ERP Implementation Partner for Europe’s Largest Dynamics Rollout
Project Overview
A market leading housing association had been working towards implementing the largest Microsoft Dynamics rollout in Europe. This was a major ERP programme that had been running for many years with a number of delayed go-live dates.
Afiniti were engaged as their ERP implementation partner to support the change management of the programme. A discovery phase conducted by Afiniti uncovered issues such as fatigue, stalled momentum, disengagement of line managers, lack of support from directors and lack of process acceptance, revealing that the vast majority of challenges impacting the programme were people-centric.
Working in collaboration with the client team, Afiniti supported a number of programme change management activities to effectively prepare and equip people of all levels of the business for the change, restore confidence, drive excitement for the programme and put the business in the optimum position for a successful rollout.
Our Solution
As the client’s ERP implementation partner, we:
- Designed a creative and engaging learning campaign that could ‘Bring Learning to Life’. This included a comprehensive learning plan, as well as the design and development of a range of learning activities that could complement classroom training including ‘Day in the Life’ and ‘Immersion’ sessions.
- Created a people-focused strategic business and engagement plan, which included change management and communications interventions needed to educate and support people of all levels and ensure a successful rollout.
- Supported internal comms by leading the identification, analysis and validation of third-party stakeholders that could then be factored into their external comms plan. This ensured that all those affected received the right information and felt supported throughout the change process.
- Developed a range of engagement collateral to support line managers and colleagues during the rollout process, including a SharePoint page that clearly outlined what’s changing for them and their teams in a clear and succinct way, as well as milestones, key dates and supporting material.
- Produced visually appealing and informative infographics that demonstrated the progress and complexity of the project in a way that could be easily understood and digested by the wider business.
The Differences We Made
“From the boardroom to the front line, the Afiniti team have made a real difference in our overall success.”
– Head of Change
- Informed Business Readiness: We built an integrated plan of the core change initiatives required to support the programme being a success and developed a range of reporting dashboards and trackers that allowed the team to have visibility of business readiness and change planning.
- Senior Advocacy: Key stakeholders and leaders understood the importance of the change and were prepared and equipped with the knowledge and skills to support both their teams and the project team.
- Confident and capable colleagues: Created an array of engagement and learning materials that provided structure and consistency.
- In summary, by acting as ERP implementation partner we provided clarity on the direction and next steps needed for a successful system rollout. We ensured our client overcame the obstacles created by lack of early engagement such that they achieved the desired business outcomes – improving governance, efficiency and reducing overall costs.
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