CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION Introduction: This case study introduces a new human resources director, who is responsible for developing a more strategic human resources function. As she begins in the role and starts to implement changes, she is facing many challenges and much resistance. The case study showcases the need for strong communication and change management when introducing both small and large changes within an organization. It also deepens the understanding of change management, the implementation process, and the behaviors and organizational factors required for success. Case Study: The Grant Corporation is a financial services firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Its revenue exceeded $1 billion last year, producing a net income of $530 million. It has just over 1,000 employees. Although the organization has been in business for almost 10 years, it has experienced rapid expansion in the past two years due to tremendous business growth and a merger with the Enelrad Group, another local firm. Managers have had difficulty keeping up with this growth, especially in the HR department, which has been stretched thin to keep up with staffing needs and other, mainly administrative, duties. Six months ago, the CEO, Todd Jackson, recognized the need to expand the size and functionality of the HR department and hired Julia Woodland to be its director, reporting directly to him. This was a newly created position, and its incumbent would replace the HR administrator, who had previously reported to the VP of Finance and who decided to retire when the new HR position was announced. When Woodland was hired, Jackson told her that she would have "full reign" to create a more strategically focused HR department that would be better equipped to handle the organization's needs. She had quite a bit of experience at her previous company and was eager to take on the task. Although the organization used advanced technology for its business applications, HR was still using a basic payroll processing software program and Excel spreadsheets to track various categories of employee information, including personal data, benefits enrollments, performance evaluation schedules, and compensation. All payroll and benefit information was manually entered into these respective systems, and much of the information had to be entered into multiple spreadsheets when there was a change. The department could not keep up with the information needs—new hires were getting paid incorrectly, or not at all. Benefits enrollments were delayed or contained mistakes, and performance evaluations and pay raises were late. The printed employee handbook, benefits binder, and orientation materials were in serious need of updating. In addition, the company had 16 open positions and stacks of resumes everywhere. It was no wonder that the HR administrator had decided to retire! Julia Woodland spent long hours trying to determine what she could do to address the immediate and long.

1. CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
Introduction:
This case study introduces a new human resources director, who
is responsible for developing a more strategic human resources
function. As she begins in the role and starts to implement
changes, she is facing many challenges and much resistance.
The case study showcases the need for strong communication
and change management when introducing both small and large
changes within an organization. It also deepens the
understanding of change management, the implementation
process, and the behaviors and organizational factors required
for success.
Case Study:
The Grant Corporation is a financial services firm based in
Chicago, Illinois. Its revenue exceeded $1 billion last year,
producing a net income of $530 million. It has just over 1,000
employees. Although the organization has been in business for
almost 10 years, it has experienced rapid expansion in the past
two years due to tremendous business growth and a merger with
the Enelrad Group, another local firm. Managers have had
difficulty keeping up with this growth, especially in the HR
department, which has been stretched thin to keep up with
staffing needs and other, mainly administrative, duties.
Six months ago, the CEO, Todd Jackson, recognized the need to
expand the size and functionality of the HR department and
hired Julia Woodland to be its director, reporting directly to
him. This was a newly created position, and its incumbent
would replace the HR administrator, who had previously

2. reported to the VP of Finance and who decided to retire when
the new HR position was announced.
When Woodland was hired, Jackson told her that she would
have "full reign" to create a more strategically focused HR
department that would be better equipped to handle the
organization's needs. She had quite a bit of experience at her
previous company and was eager to take on the task.
Although the organization used advanced technology for its
business applications, HR was still using a basic payroll
processing software program and Excel spreadsheets to track
various categories of employee information, including personal
data, benefits enrollments, performance evaluation schedules,
and compensation. All payroll and benefit information was
manually entered into these respective systems, and much of the
information had to be entered into multiple spreadsheets when
there was a change. The department could not keep up with the
information needs—new hires were getting paid incorrectly, or
not at all. Benefits enrollments were delayed or contained
mistakes, and performance evaluations and pay raises were late.
The printed employee handbook, benefits binder, and
orientation materials were in serious need of updating. In
addition, the company had 16 open positions and stacks of
resumes everywhere. It was no wonder that the HR
administrator had decided to retire!
Julia Woodland spent long hours trying to determine what she
could do to address the immediate and long-term concerns of
her new department. She brought in a temporary employee to
help her staff file, process paperwork, and enter data. She
focused on hiring two higher-level HR representatives and a
payroll clerk. She turned to a staffing agency to help the firm
identify candidates for open positions, including those in HR.
Finally, she proposed the purchase of an integrated
payroll/HRIS that was capable of integrating with the finance

