues highlighted with ADKAR is that the transition from A to D is a significant leap.
 
Anyone who has seen a motivational speaker, a sports movie, or has tried to accomplish something difficult knows the importance of desire.

I think of ADKAR this way:

Motivation

Surely the psychologists at Prosci understand the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (desire). ADKAR contributes to both, but understanding the difference between them is critical in the application (or misapplication) of ADKAR, and ADKAR does little to clarify this.

Extrinsic Motivation

Is the desire to do something because of an external reward (an incentive), or to avoid a punishment. 

Intrinsic Motivation

Is the desire to do something for its own sake because you find it enjoyable or fulfilling.

Importantly, Intrinsic motivation drives employee engagement, and extrinsic motivation can damage intrinsic motivation.

ERP Systems are Inertently Damaging to Intrinsic Motivation

Because it’s the key to unlocking employee engagement, let’s dig into intrinsic motivation a little more.  Arguably the leading, and most empirically supported theory of intrinsic motivation is Self-Determination Theory (SDT)  It’s a foundational theory that has shaped the field of motivation for decades.  Daniel Pink based his bestselling book “Drive” on Self-Determination Theory.

Think of intrinsic motivation as a fire. Self-Determination Theory identifies the three essential “nutrients” that fire needs to burn brightly. If any of them are missing, the fire of motivation will diminish or go out.  

I went back to school to get a degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology to understand why change management in ERP implementations is so hard. What I learned is that ERP implementations typically damage all three nutrients that feed the fire of intrinsic motivation:

Autonomy

  • Lack of Involvement
  • Standardization
  • Reduced Problem Solving
  • Decision-Making
  • Loss of Personal Tools
  • Increased Scrutiny

Competence

  • Turns Experts into Noivces
  • Drop in Productivity
  • Unforgiving Systems
  • Inadequate Training
  • Confusing Error Messages

Relatedness

  • "No One Cared to Ask Me"
  • Disrupted Social Connections
  • Focus on Data, Not People
  • "Super Users" vs. "End Users"
  • IT vs Business
  • Generational Divides

The Good News ...

… is that once we know the issues, we can address them.

Engagement is the Goal

Extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation is the difference between compliance (the minimum), and engagement. The stakes are high, and there is a vast difference.

Engagement is the holy grail of worker motivation. 

 

Compliance

Engagement

The “Why”

“I have to”

“I want to”

Motivation

External
(reward & punishment)

Internal
(pursues purpose)

Focus

Rules and policies

Goals and mission

Results

Meets standards

Exceeds standards

Outcome

Stability

Growth, innovation, higher productivity

The ARC Framework for ERP Change

This motivational gap is addressed with my proprietary ARC Framework for ERP Change, a strategic extension to ADKAR grounded in the science of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the motivational theory behind the New York Times #1 Bestseller “Drive: the Surprising Truth Behind What Motivates People” 

The ARC framework is built on the principle that genuine engagement comes from satisfying the three universal psychological needs that drive all human motivation:

  • Autonomy: The need to feel a sense of choice and control.
  • Relatedness: The need to feel connected to others and a sense of belonging.
  • Competence: The need to feel effective and masterful in one’s work.

ADKAR + ARC

By blending ADKAR with ARC strategies, change management is transformed from a top-down mandate into a human-centric practice. It goes beyond managing change; building the conditions for your team to embrace the change.

Objective

Hidden Threat

ARC Enhanced Strategy

Communicate the need for change.

Relatedness
Communication feels top-down and impersonal, fostering an “us vs. them” mentality between the project team and end-users.

Build Relatedness
Frame the change around a shared challenge. Utilize respected peers and direct supervisors for communications and establish authentic, two-way dialogue forums to build trust from the outset.

Objective

Hidden Threat

ARC Enhanced Strategy

Foster the personal choice to support the change.

Autonomy, Relatedness & Competence
The change is perceived as being “done to” employees (loss of control), it disrupts teams, and it makes experienced employees feel like incompetent novices.

Continuous, Intentional ARC Diligence
Give employees a tangible sense of control over their domain (Autonomy), build a supportive community through champion networks (Relatedness), and provide early, low-stakes mastery experiences to build confidence (Competence).

Objective

Hidden Threat

ARC Enhanced Strategy

Provide training on how to change.

Competence
Information overload from generic training leads to cognitive fatigue and a feeling of being overwhelmed, not empowered.

