Implementing a Change Management Framework: driving digital adoption for a global quantity surveying firm

The situation

Bridging the digital divide

A global firm specialising in quantity surveying and cost management services stood poised for digital transformation. However, a significant disconnect hindered their progress: digital innovations weren’t effectively integrated into daily operations. This gap resulted in underutilisation of their proprietary digital tool, leading to suboptimal ROI and missed opportunities for efficiency gains. Many employees were unsure how the new tool would make their daily tasks easier or contribute to their professional development, leading to reluctance to adopt it fully. Imagine teams struggling with outdated workflows, frustrated by a tool that promised much but delivered little, and leadership unable to leverage the full potential of their digital investment. The firm’s ambition extended beyond simply increasing adoption and improving the perception of this tool. They envisioned laying a robust foundation for future digital tools, nurturing a culture of collaboration and shared purpose between their Operations and Digital teams.

The challenge

Recognising the critical need to adapt to the evolving digital landscape, the organisation’s leadership identified several interconnected challenges that were blocking them from achieving key business objectives and impeding their digital transformation journey.

Maximising digital investment

A critical digital tool, designed to drive cost savings and efficiency, was significantly underutilised. Employees didn’t fully grasp how this tool would directly benefit their daily tasks and professional growth. This underutilisation stemmed from poor optimisation for the end-user experience, leading to employee resistance and a failure to realise the tool’s intended benefits. Teams were resorting to inefficient workarounds, hindering productivity and diminishing the return on the company’s digital investment. Underlying this resistance were concerns about the learning curve associated with the new tool and potential disruptions to established workflows.

Scaling digital success

The company’s ambitious digital transformation roadmap involved the adoption of multiple internal tools. However, the absence of a robust change management framework posed a significant risk. Without a structured approach to manage the adoption of these tools effectively, the company faced potential disruptions, low user adoption rates, and a failure to achieve the desired efficiency gains and return on investment.

Fostering collaboration and innovation

A lack of collaboration and transparency between the Digital and Operations teams was creating a significant bottleneck. This disconnect hindered progress, stifled innovation, and negatively impacted the company’s ability to respond quickly to market demands and maintain its competitive edge. The resulting silos prevented effective communication, impeded knowledge sharing, and limited the company’s ability to leverage the full potential of its digital capabilities.

The process

Cprime Elabor8 recognised the need for a tailored approach, understanding that a deep dive into the client’s context was essential for success.

Uncovering the root causes

Through extensive engagement, including over 20 interviews spanning all business units, seniority levels, and sentiment, we gathered diverse perspectives on the tool and the company’s digital transformation strategy. Coupled with a thorough analysis of existing collateral, this process allowed us to identify key themes, observations, and expert recommendations. These insights were then synthesised and presented to leadership, fostering alignment and buy-in.

Shifting focus for sustainable change

The discovery phase revealed a critical insight: the specific changes needed for the tool were not clearly defined. The client recognised the need for change but lacked a standardised approach for implementing it effectively. We shifted our focus from immediate change rollout to ensuring the client was fully prepared for future changes. This involved establishing change groups and backlogs, aligning on a clear vision (our North Star), and defining measurable success criteria.

Crafting a bespoke Change Management Framework

We designed a tailored change management framework and future tools and changes, based on principles from ADKAR, Kotter, and Lean Change. Dedicated change groups were established, and we initiated a comprehensive suite of change management activities, including the development of strategic change canvases, crafting vision statements, defining success metrics, and conducting impact maps and stakeholder assessments.

Our approach involved a deep understanding of the unique needs and perspectives of different employee groups, gathered through our interviews. This understanding was crucial in tailoring the change management framework and communication strategies for maximum effectiveness across the organisation. For instance, we recognised that more senior stakeholders often have limited time, so we designed the framework to be more streamlined, relying on asynchronous work and tightly facilitated sessions to suit their schedules. Additionally, our communication approach was adapted based on the impacted audience size. For smaller groups, we prioritised direct, individual discussions, while for larger audiences, we utilised group settings to ensure efficient and consistent information sharing.

