Building Commitment During an ERP Rollout

Luc Galoppin
Daryl Conner

Building Commitment
During an ERP
Rollout
The
Commitment
Map
for

Navigating
“Moments
of
Truth”

Luc Galoppin & Daryl Conner - November 2012

Summary
Executive In this e-book Luc Galoppin and Daryl Conner bring together their
insights on commitment and social architecture. You will learn how the
eight stages of commitment apply to an ERP rollout and why it is crucial
to carefully plan the moments-of-truth. This e-book is specifically useful for
executives who face an ERP rollout. It helps us to see where we need to be
vigorous in terms of organizational change management.

Enough said about why 70% of the change efforts fail (and the fact that
this percentage may even be higher on ERP programs) – here is what we
can focus on to enable commitment for the change in our organization: the
commitment map for navigating moments of truth.

Authors
Luc Galoppin is managing director of Reply Management Consulting, a Belgian consultancy
specialized in organizational change. He is an internationally recognized expert in
managing organizational change during ERP implementations. He is also leading the
world’s largest digital community on organizational change.

Daryl Conner is chairman of Conner Partners, an Atlanta-based consulting firm that
specializes in transformation implementation. He is an internationally recognized leader in
organizational change and serves as an advisor and mentor to senior executives around
the globe.

Building Commitment During an ERP Rollout Page 2 of 42

Luc Galoppin & Daryl Conner

1
PART

In Search of Patterns
Every organizational change project goes through phases of disbelief, skepticism and resistance. In
her research on death and dying Elisabeth Kübler Ross distilled the five stages of grief. Ever since its
publication in 1973 it has been commonly regarded as the "cycle of change".

The phases of the emotional roller coaster follow a pattern that - once we start to recognize it -
makes perfect sense. But the phases of accepting a terminal disease don’t match the conditions of an
organization going through a change. There exists another tool to do that with more precision.

In the early '80s Daryl Conner published a model that explains the eight stages of commitment. The
model describes how and when people become committed to major new organizational requirements.
The original model of the eight stages of commitment is shown on the next page.

The vertical axis represents the degree of support for the new mindsets and behaviors, and the
horizontal axis reflects the passage of time. The model consists of three developmental phases—
Preparation, Acceptance, and Commitment—and the stages unique to each phase. Each stage
represents a juncture critical to the development of commitment to change. A positive perception of
change may stall (depicted by downward arrows) or increase (represented by an advance to the next
stage). In addition, as people learn more about the change and what it will require, they may return
to earlier stages in the process. The successful transition through a particular stage serves as the
basis for experiencing the next stage.



The vertical axis
represents the degree
of support for the new
mindsets and
behaviors, and the
horizontal axis reflects
the passage of time.

The model consists of
three developmental
phases—Preparation,
Acceptance, and
Commitment—and the
stages unique to each
phase.

Each stage represents
a juncture critical to
the development of
commitment to
change. A positive
perception of change
may stall (depicted by
downward arrows) or
increase (represented
by an advance to the
next stage).



Moments of Truth
In the late ‘70s Richard Normann introduced the metaphor of "the moment of truth" as part of a
management theory in service management. Normann argued that a service company’s overall
performance is the sum of countless interactions between customers and employees that either help
to retain a customer or send him to the competition.

In a 2006 McKinsey Quarterly article on Moments of Truth in Customer Interactions, the authors
zoom in on the emotionally driven behavior that creates a spark between the customer and frontline
staff members.

In this context, moments of truth are contacts between the
implementation team and the stakeholders of the program on
occasions that are emotionally important.
According to the authors:
“...those few interactions (for instance, a lost credit card, a canceled flight, a damaged piece of
clothing, or investment advice) when customers invest a high amount of emotional energy in the
outcome. Superb handling of these moments requires an instinctive frontline response that puts the
customer’s emotional needs ahead of the company’s and the employee’s agendas.”

With a little twist we can apply this insight on the stakeholder interactions during ERP rollouts. In this
context, moments of truth are contacts between the implementation team and the stakeholders of
the program on occasions that are emotionally important.



2
PART

Why should we care?
As it turns out, the occasions that are emotionally important for an ERP rollout go hand in hand with
the eight stages that are critical for the development of commitment.

In the following chapters we will illustrate this with examples for each stage. You will find that it gives
you a language to pinpoint the behavior and level of commitment one can expect during each phase.

But first we need to map the eight stages on the typical project phases of an ERP rollout. Next, you
will see that it takes a drawing to get clarity on how the ERP rollout phases and the stages of
commitment interact.

