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Shane-Kerry-Sanja---The-Art-and-Science-of-Change-in-SAP-Implementations-libre

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Shane Hodgson
Shane Hodgson

This document contains confidential slides from presentations on managing change and user adoption during SAP implementations. It discusses lessons learned from implementations in North America, Central/Eastern Europe, and Africa. Some key points include the importance of executive support, using narrative and storytelling to facilitate change, training executives on new concepts, avoiding technical jargon, ensuring leadership commitment, and building internal capacity rather than relying on external consultants. The document emphasizes that change management is as much an art as a science and recommends tailored approaches for different regions.

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CONFIDENTIAL CC Thomas Hawk http://www flickr com/photos/thomashawk/6214329968/ The Art and Science of Change in SAP Implementations: Lessons from 3 Continents ACMP November 2011 Kerry Brown VP Enablement SAP North America Sanja Kopajtic Sr Business Transformation Consultant SAP Central and Eastern Europe Dr Shane Hodgson Business Transformation Principal SAP South Africa
CONFIDENTIAL Managing Change and User Adoption: Lessons from North America Kerry Brown VP Enablement SAP Education NA Confidential
In-memory Speed
Mobile Reach In-memory Speed
People Collaboration Mobile Reach In-memory Speed
Did you know? The number of mobile workers is growing faster than the overall workforce! 1 Trillion connected intelligent devices worldwide" 5 Billion mobile phone subscribers; 7 in 10 adults worldwide" Source 1: Remote Worker Communications Applications Services, Worldwide 2008 Source 2: Marcia Conner, Bricol¡¯eau ! Source 3: Jim Snabe, SAP 4.5 Billion devices connected through SAP technology (that¡¯s 90% of world devices)3
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 7Confidential Initial user support Installation, realization, and innovation More change to business process and attrition Change to Business process Expert Functional Version upgrade Substandard Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Source: U.S. Department of Labor Live operation Note: Attrition rates are generally higher for submanagerial positions
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 8Confidential The SAP Marriage Training budgets are based upon pre-SAP cycles Training budgets seldom include repeat or continuous training Day 1: The End of the Beginning 1-3 Years Planning View: The SAP Wedding 20-25 Years Client Reality: The SAP Marriage Investment Scope Planning Design Configuration Migration Training/ Readiness Planning Design Configuration Migration Training/ Readiness Run, Enhance, Extend Courtesy: Michael Doane & Associates
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 9Confidential Top Issues Organizations Face During Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Source: Benchmarking Partners (Based on a study of 62 companies that have gone live with an ERP system) Note: Rounded percentages; not all categories are shown as bars Issues/ObstaclesUntilNow People 62%!! Process 16% Technology 9% Knowledge assets 3% People = driver for ROI and success
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 10Confidential Adapted from Remy S.Leeuwin, ¡°Organizational Change¡± User adoption = key to business value
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 11Confidential Learning in the moment All learning is social . . . The exchange of ideas between people equals learning . . . which is . . . intrinsically social "! Social learning is participating with others to make sense of new ideas "! Social media is technology used to engage three or more people "! Social learning is an opportunity to capture the knowledge of employees not being shared "! SAP software empowers people and learners to work together and perform more efficiently to drive performance
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 12Confidential Documentation and collaboration (SAP Productivity Pak) Successful change: user adoption and collaboration Customers of SAP software leverage select tools to accelerate user adoption and performance: "! Introduction: user adoption and integrated gaming (SAP ERP Simulation by Baton Simulations) "! Documentation: authoring and user performance support (SAP Productivity Pak application by ANCILE) "! Acceleration: tool sets to accelerate enablement (SAP Knowledge Acceleration software and e-learning) "! Validation: User performance monitoring (SAP User Experience Management application (SAP UEM) by Knoa) "! Collaboration: SAP StreamWork application Gaming and user adoption (SAP ERP Simulation) Streamwork
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 13Confidential Incorporate innovation to drive user performance !"#$%&##'()*+&##',"%+-*%#' .%&'/)$0&)' 1&2('/&#3' 4&+5'#"((*)6' !"#$%&##'#673&5*2/&)#'7%/'()*+&##'*8%&)#' 9"(&)'"#&)' :*%$6*)$%;' :&%6*)$%;' <$#6&%$%;' =&(*)-%;' =&>%$%;' <$#6&%$%;' ?&&)@6*@(&&)'#"((*)6' A*%-%"*"#' 6)7$%$%;' .);7%$B7-*%72'+57%;&'C7%7;&C&%6' !"#$%&##'()*+&##'$C()*0&C&%6#' Enablement Courtesy:MichaelDoane&Assoc
