change

Happy times for change management

10 July 2018

Change Management

"These are truly happy times for people in the ICT sector who are concerned with ensuring user satisfaction and employee engagement," states Johan De Rop (change manager). He explains how Realdolmen's mission goes hand in hand with the power of change management.

"It is no coincidence that Realdolmen is on a mission to make ICT more human again. As a relatively small group of change managers, we didn't have to ask for this, let alone fight for the cause. Our management team has also sensed, seen and understood for some time now that investment in ICT is only of genuine benefit if it leads to higher efficiency and, above all, effective, lasting use of the available facilities. This is only possible if the employees and partners in question embrace the new solution as users. And this will not happen unless they – together with their colleagues – truly want to support and benefit from the changes that the new solution brings about. This can only be guaranteed by focusing enough on the human element. It dovetails seamlessly with the overarching strategy pursued by Realdolmen; at company level, we strive to prioritize people – both customers and employees – in everything we do. Change can be brought about by devising an intelligent change management plan based around the intended change. More than anything, this plan has to be tailored to the organization and its employees. If the organization manages to do this, it can look forward to satisfied employees, sustained usage and an optimum return on investment."

From firefighter to success manager

"In the past, how often did things have to reach crisis stage before even considering the services of a change manager? They would only be called in once the level of resistance had become unmanageable and a total impasse had been reached. Then the expectation went like this: even if the room is on fire, there's no need to panic because the change manager – the purported expert – will be able to solve the crisis with a single miracle email. And once the fire is out, the firefighter goes back to his station."

"Sadly, I've never yet met a change manager with these superhuman abilities, even after a thorough Google search. I'm beginning to wonder if such a person actually exists. Still, I haven't given up yet: in between assignments, I'm on the hunt for the miracle email, that magical combination of words that will meet the expectations held by some organizations at the touch of a button.
In the meantime, I'll continue to do my job. Together with many other change managers, I try to convince organizations to get to grips with change management at the earliest possible opportunity. In these happy times, we have noticed that more and more organizations are doing just that. Change management is playing a key role at an increasingly earlier stage of the game. This is something we're extremely happy about. And if that isn't enough to put a smile on our faces, Microsoft has realized that the fantastic tools and solutions that it sells are only actually successful if they are properly integrated into an organization, i.e. by paying enough attention to the changes that they cause. To that end, Microsoft recently created a new profile: the success manager. The success manager's task is to take care of the human side of things, thereby increasing the overall level of success. As a change/success manager, I'm glad to be working in such a productive period – and I'm casting a hopeful eye to the future. That means working with organizations to find the most suitable strategy to implement the desired changes within their walls. It also means bringing about change with enthusiasm from the bottom up, with conviction and commitment, with the desire to keep pace with developments. We can work together to achieve excellent results and put the human element back into ICT."

To get there, together!

Let us know how we can help. We’ll happily take your ICT concerns off your hands and work together with you on your organisation’s future.

Contact us