This mapping is an absolute necessity if we want to manage the moments of truth that characterize a
particular stage of commitment.



The Anatomy of an ERP Rollout
The phases of an ERP rollout will provide the context for this article. They are:

★ Program Setup: Once the program has been initiated and the approval given to move forward, the program must
be established. In this phase, the organization is being prepared for starting the real work. People, other resources,
and infrastructure are put in place. The program is officially kicked off.

★ Design: This is where the future organization is designed; including the processes and the way your ERP must
support these processes. The way the design phase is approached influences the success of the ERP implementation
to a large extent. The user acceptance at the time of going live is almost one-to-one related to the choices you
make in this phase.

★ Build: During the build phase, most of your attention will go to the development and the configuration of the
technical system that will support your new organization and its future ways of working. The change becomes more
and more concrete, so, although you will be tempted to stay in your laboratory until the prototype is finished, you
will need to prepare your organization at the same time.

★ Test: The test phase is a hidden opportunity to strengthen the learning relationship between the implementation
team and the organization. User acceptance of the system is only a starting point. What matters most is the user
acceptance and awareness of the new organization and of the redesigned processes.

★ Deploy: In the deployment phase, the new organization, its ways of working, and the supporting ERP system are
put on the rails. You are bringing the implementation to a point of no return. For this reason, the previous test
phase needs a clear sign-off, and each of the steps you take must be carefully planned.

★ Post-Implementation: With the post-implementation phase, the refreezing of the organization is announced. Post-
implementation work is much more than two to four weeks of go-live support. This is because your purpose should
not only be to stabilize the systems, but also to make sure the new ways of working are sustained.



In this drawing we are
mapping the typical
phases of an ERP
rollout on the eight
stages of commitment.

Next to the names of
the project phases you
will find examples of
moments of truth that
can facilitate the
transition to a next
stage of commitment.



What the Mapping Tells Us
Here are some elements that immediately grab our attention when we make that mapping.

★ The phases of project setup and design are both below the Disposition Threshold and the level of
commitment we can expect during those phases goes no further than Contact or Awareness.

★ It takes a prototype to cross the Disposition Threshold. You need to be actively building
something and designing an organization around it to create understanding.

★ It takes a drawing like this to realize that the very phase of testing is what tips the organization
from the Acceptance Phase right into the Commitment Phase. It looks like the Action Threshold is
reached in the middle of the messiest phase of an ERP project!

It looks like the action threshold is reached in the middle of the
messiest phase of an ERP project!
★ The real Adoption does not come from testing. Rather, this happens during the deployment.

★ Institutionalization and Internalization only happen during the phase of post-implementation.

In the following chapters we will provide a detailed description of each commitment phase and the
corresponding moments of truth that will make the transition to the next stage more successful.



3
PART

Preparation Phase
The Preparation Phase forms the foundation for later development of either support of or resistance
to the change.

There are two stages in the Preparation Phase:

★ Contact
★ Awareness



Stage I: Contact
Stage I is the first encounter individuals have with the fact that a change is taking place in the
organization that will require them to shift their behavior and/or thinking. This first stage in the
commitment process is intended to result in awareness that a change has taken place or may occur in
the future. Since momentum and critical mass of commitment is essential to change success, careful
attention should be given to how early contact (as well as later stages) will begin to promote the right
energy movement toward realization.

Contact efforts, though, do not always produce awareness. It’s
important to separate contact efforts from people being aware of
change…
Contact efforts, though, do not always produce awareness. It’s important to separate contact efforts
from people being aware of change… It’s dangerous to assume contact and awareness are
synonymous. Sponsors and change agents are often frustrated when, after many meetings and
memos about an initiative, some targets either are not prepared for the change or react with total
surprise when it begins to affect them.

There are two possible outcomes for the Contact Stage:

★ Awareness, which advances the preparation process
★ Unawareness, in which no preparation for commitment occurs



The Declaration
The program charter sets a clear mission for the team by describing broad performance objectives.
Ideally it describes the rules of the game — not only the structure of the program, but the role of
each individual— and the program management processes. The most important elements that need
to be described are as follows:

★ Benefits of the program
★ Planning and purposes
★ Timing of phases
★ Resource planning
★ Budget planning
★ Deliverables per phase
★ Risk management and mitigation
★ Performance measurement and incentives

“Fair enough” you may think; “Those are just service elements on a sheet of paper, right? Then why
call it a moment of truth to make sure Contact advances into Awareness?”