CONFIDENTIAL The Culture of the Goose! Confidential
CONFIDENTIAL Managing Change and User Adoption: Lessons from Central/Eastern Europe Sanja Kopajti# Business Transformation SAP Central and Eastern Europe Confidential
CONFIDENTIAL The Science & Art of Change Management in CEE Sanja Kopajti# Business Transformation SAP Central and Eastern Europe Confidential
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 17Confidential Includes methodologies, approaches, tools and templates. Provides structure and frame. The Science of Change Management
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 18Confidential SAP?s Systematic Approach to Organizational Change Management (OCM) OCM Setup & Governance Change Monitoring Performance Management Communication Management Training & Enablement Stakeholder Management Organizational Alignment OCM framework for SAP implementation projects MeasuresSetup ControllingAnalysis
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 19Confidential It is the ¡°way¡± each organization adopts changes ¨C ¡°beauty is in the eyes of the beholder¡±. Change becomes the feeling exulted by the poetic metaphors ¨C the ¡° meaning between the lines¡±. The Art of Change Management
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 20Confidential The Role of CM in CEE organizations TThhee rroollee ooff aa ppssyycchhooaannaallyysstt:: hheellppiinngg cclliieennttss ttoo ccooppee wwiitthh cchhaannggee..
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 21Confidential Set up and Governance TTeeaamm bbuuiillddiinngg:: RRiittuuaallss TTrraaddiittiioonnss CCoommmmoonn ccuussttoommss HHaabbiittss......
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 22Confidential Stakeholders Make people appreciate the ¡°other¡± point of view!
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 23Confidential Communication It is not about ¡°what we say¡± but ¡°how we say it¡±...It is important to ensure that the receiver not only has received the message, but has also understood it.
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 24Confidential Change Monitoring: Make Change Stick!
CONFIDENTIAL Managing Change and User Adoption: Lessons from Africa Dr Shane Hodgson Business Transformation SAP South Africa Confidential
One reason for continued project failure is the notion of management. We talk of ¡°change¡± or ¡°knowledge¡± as though we can ¡®manage¡¯ it. We can accompany change and promote knowledge, but to suggest change and knowledge management is presumptuous ¡° (Gunson and De Blassis, 2002)
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 27Confidential 5 Key Components of Change Programmes in Africa 1.! Use Narrative and Mythology 2.! Start with Executive Education 3.! Don¡¯t over-complicate or speak SAPpinese 4.! Sponsorship can¡¯t be delegated 5.! Build Capacity as a policy not a side-effect
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 28Confidential Use Narrative and Mythology Proponents of This Approach #!Storytelling ¨C creating shared meaning to mitigate impact of different viewpoints on an ERP project (MacLeod and Davidson, 2007) #!Use of Narrative ¨C (Hedman and Borell, 2004) ¨C different kinds of stories are needed. For example: (1) Chartering stories are aimed at selecting and funding an enterprise system. These stories can can be used to promote a certain system or the opposite. Stories about the benefits of ERP systems can promote the idea. Furthermore, stories can be used to obtain the commitment of top management. (2) Project stories are aimed at supporting the configuration and implementation of the system. The role of mentors (super users) and stories in knowledge transfer is important - also these stories should have two target groups. One group is the consultants, who actually carry out the implementation. The other group is the users, who require different types of stories. User stories should include and convey the meaning and role of the system by addressing questions such as what problems we are solving, why we selected this solution, how the system works and what role the user plays in this.
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 29Confidential Narrative and Mythology (2) (3) Shakedown stories are crucial, since these are at the beginning of use and often associated with productivity dips, which can be overcome through extensive training. The aim of these stories is to overcome problems and issues associated with learning and using a new technology. (4) Onward and upward stories are aimed at obtaining payback by improving the use. These stories will continue to grow and be disseminated until the enterprise system has been replaced by a different system. Stories are probably even used in the replacement of ERP systems, e.g. all the Y2K horror stories used in the replacement of legacy systems by ERP systems.
