The journey from SAP ECC to S/4HANA is not merely a technological shift but a transformative leap that requires the entire organization to adapt, evolve, and embrace change. For IT executives leading such initiatives, the challenge is implementing new systems and ensuring the organization is onboard and aligned with the transformation agenda.
Peter Drucker, a world-wide recognized management theorist, ones famously quoted in a management article that culture eats strategy for breakfast. A theoretical statement that has shown to be just as relevant in the time it was written as today. What we have experienced from the conversations with IT executives around the SAP transformation agenda is the concern on getting the organization onboard the journey.
SAP installations have been in place for many years. So, have the end-users work with the system daily. Modernizing your legacy SAP ECC platform into S/4HANA means an entirely new user-experience interface. In addition, a SAP modernization project is also about transforming your business while the business processes are being re-evaluated and altered. This can cause significant resistance to change in the organization. Imagine Jenna from Accounting, who has mastered handling financial documents and processes over years – if not decades—excelling in her work. Now, you tell her that she will need to work in a completely new way – changing her daily routines.
Therefore, IT executives and their teams need to map their entire stakeholder environment, cluster them into groups, and identify what type of communication they need, when, and how it should be delivered as they prepare their SAP transformation journey. It is also essential to allow for feedback and time to comprehend the input and adapt it to their work.
An overlooked part in communication plans for change management programs is typically line managers and their role as change agents. You can communicate as well as you can from the SAP program command bridge, but the likelihood that your communication will seem irrelevant or insufficient is high. Therefore, it is pivotal that line managers are closely integrated into the project plan. You will need them to act as positive change agents, handling and solving the frustrations that eventually will appear in the organization. Bringing the line managers to the board and becoming ambassadors for your program will significantly increase your chances of succeeding with your SAP transformation agenda. In fact, they can very well be your most important stakeholders.