First of all, it is important to see the program charter as the most concrete outcome of the many-
month process of information gathering, analyzing, documenting, presenting, educating, negotiating,
and consensus building.
Second, the signing of the program charter by the members of the steering committee (including the
program owner and the program manager) conveys official confirmation that the organization will
implement an ERP program and the underlying benefits. It must be physically signed as an indication
of commitment from both sides.



Carved in Stone
How serious are you about the realization of the benefits of your program? Successful programs have
sets of governing principles that are carved in stone. The fact that sponsors explicitly agree that
these rules are treated as sacrosanct is what advances Contact into Awareness.

Here are some examples of these holy rules:
★ No other major initiatives run in parallel (e. g., installing a new organization structure
independent of the program)
★ Clear sponsorship of executive management (i. e., through the appointment of program
directorship and steering committee membership)
★ Business engagement (i. e., through the appointment of stream leaders and process owners
and through the use of a business case)
★ Declare holy standards (e. g., one global chart of accounts, global reporting process)
★ Validation committees ensure business involvement and sign-off (i. e., the steering
committee and various validation workshops with business representatives)
★ Safeguard continuity during the transition (e. g., by monitoring sign-off criteria and benefits
realization)
★ Use a disciplined and structured approach (e. g., through the use a program approach as
well as choosing for and committing to a program management methodology)
★ Know the business (i. e., through the use of business process mapping in swim-lanes)



Stage II: Awareness of Change
Awareness is established successfully when individuals realize that modifications affecting them have
occurred or are pending. It requires that initial communications about the change reach the desired
audiences and convey the message clearly.

This awareness, however, does not mean people have a complete understanding of how the change
will affect them. They may not have an accurate picture of the scope, nature, depth, implications, or
even the basic intent of the change.

Before targets can progress toward acceptance, awareness must
be developed into a general understanding of the change’s
implications.
For instance, targets may perceive that a change is coming without knowing the specific ways they
will need to alter their mindset and behaviors. Before targets can progress toward acceptance,
awareness must be developed into a general understanding of the change’s implications.

There are two possible outcomes for the Awareness Stage:

★ Understanding, which advances the process to the Acceptance Phase
★ Confusion, which reduces or precludes preparation



Swim-lanes!
There is one important detail when it comes to crafting a design for an ERP rollout. The so-called
“truth” should be represented in swim-lane diagrams. The use of swim-lane diagrams in the design
stage of an ERP program may seem like a strange detail to zoom in on, but we learned the hard way
that they are by far the most vital communication tools of any ERP rollout. This is because they will
serve as an essential input for multiple other steps and deliverables, such as:

★ System access

★ Local coaching by the local transition teams

★ Training manuals

★ User acceptance testing

★ Role descriptions and assigning who is responsible for what

★ Standard operating procedures

★ Conflict resolution

Explicitly treating this validation as a moment of truth will unlock the motivation of people to reflect
on the personal relevance (crossing the Disposition threshold). In project management terms: this
the moment you can start building.



4
PART

Acceptance Phase
The Acceptance Phase marks passage over the Disposition Threshold. This is an important
momentum and critical mass milestone; people shift from seeing the change as something “out
there,” to seeing it as having personal relevance. This perspective enables them to make decisions
about accepting or not accepting their part in the change.

There are two stages of the Acceptance Phase:

★ Understanding the Change
★ Positive Perception



Beyond the Disposition Threshold
People often engage in individual activities designed to move themselves across this threshold in
order to proceed from awareness to understanding. They ask questions, pose challenges, seek
additional information, and make inferences in an effort to clarify their picture of the change.

They ask questions, pose challenges, seek additional
information, and make inferences in an effort to clarify their
picture of the change.
Sometimes leaders wrongly interpret this behavior as resistance to the change initiative. Although it
is possible for people to use endless questions and challenges as part of their resistance strategy,
true resistance to the specific change at hand (rather than to the notion of change in general) can be
manifested only when people understand it well enough to be able to formulate an informed opinion.



Stage III: Understand the Change
In Stage III, people show some degree of comprehension of the nature and intent of the change and
what it may mean for them. As they learn more about the initiative and the role(s) they are likely to
play, people begin to see how it will affect their work and how it will touch them personally. These
insights enable them, for the first time, to judge the change.

These insights enable them, for the first time, to judge the
change.
Each person’s judgment is influenced by his or her own cognitive and emotional filter systems—the
unique set of lenses that he or she uses to view the world. In addition, change of any significance
usually has multiple aspects to it, and may produce both positive and negative reactions at the same
time.

