T-Systems has commissioned IDC to conduct a market research study that investigates how far Nordic companies are in the SAP transformation journey anno 2022. 400 companies have provided insights into which SAP installation they run, their plans, challenges encountered, and outcomes achieved during their transformation journeys, and shed light on preferred infrastructure platforms. Based on the results of the survey, I had the pleasure to discuss these with senior and executive IT leaders and it has led to an interesting finding outside of the actual survey.
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 has the end-users that work with the system on daily basis. Modernizing your legacy SAP ECC platform into S/4HANA means a completely new user-experience interface. In addition, as I advocated for in my previous blog, a SAP modernization project is about transforming your business, why the business processes also are being re-evaluated and altered. This can course significant resistance to change in the organization. Imagine Jenna from Accounting, who have mastered the handling of 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 as they prepare their SAP transformation journey need to map their entire stakeholder environment and cluster them into groups, and identify what type of communication they need, when they need it, and how it should be delivered. To here, it is essential also to allow for feedback and time to comprehend the input to adapt it into your work.
An overlooked part in communication plans for change management programs is typically line managers and their role as change agents in the organization. You can communicate as good as you can from the SAP program command bridge, but the likely hood that your communication will seem irrelevant or not sufficient 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 onboard and become ambassadors for your program, will increase your chances for succeeding with your SAP transformation agenda significantly. In fact, they can very well be your most important stakeholders.
We invite you to explore all insights and learnings from our market research. Download the study and get seven concrete recommendations to help you thrive through your SAP transformation journey. Download the report here.