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 30Confidential Narrative and Mythology (3) #!Mythmaking ¨C using narrative around ERP selection and implementation to reconstitute company values; (Alvarez, 2002) #!Story Listening ¨C (Sole, 2002 in Tobin, 2007) - monitor the reception, use the feedback for design and content of future stories #!Learning Histories (Roth and Kleiner), as used in software development (da Silva 2003;2004) ¨C use the technique to capture the campfire tales of the project and use this to provide a foundation for constructing stories and interventions. #!Lekgotla ¨C Diwaniya ¨C Imbizo - Town Hall Meeting Include informal leaders / use social network analysis to determine these and to back up stakeholder mapping
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 31Confidential Start With Executive Education Welch and Kordysh (2007) highlight executive alignment as key for ERP implementations; this however needs to be preceded by a targeted programme of educating the executives in concepts such as "! How an integrated ERP is different from traditional systems "! Key differences between functional and process-based organisations, and the concepts of end-to-end process and of process ownership "! The organisational impact of moving to an integrated system ¨C flattened hierarchies and busted silos; altered authorities and delegations; real-time visibility of company performance and more "! How to extract value from the ERP system ¨C learning to play "! How to encourage user adoption "! How to retain and improve ERP and process knowledge Workshops, site visits, focus groups, simulation games, video material, webcasts and one-on-one sessions are all useful techniques for this.
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 32Confidential Don¡¯t Over-complicate and speak SAPpinese SAP implementations are complex, and involve lots of new concepts and corresponding new language; all too often the project team members quickly adopt or even parrot technical terms and phrases learned from the consultants, and a culture of ¡°Emperor¡¯s new clothes¡± develops where nobody wants to show ignorance. This can seriously obscure some important building blocks of major ERP implementations, such as ensuring the scope is clearly defined and understood; the organisational architecture has been considered and the true impact of the programme is being anticipated and planned for. ¡°You see, the modern zombie is a cube-dweller that visits your workplace to work on your SAP HR implementation.! They use urban camouflage to blend in with their surroundings ¨C jackets and blue ties, button downs and pinstripe pants.! They have learned to mimic our speech patterns by parroting technical jargon, but if you listen closely, they don¡¯t actually SAY anything¡± (from http://aspireopenmic.com/2011/05/31/the-zombie-apocalypse-has-begun/ thanks to Joe Hillesheim)
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 33Confidential Sponsorship can¡¯t be delegated A key problem of implementations in Africa is the absentee sponsor ¨C very often the senior executive charged with the role hands off to a more technically-savvy subordinate which can effectively delay decision making and cripple the project. ¡°No leader should ask employees to demonstrate the courage to face a suddenly changed, newly outlined future without having the courage to face those same employees directly: (Dan Hill, 2009). ¡°Research shows that three key social enablers¡ªstrong and committed leadership, open and honest communication, and a balanced and empowered implementation team are necessary conditions/precursors for successful enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. In a longitudinal positivist case study, we find that, while all three enablers may contribute to ERP implementation success, only strong and committed leadership can be empirically established as a necessary condition¡± (Sarker and Lee, 2003). Consider splitting the sponsor role into venturing and sustaining (as done by Mutual of Omaha)
?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 34Confidential Build Capacity as a policy not a side-effect This requires a deliberate transfer of knowledge, embedding skills in the organisation for upgrades, extensions and further implementations as well as for continuous improvement. Effective SAP knowledge transfer requires the ability to make the complex seem simple and has the end result of allowing the target company to achieve operational independence http://www.r3now.com/a-cautionary-tale-about-sap-knowledge-transfer instead of a state of perpetual vendor dependence. In Africa, SAP experience can multiply one¡¯s market value so dramatically that a very common occurrence at the end of implementations is an exodus of all SAP knowledge and talent as the newly-minted SAP project team leave the building. None of them want to go back to their day jobs and, more importantly, salaries. Consider the use of Centres of Excellence, Centres of Competence and Communities of Practice to give your talent a life after Go-Live, to institutionalise new knowledge and to be custodians of process improvement. Also the OCM Team is responsible for the development and well-being of the SAP Project team, including building their capacity, resilience and flexibility. Make sure that this is done.
