A 150-year-old paper company had grown through various acquisitions and, as a result, found itself relying upon multiple legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The leadership team recognized the need for a single solution to centralize operations.
After a period of evaluation, they landed on SAP S/4HANA® as the technology of choice to simplify and unify processes within their finance, information technology, supply chain, human resources, legal and internal audit departments.
A structured approach
Insight’s Digital Innovation team took on the challenge of moving end users from four disconnected corporate offices — working across three different countries and operating in three different languages — and uniting them on a singular path to adoption.
Insight’s created a significantly customized solution to meet the needs of the company, which included Organizational Change Management (OCM), communications, training and the creation of a superuser program. To help with the project, we assembled a support team comprised of an OCM lead, training lead, engagement lead and as many as seven instructional designers.
Managing organizational change
Insight started with a 60-day organizational evaluation to assess the company’s change readiness and detect potential roadblocks to the successful adoption of SAP S/4HANA. Our consultants uncovered a lack of clear communication about the implementation project cascading from executive teams throughout the organization.
The company also lacked an established support system for organizational change initiatives. Fortunately, leadership was willing to drive the program as the highest priority and there was a very strong desire to succeed. Insight created action plans around training, communications and identifying superusers to ensure the organization was well-prepared for go-live.
To prime end users for success, Insight executed comprehensive communication activities that included monthly newsletters and updates throughout the company to build awareness about the changes occurring in the move to SAP S/4HANA. Our team leveraged HR business partners to distribute communications and encourage engagement, ensuring all messages were translated and accessible to employees across branch locations.
Communication, training, support
Working with our client, Insight developed a custom educational program that used a blended learning approach to instructional design and development. Training included e-learning, coaching and mentoring, exercise-driven courses and in-person trainings. Insight experts also led a “Train the Trainer” class on site in all three countries. During project implementation and system go-live, we provided superuser and hypercare support.
Finally, Insight helped establish the company’s superuser program — a critical initiative used to shorten the learning curve and reduce the overall productivity dip. Superusers received advanced skills and training to help their departments understand the technical and process changes. The superuser program supported business continuity during SAP S/4HANA® adoption — and will continue to play a vital role in sustaining change and adoption in the months and years after deployment.
The training and support provided by Insight experts empowered employees to make the most of the new software. More than 40 superusers were identified and trained, laying the foundation for ongoing end-user adoption and change throughout the company for years to come.
A unified system for success
Thanks to the contributions of the Insight Digital Innovation team, the program was successfully executed and achieved the target goal of adoption for the SAP S/4HANA system over the course of nine months across four locations. Our involvement allowed the client to drive a competitive cost structure, globalizing their business systems to deliver sustainable operational improvements.
As a result of the success of this program, Insight continues to contribute to ongoing optimizations across the company.