Empowering internal champions for lasting impact

Our next steps focused on creating a comprehensive change strategy and communication plan to build awareness and generate excitement. We empowered internal change champions to oversee the success metrics, establishing an end-to-end workflow map with feedback loops to ensure employee feedback was valued and acted upon. A tool-specific change backlog was also developed and prioritised to systematically address bugs and implement improvements.

The solution

Cprime Elabor8’s approach focused on empowering the client to drive change effectively, fostering adoption, and building a sustainable foundation for future digital initiatives.

• Addressing resistance, and building enthusiasm: We tackled the immediate tool challenge by developing compelling “What’s In It For Me?” (WIIFM) statements, clearly articulating the benefits of using the tool to employees. This approach, combined with insights from our analysis, informed the prioritisation of the change backlog and the creation of a comprehensive communication plan. We facilitated a full spectrum of change activities (vision creation, impact mapping, stakeholder assessments, gap analysis), fostering awareness and excitement about the upcoming changes. Change champions were empowered through co-development and ownership of key success metrics, and we established an effective feedback loop, ensuring employees felt heard, valued, and informed about the outcomes of their contributions. Along with the newly created and prioritised backlog, the change group was equipped to manage change as the tool was updated and new features were implemented.
• Creating a modular Change Management toolbox: Recognising the need for a flexible yet structured approach to manage the adoption of various tools, we developed a modular change management toolbox, custom-built for the client. This toolbox contained all the essential elements of change management, such as strategic change canvases, impact maps, stakeholder assessments, communication and training plans, and gap analysis. The framework centred around three key elements: a change group for each initiative, a living strategic change canvas for high-level change details, and a single source-of-truth change backlog. This approach ensured ownership, accountability, and direction for each change, fostering transparency and openness across the organisation. Along with the initial tool, we repeated the change management process using this toolbox, spinning up a new change team and establishing a change backlog and priorities alongside the Head of Digital Transformation around implementing their new corporate strategy.
• Bridging the divide, fostering collaboration: To address the challenge of disconnected Digital and Operations teams, we focused on two guiding principles: co-operability and transparency. We ensured that changes were collaborative, with members from both Digital and Operations involved in the change groups. We also made all work visible to both sides, involving them in prioritisation efforts and creating transparency around delivery timelines.

The Results

By the end of the engagement, our client was perfectly poised to implement their desired changes and drive significant business impact.

They possessed all the necessary artifacts and guidance to implement changes effectively and manage the change process, ensuring increased adoption, usage, and positive sentiment towards the initial tool and all future changes. The firm was now equipped to handle all future changes with expertise and efficiency. This newfound efficiency stems from the modular change management toolbox, which allows them to leverage the same strategic framework repeatedly, significantly reducing the effort previously required to create new change management strategies for each initiative. The implementation of more structured and inclusive communication strategies directly contributed to improved employee satisfaction, as team members felt more informed and involved throughout the change process. The potential for skill development exists as teams become more proficient with the framework. The new corporate strategy was aligned for success, promising greater staff engagement and operational efficiency. We established a robust feedback system between Ops and Digital, enhancing collaboration and increasing visibility of work, leading to improved planning and resource allocation. Importantly, Cprime Elabor8 empowered the client by training key personnel and implementing a tailored Change Management Framework, ready to be deployed across all future changes. This ensures effective change management, consideration and communication for impacted employees, tools, and processes, and the introduction of changes in the most sustainable way possible.

Final thoughts

Reflecting on our engagement, the importance of a structured change management process, clear communication pathways, and alignment between all stakeholders has been underscored. The client, on the cusp of significant change, is now better positioned to mitigate the risks associated with change fatigue and low buy-in, ensuring a smoother transition in their digital transformation journey and building a foundation for future success.

Change is inevitable, but success is intentional. Contact us today to learn how we can help you navigate change with confidence.

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