For example, a target may have a negative view of a new company policy regarding relocation every
four years but sees positive benefit in the level of job security he or she would experience. People
combine these positive and negative reactions to form an overall judgment of the change.

There are two possible outcomes for the Understanding Stage:

★ Positive perception, which represents a decision to support the change
★ Negative perception, which represents a decision not to support the change



Who does What?
Now that the processes have been designed down to the level of swim-lane diagrams you need to get
specific on how the workload will be distributed across these processes. More specifically, it is time for
people to get an idea of who will be responsible for what in the future. Since people are enabled for
the first time to judge the change, you really need to seize this moment to set the right expectations
with regards to “who-does-what”. It’s the very first step in the creation of a social architecture and it
is one of the biggest catalysts in this stage.

Assign persons to each of the roles as early as you possibly can and - above all - make sure you
maintain a database of all the changes in the assignment of roles. This assignment is a first big
opportunity to interact with the organization at large. Whether conducted in focus groups,
interactively over the intranet, or by e-mail, the organization should take ownership of this exercise
through a formal validation.

Be humble when you engage in the assignment of people-to-roles, because this is the very moment
you will discover that the watertight business processes may need some redesign in order to make
any sense in the field. Don't take it personally and use it as an opportunity to build a relationship with
the target population.

Warning: In terms of project management the odds will be against you, because this is when the
technical architecture is being built against tight budgets and deadlines. The tendency at those
moments is to isolate and control all resources and to reduce all contact with the target population.
This would equal opting out of an opportunity to facilitate the transition to the next stage of
commitment and it would increase the dropout rate.



Stage IV: Positive Perception
In Stage IV, people decide whether to support or oppose the change. The forming of an opinion about
change is not done in isolation—people typically weigh the costs and benefits of the change against
the costs and benefits of other alternatives, including doing nothing. Ideally, the benefits of a change
to an individual so clearly outweigh the benefits of any alternative course of action that it requires
little thought to decide to move forward. However, this is not typically the case.

To reach true commitment, people must begin to try out the new
way of operating—they must alter their mindset and behavior.
In many organizational change situations, the benefits of moving forward are only marginally more
positive than the benefits of the best alternative course of action. In some changes, the path forward
has such significant costs associated with it that the individual reaches an overall positive perception
only because all of the alternatives are worse.

Positive Perception is an important stage in the process of building commitment, but at this point the
change is still rather theoretical. To reach true commitment, people must begin to try out the new
way of operating—they must alter their mindset and behavior.

There are two possible outcomes of the Positive Perception Stage:

★ Experimentation, which is an initial trial of the new way of thinking and behaving
★ Inaction, which is failure to make initial shifts in thoughts and behaviors



Local Transition Teams
The best way to navigate the organization into the stage of Positive Perception is through the
organization of local transition teams. They make sure that all local requirements are being prepared
in order to be able to cut over. Examples of typical coaching assignments include the following:
★ Attaching people to new functional roles and having the subsequent trainings validated
★ Communicating the future processes and translating these to the level of the site (“Does this
make sense to you?”)
★ Local testing of processes
★ Implementation and follow-up of key performance indicators (KPIs)
★ Following up master data collection and data cleansing
★ Supporting local training initiatives
★ Assisting with the local technical systems deployment
★ Assisting with the changes in the workplace, such as the cleanup of warehouses

Don't underestimate the “soft” returns on this investment because local transition teams prevent
simple things from going wrong and help people make their first small victories in “real life”.

★ By their physical presence and time they spend locally, the coaches can do the job of
“handholding”
★ They provide psychological safety by translating the central concepts to local practice
★ They leverage the impact of the experts in the central project team because they form a
bridge between the local level and the implementation team
★ Here is a hint for accelerated project results: gather them on a weekly basis and facilitate
their weekly meeting; in return they will share best practices from the floor and ensure that
common standards are maintained locally.



A Day In the Life Of (DILO)
Another way to facilitate this phase is through the setup of DILOs. DILO stands for “Day In the Life
Of.” The only way to convince users to let go of current ways of working and give the new ways of
working a chance is by showing them exactly how it will work in a lab situation.

In ERP projects we usually set up a room for two days where all roles
involved running their data through the system from “end-to-
end” (e.g.: from customer order to invoice verification).

Warning: Again-the odds will be against you and the project team will
hide behind excuses like “no time”, “not relevant” and “not important”,
rather than to be vulnerable in the face of future users.

