CHALLENGES
As a nonprofit provider of medical and dental plans for federal employees, this large Midwestern organization was always on the lookout for ways to improve efficiencies among its 1,400 employees. The newly appointed leader of the PMO chose to redesign the organization’s intake process for IT projects—implementing a solution that allowed for cross-functional decision-making to prioritize those ideas that could bring the highest value to the company.
The previous process was not only time-consuming but also required the involvement of senior leaders for review approval (and often didn’t produce a meaningful outcome or value). The EPMO leader recognized the need for change management at the beginning of this implementation to help all employees understand the “why” behind the change and how it would benefit the organization overall.
SOLUTIONS
The company contacted Veracity to develop a change management methodology—a plan to not only introduce and educate employees on the new process but also provide a road map for continual communication over time.
The Veracity team worked with the EPMO leader to identify the true purpose of the change, as well as a plan for reaching everyone in the organization with a clear message. The plan was communicated through a variety of vehicles, including email, intranet, town hall sessions, and more. By explaining the larger purpose and business value for the change, the team found any initial resistance was quickly overcome as employees embraced the new process—even in spite of the challenge of communicating virtually instead of face-to-face due to pandemic restrictions.
RESULTS
By staying focused on the clarity of the message – and repeating it many times through a variety of communication channels – the team was able to overcome the virtual challenges and gain buy-in from the employee base.
The change management methodology helped everyone understand the benefits while democratizing the process to allow all employees an opportunity to contribute potentially valuable ideas for consideration. The team found that employees were widely accepting of the change when they could see that projects were being chosen fairly.
And as the new process was being implemented, employees were able to contribute feedback, allowing them to feel even more invested in the new method.
To conclude the effort, the EPMO team was provided with training and tools to continue the change management process for ongoing project work. The EPMO leader praised not only the ease of the engagement but also the effectiveness of the new process, which allowed projects to be approved much more quickly. And many of those who originally opposed the new process voiced their strong support for the solution after working with the Veracity team.
Moving forward, Veracity still conducts regular check-ins with the PMO to see how the process is going and to assist with any questions about ongoing communication.