CONFIDENTIAL Thank You! Confidential

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Shane-Kerry-Sanja---The-Art-and-Science-of-Change-in-SAP-Implementations-libre

  • 1. CONFIDENTIAL CC Thomas Hawk http://www flickr com/photos/thomashawk/6214329968/ The Art and Science of Change in SAP Implementations: Lessons from 3 Continents ACMP November 2011 Kerry Brown VP Enablement SAP North America Sanja Kopajtic Sr Business Transformation Consultant SAP Central and Eastern Europe Dr Shane Hodgson Business Transformation Principal SAP South Africa
  • 2. CONFIDENTIAL Managing Change and User Adoption: Lessons from North America Kerry Brown VP Enablement SAP Education NA Confidential
  • 6. Did you know? The number of mobile workers is growing faster than the overall workforce! 1 Trillion connected intelligent devices worldwide" 5 Billion mobile phone subscribers; 7 in 10 adults worldwide" Source 1: Remote Worker Communications Applications Services, Worldwide 2008 Source 2: Marcia Conner, Bricol¡¯eau ! Source 3: Jim Snabe, SAP 4.5 Billion devices connected through SAP technology (that¡¯s 90% of world devices)3
  • 7. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 7Confidential Initial user support Installation, realization, and innovation More change to business process and attrition Change to Business process Expert Functional Version upgrade Substandard Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Source: U.S. Department of Labor Live operation Note: Attrition rates are generally higher for submanagerial positions
  • 8. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 8Confidential The SAP Marriage Training budgets are based upon pre-SAP cycles Training budgets seldom include repeat or continuous training Day 1: The End of the Beginning 1-3 Years Planning View: The SAP Wedding 20-25 Years Client Reality: The SAP Marriage Investment Scope Planning Design Configuration Migration Training/ Readiness Planning Design Configuration Migration Training/ Readiness Run, Enhance, Extend Courtesy: Michael Doane & Associates
  • 9. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 9Confidential Top Issues Organizations Face During Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Source: Benchmarking Partners (Based on a study of 62 companies that have gone live with an ERP system) Note: Rounded percentages; not all categories are shown as bars Issues/ObstaclesUntilNow People 62%!! Process 16% Technology 9% Knowledge assets 3% People = driver for ROI and success
  • 10. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 10Confidential Adapted from Remy S.Leeuwin, ¡°Organizational Change¡± User adoption = key to business value
  • 11. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 11Confidential Learning in the moment All learning is social . . . The exchange of ideas between people equals learning . . . which is . . . intrinsically social "! Social learning is participating with others to make sense of new ideas "! Social media is technology used to engage three or more people "! Social learning is an opportunity to capture the knowledge of employees not being shared "! SAP software empowers people and learners to work together and perform more efficiently to drive performance
  • 12. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 12Confidential Documentation and collaboration (SAP Productivity Pak) Successful change: user adoption and collaboration Customers of SAP software leverage select tools to accelerate user adoption and performance: "! Introduction: user adoption and integrated gaming (SAP ERP Simulation by Baton Simulations) "! Documentation: authoring and user performance support (SAP Productivity Pak application by ANCILE) "! Acceleration: tool sets to accelerate enablement (SAP Knowledge Acceleration software and e-learning) "! Validation: User performance monitoring (SAP User Experience Management application (SAP UEM) by Knoa) "! Collaboration: SAP StreamWork application Gaming and user adoption (SAP ERP Simulation) Streamwork
  • 13. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 13Confidential Incorporate innovation to drive user performance !"#$%&##'()*+&##',"%+-*%#' .%&'/)$0&)' 1&2('/&#3' 4&+5'#"((*)6' !"#$%&##'#673&5*2/&)#'7%/'()*+&##'*8%&)#' 9"(&)'"#&)' :*%$6*)$%;' :&%6*)$%;' <$#6&%$%;' =&(*)-%;' =&>%$%;' <$#6&%$%;' ?&&)@6*@(&&)'#"((*)6' A*%-%"*"#' 6)7$%$%;' .);7%$B7-*%72'+57%;&'C7%7;&C&%6' !"#$%&##'()*+&##'$C()*0&C&%6#' Enablement Courtesy:MichaelDoane&Assoc
  • 14. CONFIDENTIAL The Culture of the Goose! Confidential
  • 15. CONFIDENTIAL Managing Change and User Adoption: Lessons from Central/Eastern Europe Sanja Kopajti# Business Transformation SAP Central and Eastern Europe Confidential