Push through. Your project needs this moment of truth. Your target
population needs it as well. It is the one moment of truth that will
make the difference.

If you handle this well, two important things will happen:
★Users will decide to actively commit to the project (reach the Action
Threshold)
★Your project team will gather tons of pragmatic information, insights
and lessons about the solution.



5
PART

Commitment Phase
Commitment occurs when people see a change as more positive than negative and take action
accordingly. There are four stages in the Commitment Phase:

★ Experimentation
★ Adoption
★ Institutionalization
★ Internalization



Crossing the Action Threshold
The Commitment Phase marks the passage over the Action Threshold. In this phase, the perceptions
that have been created in the Acceptance Phase result in actual commitment. This is a critical step in
the building of momentum and critical mass.

In this phase, the perceptions that have been created in the
Acceptance Phase result in actual commitment.

There are many situations in which people will say that they view a change as positive. However, they
will not actually take the first steps to alter their behavior or mindset. There can be several reasons
for this, including:

★ Lack of a setting in which to try the new behavior
★ Absence of needed skills
★ Insufficient time, energy, or adaptation capacity to engage in the new behavior



Stage V: Experimentation
In Stage V, individuals take action to test a change. This is the first time people actually try out the
change and acquire a sense of how it might affect their work routine. This stage is an important
signpost that commitment building has begun, although greater support is possible.

Because of the inevitability of surprises, some degree of pessimism is unavoidable during change.
Nevertheless, the confidence of those involved in a change increases as a result of resolving such
problems. An environment that encourages the open discussion of concerns tends to solve problems,
promote ownership, and build commitment to action.

An environment that encourages the open discussion of concerns
tends to solve problems, promote ownership, and build
commitment to action.

As these problems are resolved, a more realistic level of conviction toward the change builds. This
conviction advances commitment to the Adoption stage.

There are two possible outcomes for the Experimentation Stage:
★ Adoption, in which individuals continue their exploration of the new mindsets and behaviors
★ Rejection, in which individuals cease their exploration of the new mindsets and behaviors



Engage in the Testing Mess
We have now reached a level of commitment where people demonstrate a willingness to try out and
experiment with the new solution. Unfortunately this is also the stage where the system is not yet
very mature and needs to be tested thoroughly.

In ERP projects testing is done by means of different test-cycles. The final round of these test-cycles
is called User Acceptance Testing (UAT). UAT requires representatives of the target population to step
in and actively test and validate the solution.

God knows how many projects fail at this stage, just leaving
users on their own dabbling in the system. Don't do that, because
at this stage, people need hand-holding and sense-making.

It is extremely important to guide the participants during this stage by making sure that those tests
are well organized into bite-sized sessions. Another important element is making sure that the
feedback and the experimentation of the users is taken seriously. God knows how many projects fail
at this stage, just leaving users on their own to dabble in the system. Don't do that, because at this
stage, people need hand-holding and sense-making.



Stage VI: Adoption
Stage VI, Adoption, is reached after individuals have successfully navigated the initial trial period. The
differences between the Experimentation and Adoption stages are important, even though their
dynamics are similar. Experimentation focuses on initial, entry problems, and adoption centers on in-
depth, longer-term problems. The former is a preliminary test of the change. The latter tests the
ongoing implications of the change. Experimentation asks, “Will this change work?” Adoption asks,
“Does this change fit with who I am as a person/who we are as an organization?”

Experimentation asks, “Will this change work?” Adoption asks,
“Does this change fit with who I am as a person/who we are as
an organization?”

Although the level of time and resources necessary to reach Adoption is great, a change project in
this stage is still being evaluated and can possibly be stopped. If the change is successful after this
lengthy test period, it is in a position to become the standard new way of operating.

There are two possible outcomes for the Adoption Stage:
★ Institutionalization, in which the new way of operating is established as a standard
★ Termination, in which the change is ended after an extensive trial



Test the Processes
Regardless of the level of quality you achieved by testing the systems, the processes need to be
tested separately. You may wonder how on earth it is possible to test a new process in the current
organization that is still running on legacy systems. Indeed, this requires some creativity, but the
bottom line is to try to come as close as possible to operating along the constraints of the future way
of working. Awkward indeed – but this kind of “faking the future on-site” has helped a lot of
multinationals discover serious flaws in the solution before they went live with it.

Awkward indeed – but this kind of ‘faking the future on-site’ has
helped a lot of multinationals to discover serious flaws in the
solution before they went live with it.

