Part of an article to describe how change management can be successfully achieved using online collaboration tools and methods. Although this article is based on using change management as part of a new HR operating model or HR SaaS / HCM System roll out, it can equally apply to other types of change.

1. DESIGN FOR THE END USER.
• Use feedback gained through your change management project to
influence your “change”. For example, let’s assume a particular HR
system process is overly complex. Your change management will
be more successful if you can influence the technical project team
and arrive at a more user friendly, simple process.
• This is classic design thinking that will usually form part of a system
implementation, but as a change manager there is always
opportunity to provide feedback and improve the experience for
the end user, so be aware of this, always.
Please contact Nat Backhouse at www.honeycombhr.net for more information

2. PLAN YOUR PROJECT SCOPE
CAREFULLY.
• Choosing your scope carefully and agreeing it with your sponsors
is vital.
• Be clear about what “the change” is and then set about planning
your project around one goal – achieving successful change
around that scope.
• Be aware of time and resource constraints to ensure the scope is
achievable.

3. CHOOSE THE RIGHT METHODS.
• There are a few methods at your disposal as a change manager
(e.g change impact analysis, stakeholder mapping, change
readiness survey and many more). Ensure each method has a clear
reason for being used.
• Don’t feel you need to use every method at your disposal when
just 3 or 4 well-chosen methods will accomplish what is required.
• Think about which tools can be easily transferred online vs which
truly require face to face involvement (more on this in point 7).

4. CHOOSE YOUR TOOLS WISELY.
• Not all software offers the same functionality, so think carefully
about how you will use each platform.
• A good example is video conferencing. I find it invaluable being
able to read an audience and gauge their engagement during a
meeting.
• Zoom allows you to view all participants in a grid, at the same
time, whereas Microsoft Teams does not (at the time of writing,
Microsoft is reviewing this and it may be added in a future update).

5. ENGAGE YOUR SPONSOR, BUILD YOUR
CHANGE TEAM.
• You will need a change management team who are happy to work
remotely using online collaboration.
• Make sure your sponsor is fully aware and supportive of your
approach as much as the change itself. Your sponsor will be
instrumental in building excitement, setting expectations, and
helping you recruit an engaged project team.

6. MAKE IT FUN, BUILD EXCITEMENT!
• So important. Building a sense of excitement around not just the
change itself but also the change management journey is going to
make the project enjoyable and easier to achieve.
• For some, their involvement can be seen as an opportunity for
career development, so be sure to promote the project as such!

7. THE POWER, REACH AND SPEED OF
REMOTE.
• Bringing a project team together in the same room is engaging
and powerful. It is a tried and tested approach that works, but it
takes time, not to mention travel.
• Many change management activities and methods can work very
well indeed using online collaboration tools; in truth I believe some
are better and faster if completed using remote working.
• Here are just a few examples:

8. VIDEO CONFERENCING
• Use polls, use the chat functionality, build excitement with large
dispersed groups.
• Get to hear input from the quieter members of a group.
• Diversify your attendees – not only those who are in your building.
• Split larger topics and tasks into smaller working groups or
different sessions – there are so many ways to use video calls to
get work done in a speedy way. Even short workshops can be done
remotely, although longer workshops do present a challenge if
delivering remotely.

9. COLLABORATION TOOLS
• Keeping your project team up to date on progress
• Crowd-sourcing feedback on the fly
• Collaborating and voting on key themes for your communication
plans
• Sharing documents for online editing
• These are all so much quicker and better than traditional methods,
and again – progress can be rapid with an engaged group!

10. USE OF VIDEO
• Why limit your training to face to face training sessions? What
about new joiners, or line managers who cannot attend?
• Executive communication about “the change” can be delivered far
and wide by using video and replayed when necessary.
• Make videos snappy, bitesize and accessible to encourage as many
views as possible.
• Use your comms team if possible, to add subtitles and to edit
videos to achieve a professional result that is easily digested by as
many colleagues as possible.

11. AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE,
AUTOMATION, ANALYTICS
• Consider automating your reporting and analytics to track how
your change is taking hold.
• Put in place surveys with sentiment analysis to understand your
audience and end users.
• Use data visualisation tools to make it simple to bring data into
your discussions with business leaders and truly quantify your
results and the impact that your project is having.

12. COMMUNICATIONS AND CAMPAIGN
LAUNCH.
• If, by the point of launch, your organisation is attuned to online
meetings, then put much of your communications campaign
online also.
• If your target audience is widely dispersed and is back working
physically in the workplace, then simply use your change
champions and key leadership & stakeholders to deliver your
campaign messages locally.
• Language will be a consideration of course, so ensure materials are
available in local language where necessary.

13. LEVERS & PULLEYS.
Your change shouldn’t be a fleeting flash of activity that peters out,
but a sustainable change - part of the fabric of your organisational
culture and ways of working. To achieve this, consider:
– Annual objectives to influence behaviours
– Analytics to provide insight on how the change is taking hold
– Close old methods / processes to ensure the new change takes
hold
– Schedule governance meetings with leadership to track
progress
– Continually review training materials to ensure they are up to
date