  • 16. CONFIDENTIAL The Science & Art of Change Management in CEE Sanja Kopajti# Business Transformation SAP Central and Eastern Europe Confidential
  • 17. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 17Confidential Includes methodologies, approaches, tools and templates. Provides structure and frame. The Science of Change Management
  • 18. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 18Confidential SAP?s Systematic Approach to Organizational Change Management (OCM) OCM Setup & Governance Change Monitoring Performance Management Communication Management Training & Enablement Stakeholder Management Organizational Alignment OCM framework for SAP implementation projects MeasuresSetup ControllingAnalysis
  • 19. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 19Confidential It is the ¡°way¡± each organization adopts changes ¨C ¡°beauty is in the eyes of the beholder¡±. Change becomes the feeling exulted by the poetic metaphors ¨C the ¡° meaning between the lines¡±. The Art of Change Management
  • 20. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 20Confidential The Role of CM in CEE organizations TThhee rroollee ooff aa ppssyycchhooaannaallyysstt:: hheellppiinngg cclliieennttss ttoo ccooppee wwiitthh cchhaannggee..
  • 21. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 21Confidential Set up and Governance TTeeaamm bbuuiillddiinngg:: RRiittuuaallss TTrraaddiittiioonnss CCoommmmoonn ccuussttoommss HHaabbiittss......
  • 22. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 22Confidential Stakeholders Make people appreciate the ¡°other¡± point of view!
  • 23. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 23Confidential Communication It is not about ¡°what we say¡± but ¡°how we say it¡±...It is important to ensure that the receiver not only has received the message, but has also understood it.
  • 24. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 24Confidential Change Monitoring: Make Change Stick!
  • 25. CONFIDENTIAL Managing Change and User Adoption: Lessons from Africa Dr Shane Hodgson Business Transformation SAP South Africa Confidential
  • 26. One reason for continued project failure is the notion of management. We talk of ¡°change¡± or ¡°knowledge¡± as though we can ¡®manage¡¯ it. We can accompany change and promote knowledge, but to suggest change and knowledge management is presumptuous ¡° (Gunson and De Blassis, 2002)
  • 27. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 27Confidential 5 Key Components of Change Programmes in Africa 1.! Use Narrative and Mythology 2.! Start with Executive Education 3.! Don¡¯t over-complicate or speak SAPpinese 4.! Sponsorship can¡¯t be delegated 5.! Build Capacity as a policy not a side-effect
  • 28. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 28Confidential Use Narrative and Mythology Proponents of This Approach #!Storytelling ¨C creating shared meaning to mitigate impact of different viewpoints on an ERP project (MacLeod and Davidson, 2007) #!Use of Narrative ¨C (Hedman and Borell, 2004) ¨C different kinds of stories are needed. For example: (1) Chartering stories are aimed at selecting and funding an enterprise system. These stories can can be used to promote a certain system or the opposite. Stories about the benefits of ERP systems can promote the idea. Furthermore, stories can be used to obtain the commitment of top management. (2) Project stories are aimed at supporting the configuration and implementation of the system. The role of mentors (super users) and stories in knowledge transfer is important - also these stories should have two target groups. One group is the consultants, who actually carry out the implementation. The other group is the users, who require different types of stories. User stories should include and convey the meaning and role of the system by addressing questions such as what problems we are solving, why we selected this solution, how the system works and what role the user plays in this.
  • 29. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 29Confidential Narrative and Mythology (2) (3) Shakedown stories are crucial, since these are at the beginning of use and often associated with productivity dips, which can be overcome through extensive training. The aim of these stories is to overcome problems and issues associated with learning and using a new technology. (4) Onward and upward stories are aimed at obtaining payback by improving the use. These stories will continue to grow and be disseminated until the enterprise system has been replaced by a different system. Stories are probably even used in the replacement of ERP systems, e.g. all the Y2K horror stories used in the replacement of legacy systems by ERP systems.