The testing of processes on-site is an important step because of the following reasons:
★ It allows people to experience the way the ERP implementation will influence their daily
work
★ It tests the support of the local hierarchy and their readiness to cooperate with the
implementation team; important: go local and keep your eyes and ears open
★ It sets a benchmark for multiple testing rounds and post-go-live comparison
★ It provides the opportunity for local coaches and key users to test their cooperation skills
★ It tests whether your instructions have been communicated to the shop-floor level and how
well they are understood



An Example of Process Testing
This example illustrates the process steps that have been tested in the logistics area of an ERP
implementation for five sites. The first six columns describe the roles that are involved in the test and
to which process steps they contribute. The column in the middle describes the process steps,
ranging from critical-path to essential-but-not-critical to necessary for long term. The five last
columns indicate whether the test of the process steps were successful site per site.

There is a fundamental difference between UAT and testing of the processes. In the first,
we ask the question: “Can the system run according to our constraints?” In the second,
we ask the question: “Can we run according to the constraints of the system?”

Process testing is a tangible intervention. This is the closest you can get to a moment of
truth at this level of commitment. Therefore, it is important to take local process-testing
initiatives seriously and ensure they get the full support of middle management and
supervisors. Ideally, the tests are done twice with a period of three to four weeks in
between. The first time, some learning is needed and people may not perform well
because they do not know exactly what is expected of them.

This is also a moment to level-up in terms of social architecture because, inevitably, you
will need to dig up the roles catalogue and put it to the test of practice. Comparing
departments and discussing the consequences of the assignment of certain people is
very time-consuming, but necessary for people to have a sense of institutionalization.
(This is the next stage.)



Training is a Learning-Switch
99% of what “Learning” really is occurs outside of the classroom. But why are we then investing such
a large amount of time, money and manpower into classroom training?

That is because classroom training is mainly an investment in attention and the
effect on learning is accidental rather than linear, just like the Hawthorne effect.
The strategy and advertising around and about classroom trainings is at least as
important as the content taught. A well-performed training organization can
make the difference at this level of commitment. When we say “well-performed”
we mean the following:

★Anthropologically speaking, the classroom training serves as a ritual in which
participants allow learning to start (and implicitly choose “not to learn” before
that event takes place).
★Mentally speaking, the participants flip their learning-switch “on”. It’s a
learning moment of truth.
★In medical terms we would rather call this a placebo effect: a treatment with
(almost) no therapeutic activity for the condition, but one that has a healing
effect nevertheless.

We could have endless discussions on the cause-and-effect of classroom training on learning but the
evidence is clear: classroom training is necessary to get people started. When people flip that
learning-switch, it is the sign that you are reaching the Reversibility Threshold. When you are doing it
right, people will be prompting you for concrete instructions for startup.



The Hawthorne Effect
One of the biggest names in the history of management is not the name of a guru but the name of a
factory: Hawthorne Works. This is the factory where a series of experiments on factory workers were
carried out between 1924 and 1932. There were many types of experiments conducted on the
employees, but the purpose of the original ones was to study the effect of lighting on workers’
productivity.

An aerial view of the
Hawthorne Works
plant ca. 1920, from
their pamphlet
"Hawthorne works for
the manufacture of
power apparatus".

When researchers found that productivity almost always increased after a change in illumination, no
matter what the level of illumination was, a second set of experiments began, supervised by Harvard
University professors Elton Mayo, Fritz Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson.

They experimented on other types of changes in the working environment, using a study group of
five young women. Again, no matter the change in conditions, the women nearly always produced
more. The researchers reported that they had accidentally found a way to increase productivity.
That’s why people call it the “Hawthorne Effect.”



Stage VII: Institutionalization
Stage VII reflects the point at which people no longer view the change as tentative. They consider it
standard operating procedure.

As part of the institutionalization process, the organizational structure may be altered to
accommodate new ways of operating, and rewards and punishments implemented to maintain new
mindsets and behaviors. What was once a change requiring substantial sponsor legitimization has
become part of the organizational routine that is monitored by managers.

Once a change is institutionalized, it becomes the new status
quo. Ending an institutionalized pattern that is ingrained into
the fiber of an organization is extremely difficult.

The move from Adoption to Institutionalization is a significant one, and a double-edged sword. The
threshold that is crossed here is that of “reversibility.” Once a change is institutionalized, it becomes
the new status quo. Ending an institutionalized pattern that is ingrained into the fiber of an
organization is extremely difficult.