Meaningful Competence
Create psychological safety. Provide role-based, just-in-time training. Explain the “why” behind new processes to foster understanding, not just rote memorization. Prioritize hands-on learning and simulations. Continued training and proactive support after go-live

Objective

Hidden Threat

ARC Enhanced Strategy

Ensure individuals can implement the change.

Competence & Autonomy
The gap between theory and practice creates high anxiety. Rigid new processes prevent employees from using their expertise to solve novel problems.

Foster Mastery and Ownership
Create safe “sandbox” environments for risk-free practice. Implement peer-mentoring programs (Relatedness). Establish feedback channels for users to suggest process improvements, giving them ownership (Autonomy).

Objective

Hidden Threat

ARC Enhanced Strategy

Make the change stick.

Autonomy
Reinforcement based solely on compliance monitoring and extrinsic rewards can feel controlling and diminish intrinsic motivation.

Reinforce through Intrinsic Satisfaction: Publicly recognize and celebrate adoption (Competence), collaborative wins (Relatedness), and stories of how the new system creates organizational impact (Autonomy).

The ARC Advantage: From Compliance to Engagement

The integrated ARC-ADKAR approach turns a major risk, user resistance, int. The result is a set of tangible business outcomes:

  • Increased User Adoption: Engaged employees use the system more effectively and consistently, unlocking its full potential.
  • Accelerated ROI: High adoption and proficiency mean you realize the promised business benefits faster.
  • Reduced Employee Turnover: Supporting your team’s psychological needs reduces burnout and retains critical talent.
  • A Change-Ready Culture: We build your organization’s “change muscle,” creating a more resilient and adaptive culture for future challenges.

The Taxonomy of Change Management Success

Getting Change Management right requires getting a hierarchy of things right.  Explore the taxonomy of Change Management critical success factors below.  Click the grey + to reveal more detail.

  • Change Management
    • Strategic Alignment & Leadership
      • Leadership Commitment & Vision
        • Executive Sponsorship
        • Defined "Why"
        • Modeling Behaviors and Commitment
      • Integrating OCM into Business Strategy
        • Framing ERP as a Business Transformation
        • Prioritizing & Resourcing OCM from the Outset
        • Communicating Success Criteria
    • Organizational Readiness
      • Cultural & Behavioral Assessment
        • Assessing Cultural Readiness
        • Managing the Human-Centric Shift
      • Operating Model & Process Alignment
        • Redesigning Business Processes (BPR)
        • Aligning Roles, Responsibilities & Performance Metrics
    • Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
      • Strategic Communication
        • Comprehensive Communication Plan
        • Consistent, Multi- Channel Messaging
        • What's In it For Me (WIIFM) Communication
      • Stakeholder & User Participation
        • Early & Continuous User Involvement
        • Feedback Mechanisms
        • Empowering Users to Influence Outcomes
    • Workforce Enablement & Support
      • Training Strategy & Design
        • Developing a Comprehensive, Resourced Training Plan
        • Role-Based & Process Oriented Curriculum
        • Blended Learning Approach
      • Training Delivery & Execution
        • Providing Hands-On, "Just-in-Time" Training
        • Real-World Scenarios & Data
        • "Train-the-Trainer"
      • Post-Go-Live Support
        • Post-Go-Live Support Plan
        • Continuous Training & Capability Building
        • Accessible Support Resources
    • Adoption, Behavior & Resistance Management
      • Understanding & Managing Attitudes
        • Proactively Managing Employee Attitudes & Concerns
        • Focus on User Experience
      • Driving Adoption & Behavior Change
        • Behavior Change Beyond Communication
        • Behavioral Science & Social Influence
      • Proactive Resistance Management
        • Anticipating & Mitigating Resistance
        • Addressing Root Causes with Empathy
        • Preventing & Managing Workarounds
    • OCM Governance & Execution
      • OCM Structure & Methodology
        • Structured Change Management Methodology
        • Building a Skilled, Cross-Functional OCM Team
        • Change Champion Network
      • OCM Measurement & Analytics
        • Defining & Tracking Metrics
        • Using Data to Tailor Interventions
        • Measuring Training Effectiveness & Employee Satisfaction

Change Management in the Project Lifecycle

An overview of activities for Change Management success, by phase, from the beginning of the project. Click any of the phase buttons below for a summary.

Compliance

Engagement

The “Why”

“I have to”

“I want to”

Motivation

External
(reward & punishment)

Internal
(pursues purpose)

Focus

Rules and policies

Goals and mission

Results

Meets standards

Exceeds standards

Behavior

Follows instructions

Take initiative & innovates

Outcome

Stability

Growth, innovation, higher productivity