Supporting Finance Transformation Post Go-Live

In 2012 I created a series of posts around Finance Transformation Gone Wrong, and the ways that transformation leaders and teams can avoid those pitfalls.  Hopefully you've had a chance to incorporate that thinking into your own transformation efforts.  A serious error that I've seen in my years as a consultant is companies who fail to support the transformation program after the "go-live". That go-live could be an actual systems launch, or it could be a redesign of a company's organizational structure.  In any event, changes made during the transformation need to be reinforced post go-live in order for the changes to be firmly anchored in the company's culture.  With that in mind, here are some things to consider as you plan and execute a finance transformation program.

1. Keep the transformation team together for a defined period after go-live.  Too many times companies are eager to get the transformation team personnel back to their "regular" positions.  If the company was smart, they put some of their best people on the project, so the desire to redeploy these individuals is, in part, understandable.  However, dissolving the team prematurely puts all of the hard word at risk.  A "quick strike" team is needed to solve issues that inevitably crop up after a project launch.  Let your experience team be available to assist where needed and reinforce the reality and perception of a successful project.
2. Eliminate the "old way" of doing things.  Once an organization has crossed over the bridge to a new way of life, don't let people fall back into the old way of doing things.  This can range from exerting the organizational authority of a governance council to blocking access to old software applications.  If people are allowed to revert to past behaviors, some portion of people will do so.
3. Reinforce expected behaviors.  People need to be reminded of the new behaviors that are expected.  Any positions that changed materially as part of the transformation should have had updated role descriptions created.  The program leaders should be visible and vocal to ensure that people understand what is expected and how their performance is critical to the transformation initiative.
4. Promote the success of the transformation program.  During the transformation process, the metrics that define success should have been developed.  Post go-live is the time to start tracking the progress of the program and measuring that progress against the key metrics.  Most programs will meet or exceed some goals while requiring adjustment to achieve others.  This is to be expected.  Individuals in the organization should understand the success and opportunities of a newly implemented transformation program, and this requires transparency.  Yes, that can be a little scary at times, but it's required for people to understand how their new behaviors contribute to the program success.

Finance Transformation programs require a great deal of work and sacrifice.  It's critical that the momentum of a transformation program be maintained post go-live to ensure the full success of the program.

Finance Transformation Gone Wrong - Inadequate Change Management

Note: Today's post is part of an ongoing series that looks at various pitfalls in finance transformation and what can be done to avoid them.

All to often, a transformation effort focuses on the process and forgets about the humans.  This is particularly true when a transformation effort is accompanied by an ERP implementation or upgrade.  The engagement team is so focused on the successful go-live of the technology they forget that people are needed to make those processes work effectively.  The most successful engagements focus on not only the technology, but also the people.

My experience indicates that change mangement is an area that is often diminished in the planning and budgeting phase of a tranformation effort.  Typically, executives have sticker shock over the cost of a transformation engagement, particulary where this is a large technology component, that they start looking for ways to cut the budget.  And unfortunately, Change Management is typically one of those areas that gets cut first.

This is a mistake.  Without effective Change Management, the risk that a transformation initiative will fail to live up to expectations is high.  In any large transformation effort, a number of people both inside and outside of the organization will be impacted.  Without proper Change Management, these individuals either won't know how to modify their behavior or they won't care.  An effective Change Management program will clearly lay out the behavioral implications of transformation and provide the support mechanisms to understand required behavioral change and the tools to support that change.  This includes, at a minimum, effective communication and training plans.

When companies invest properly in Change Management, they achieve greater results from their transformation initiative and the required behavioral changes stay embedded in the organizational culture.  When this happens, true transformation occurs. 

Communicating Change for Shared Services

I was recently presenting a business case for Shared Services as part of a sales pursuit when I was asked a question: "When should we communicate the concept of Shared Services to our employees and that their job may be impacted?"

As in any communication, my response is to be truthful in your communication and give information to your employees early and often.  That doesn't mean you should tell your employees that you're thinking about moving to a Shared Services concept, or that you hired a consulting firm to complete an analysis of the prospect.  It does mean that you should communicate decisions after you have a clear vision and timetable for a move to Shared Services.  Employees will be understandably concerned about their jobs and they need to know what they can expect, even if it isn't pleasant.  It's not only the right thing to do, it makes good business sense.

I once worked for a client that refused to follow this advice.  They had made the decision to establish a pan-Asian Shared Service Center for their Finance processes.  We were hired to develop the future state vision, build out the Center, train the new employees and migrate the processes.  We were as far along as having the new employees shadow their respective counterparts in the soon-to-be-migrated countries and the company still had not made a formal announcement that they were moving the jobs to an SSC in another country. 

People are not stupid.  They know when senior management is being honest and when they're not.  Companies are better off when they communicate change early, often, and respectfully.  When they do so, the chances of successfully migrating processes to a Shared Service Center are greatly enhanced.