This stage reflects the highest level of commitment that can be achieved by an organization. The
level above it, Internalization, can only be achieved by individuals who make a personal choice to go
there.



Cutting over
At this stage your ERP rollout is going full speed ahead: users are being trained, the technical cutover
is being prepared, the master data are loading and probably suppliers, partners, customers and other
stakeholders have been informed about the cutover to a new system. People are ready to go ahead
and the famous “go/no-go” meeting with the steering committee and the board of directors is
nearing. You may think that this meeting is the only moment of truth at this stage, but it is not. It is
the way you organize the activities around the cutover that will make the difference.

Have you invested heavily in local transition teams? Then this is
the first moment to expect a return.
In consultant speak this is often called 'hyper-care'. An easy metaphor to describe hyper-care is that
of a patient who has just had a heart transplanted. Hyper-care is the period of revalidation. During
that period, the doctors must monitor rejection symptoms and make sure the patient can re-integrate
in their environment. Sometimes this requires letting go of old habits (eating differently) and learning
a new discipline (regular work-out). An ERP implementation is no different. The new heart (an ERP
system) may increase the lifespan of an organization, but only if we adhere to a new discipline in the
maintenance of master data.

Have you invested heavily in local transition teams? Then this is the first moment to expect a return.
Another metaphor one could use in this context is the comparison with UN Peacekeeping troops who
are handing over the governance to the local police. The moment of truth in this stage will totally
depend on the relationships that the local transition teams have established with the users and how
well you deeply you have worked on the who-does-what (the roles-catalog)



Stage VIII: Internalization
Stage VIII represents the highest level of commitment an individual can demonstrate toward an
organizational change. It reflects an internal motivation in which individual beliefs and desires are
aligned with those of the organization, and there is a high level of consistency between an individual’s
mindset and behavior.

At this last stage, people “own” the change; they demonstrate a
high level of personal responsibility for its success.
While an organization can legislate the institutionalization of a change, internalization requires the
active cooperation of each individual. At this last stage, people “own” the change; they demonstrate a
high level of personal responsibility for its success. They serve as advocates for the new way of
operating, protect it from those who would undermine it, and expend energy to ensure its success.
These actions are often well beyond what could be created by any organizational mandate.

Enthusiasm, high-energy investment, and persistence characterize internalized commitment, and it
tends to become infectious. Targets who have internalized a change often cannot be distinguished
from sponsors and advocates in their devotion to the task and their ability to engage others in the
change effort.



Social Architecture Matters
For people to take personal responsibility for the new world after an ERP implementation they must
feel connected to the benefits of the project. Did you build a network of Business Representatives
during the implementation who attach their professional identity to these engagements? That is when
institutionalization becomes internalized at the individual level.

The small community around a certain expertise is how people identify with the bigger picture (e.g., a
community of key users of different plants who connect with one another based on their domain of
expertise).

More than anything else, internalization is about connection. Being part of a community and being
granted the platform for connection is essential here. The only way to reach this stage is by building a
social architecture (i.e. the conscious creation of communities around the benefits that matter in the
long run). The best part is that communities around these benefits exist already. The only thing they
lack is a platform that is facilitated by a leader.

Social architecture begins with the organizational design, the roles catalog and the countless
meetings you had have had up to this point in time. The fabric of social architecture resides in the
who-does-what. In the long run people need an architecture that helps them connect and share
knowledge; this is a three-step process.

★ You need expertise in order to get the job done. This gets your foot inside the door
★ Next, you need to consistently prove that you are worthy of people’s trust
★ Finally, when people allow you a landing slot on their airport of trust, you are ready to build
a platform



In the end, what does
this mean for you as
an organizational
change practitioner?

Consider the following
entry criteria in order
to enter the next level:

★ Be an expert-that
is the bottom line

★ Next, let go of the
attachment to being
an expert and do
the emotional
labor that builds
trust

★ Finally, in order to
build a platform,
you will need to get
out of the way and
allow the
community to take
over



Sustaining Commitment
Although institutionalization is sometimes all that is required to achieve the organization’s goals, it
has some potential problems. If a change has been institutionalized but not internalized, those
affected may be motivated to adhere to new procedures primarily to comply with organizational
directives. Their compliance is achieved by using organizational rewards and punishments to motivate
them to conform despite their own private beliefs about the change. If their perception of the change
is generally negative, but they have chosen to go forward because the costs of not doing so are
prohibitively high, they will likely only mimic acceptable behavior. They will learn to say and do the
“right” things, but their actions will not reflect their true perspective. Because their mindset (frames
of reference and priorities) does not align with their behavior, a great deal of managerial pressure will
be required to ensure the ongoing presence of the desired behavior.