  • 30. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 30Confidential Narrative and Mythology (3) #!Mythmaking ¨C using narrative around ERP selection and implementation to reconstitute company values; (Alvarez, 2002) #!Story Listening ¨C (Sole, 2002 in Tobin, 2007) - monitor the reception, use the feedback for design and content of future stories #!Learning Histories (Roth and Kleiner), as used in software development (da Silva 2003;2004) ¨C use the technique to capture the campfire tales of the project and use this to provide a foundation for constructing stories and interventions. #!Lekgotla ¨C Diwaniya ¨C Imbizo - Town Hall Meeting Include informal leaders / use social network analysis to determine these and to back up stakeholder mapping
  • 31. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 31Confidential Start With Executive Education Welch and Kordysh (2007) highlight executive alignment as key for ERP implementations; this however needs to be preceded by a targeted programme of educating the executives in concepts such as "! How an integrated ERP is different from traditional systems "! Key differences between functional and process-based organisations, and the concepts of end-to-end process and of process ownership "! The organisational impact of moving to an integrated system ¨C flattened hierarchies and busted silos; altered authorities and delegations; real-time visibility of company performance and more "! How to extract value from the ERP system ¨C learning to play "! How to encourage user adoption "! How to retain and improve ERP and process knowledge Workshops, site visits, focus groups, simulation games, video material, webcasts and one-on-one sessions are all useful techniques for this.
  • 32. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 32Confidential Don¡¯t Over-complicate and speak SAPpinese SAP implementations are complex, and involve lots of new concepts and corresponding new language; all too often the project team members quickly adopt or even parrot technical terms and phrases learned from the consultants, and a culture of ¡°Emperor¡¯s new clothes¡± develops where nobody wants to show ignorance. This can seriously obscure some important building blocks of major ERP implementations, such as ensuring the scope is clearly defined and understood; the organisational architecture has been considered and the true impact of the programme is being anticipated and planned for. ¡°You see, the modern zombie is a cube-dweller that visits your workplace to work on your SAP HR implementation.! They use urban camouflage to blend in with their surroundings ¨C jackets and blue ties, button downs and pinstripe pants.! They have learned to mimic our speech patterns by parroting technical jargon, but if you listen closely, they don¡¯t actually SAY anything¡± (from http://aspireopenmic.com/2011/05/31/the-zombie-apocalypse-has-begun/ thanks to Joe Hillesheim)
  • 33. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 33Confidential Sponsorship can¡¯t be delegated A key problem of implementations in Africa is the absentee sponsor ¨C very often the senior executive charged with the role hands off to a more technically-savvy subordinate which can effectively delay decision making and cripple the project. ¡°No leader should ask employees to demonstrate the courage to face a suddenly changed, newly outlined future without having the courage to face those same employees directly: (Dan Hill, 2009). ¡°Research shows that three key social enablers¡ªstrong and committed leadership, open and honest communication, and a balanced and empowered implementation team are necessary conditions/precursors for successful enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. In a longitudinal positivist case study, we find that, while all three enablers may contribute to ERP implementation success, only strong and committed leadership can be empirically established as a necessary condition¡± (Sarker and Lee, 2003). Consider splitting the sponsor role into venturing and sustaining (as done by Mutual of Omaha)
  • 34. ?! 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 34Confidential Build Capacity as a policy not a side-effect This requires a deliberate transfer of knowledge, embedding skills in the organisation for upgrades, extensions and further implementations as well as for continuous improvement. Effective SAP knowledge transfer requires the ability to make the complex seem simple and has the end result of allowing the target company to achieve operational independence http://www.r3now.com/a-cautionary-tale-about-sap-knowledge-transfer instead of a state of perpetual vendor dependence. In Africa, SAP experience can multiply one¡¯s market value so dramatically that a very common occurrence at the end of implementations is an exodus of all SAP knowledge and talent as the newly-minted SAP project team leave the building. None of them want to go back to their day jobs and, more importantly, salaries. Consider the use of Centres of Excellence, Centres of Competence and Communities of Practice to give your talent a life after Go-Live, to institutionalise new knowledge and to be custodians of process improvement. Also the OCM Team is responsible for the development and well-being of the SAP Project team, including building their capacity, resilience and flexibility. Make sure that this is done.