Institutionalized change, as powerful as it is, only delivers the
target’s behavior, not his or her mind and heart.
Forcing change implementation often results in a halfhearted effort without a full return on
investment. Institutionalized change, as powerful as it is, only delivers the target’s behavior, not his
or her mind and heart. This doesn’t mean that institutionalization isn’t the way to go sometimes
because there are situations where leaders have to engage unpopular change. The point is to be
aware of the benefits and limitations of institutionalized change. Internalization can begin very early
in a change if the new way of operating is strongly aligned with individual beliefs and assumptions; it
can also emerge along the way as individuals begin to see the advantages of the new approach. In
some cases, it can fail to surface at all.



The Anatomy of Commitment
Target audiences need to go through the roller-coaster of emotions and push-backs. But there is one
thing we CAN do to make sure they don’t jump off and DO build commitment over time. It all has to
do with how we can influence the way these deliverables are ordered and paced over time.

In this case, we are jumping back to the ’60s for evidence. In 1966, the researchers, Freedman and
Fraser, found that people were more likely to agree about bigger requests when asked for a small one
first. They asked to put a “Drive Carefully” sign into people’s gardens and only 17% agreed. However,
when they asked to put a smaller sign (“Be a Safe Driver”) in their gardens first, 76% of the people
agreed to the bigger “Drive Carefully” sign two weeks later.

Every commitment – how small and insignificant it may seem –
makes the next commitment possible.
Social scientists call this the foot-in-the-door technique (FITD). The more a subject goes along with
small requests or commitments, the more likely that subject is to continue in a desired direction of
attitude or behavioral change and feel obligated to go along with larger requests. FITD works by first
getting a small 'yes' and then getting an even bigger 'yes.'

This goes to show that every commitment, no matter how small and insignificant, makes the next
commitment possible.



The eight stages of
commmitment & the
fabric of community

The careful planning
of moments of truth is
the best shot we have
during ERP
implementations to
transition from one
stage of commitment
to the next.

A commitment builds
on the previous one
and that’s how we get
to buy-in and
ownership.

At the same pace the
plan becomes the
prototype. Later it
becomes the
construction.



Conclusion
The eight stages of commitment demonstrate that every commitment – how small and insignificant it
may seem – makes the next commitment possible. This is why it makes sense to spend time with
people.

Mapping the phases of an ERP implementation on the eight stages of commitment gives us clarity on
the level of commitment we can expect in each phase. We can focus on specific moments of truth
that make the transition from one stage of commitment to the next more likely.

If we align these moments of truth with the level of commitment
we are strengthening the fabric of community.
Our role as organizational change practitioners is not only to chunk the deliverables in reachable
goals per target audience. We should do so in increasing order of commitment. If we align these
moments of truth with the level of commitment we are strengthening the fabric of community.



Sources

★ Marc Beaujean, Jonathan Davidson, and Stacey Madge (2006) The ‘moment of truth’ in
customer service, The McKinsey Quarterly, 2006, Number 1.
★ Conner, Daryl:Managing at the Speed of Change, John Wiley and Sons 1992
★ Freedman, J.L., & Fraser, S. C. (1966). Compliance without pressure: The foot-in-the-door
technique".Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 195-202.
★ Galoppin, Luc & Caems, Siegfried: Managing Organizational Change During SAP
Implementations, SAP Press 2007
★ Normann, Richard: Service Management: Strategy and Leadership in Service Businesses,
John Wiley 2001

★ A direct link to Daryl Conner’s Commitment model:
http://www.connerpartners.com/blog-posts-containing-downloadable-tools/the-eight-
stages-of-building-commitment

★ A direct link to Luc Galoppin’s ebook on Social Architecture:
http://www.slideshare.net/lucgaloppin/social-architecture-ebook



about
this
ebook
This ebook was created on November 25th, 2012.

Feel free to copy and distribute it as it is; as freely
as you wish.

We welcome your feedback on
luc.galoppin@reply-mc.com and
daryl.conner@connerpartners.com

★ More on the work of Luc Galoppin:
www.reply-mc.com
★ More on the work of Daryl Conner:
www.connerpartners.com

Good luck.
Have fun & thanks for reading!


Building Commitment During an ERP Rollout

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Building Commitment During an ERP Rollout