3. department's system as well as with the organization's benefit
and 401(k) providers' systems. The proposed software solution
also offered the option of a Web-based employee portal, which
would allow employees to view information online and change
their personal data. Jackson responded favorably and told her to
"go ahead and do whatever she needed to do to fix the mess."
The next day, Woodland contracted with the HRIS provider.
Woodland spent the next week meeting with her new HRIS
vendor representative to discuss the installation and
implementation of the system. Because she was so overwhelmed
and wanted to get the new system in as quickly as possible, she
didn't have time to discuss the project with her staff right away,
but she knew that employees would be excited about the new
system and the opportunities it would open up for them as the
burden of administrative tasks eased. She closed her door
during the meetings, so participants could concentrate. She
wanted to be able to implement the system by January 1, so that
the company's year-end payroll data were accurate and
managers could track other data on an annual basis with a full
year of data. Since she had been through the process in the past
and was familiar with such systems, she figured that she could
manage the implementation with the help of IT and her staff as
needed. She would make all key decisions to move the project
along and meet her deadline.
The current HR staff consisted of an HR assistant and two
generalists who seemed to function as clerks and recruiters.
They had all been hired at the same time more than five years
ago, when the HR administrator was the sole member of the
department. They were very proud of how they had worked so
hard together to build HR and keep up with the increasing
demand. They were just getting used to working with Woodland
but thought that she was very nice and had high hopes for the
improvements and new strategic focus that she would help them
implement. Day by day, the staff watched the vendor

4. representative come and go, along with a parade of candidates
sent over by the staffing agency to apply for the new HR
positions. They soon began to wonder about all the changes that
their new boss was making and what these changes would mean
for them. They started making assumptions that had them very
concerned.
Woodland contacted the IT director to tell him about the
project. He expressed concern over the ability of the server to
handle the new system and wondered how they would address
firewall issues with the portal. Furthermore, all his staff
members were tied up with a critical upgrade to the customer
service system, which had caused more than its share of
problems. He demanded to know why he and his staff had not
been involved sooner and told her that it would be unlikely that
they would be able to participate in the implementation or help
her meet her deadline. Upset, she called Todd Jackson, who
advised her not to worry about it—he would tell them to get it
done.
When she contacted Finance to obtain information that the
HRIS vendor needed to link the HRIS to that department's
system, the finance manager was more than willing to help—but
she did not know where to get the system information from and
did not understand how the information would flow from one
system to another. She asked why they couldn't just keep the
systems separate and enter the necessary data into the finance
system from reports provided by HR. "That's the way we've
always done it," she said. "It doesn't take long, and it will be
much simpler that way."
In the meantime, morale was declining in HR. Whenever
Woodland asked HR employees for information about payroll or
their Excel spreadsheets, they seemed uneasy and never
provided her with exactly what she was looking for. She didn't
understand their antiquated forms or their backward processes

5. but decided she could fix those after the new system was in.
Also, it felt like the rest of the company was suddenly treating
her differently.
They had all made her feel so welcome six months ago when she
came on board. Now, employees approached her with caution,
and managers always seemed abrupt.
Julia Woodland began to wonder if this was the right role for
her. Why were things so difficult? She thought that everyone
would be thrilled about the new system and its efficiencies and
would be eager to help. Was it her problem or theirs?
She thought that perhaps people didn't realize the impact she
was making in the organization. She decided to make an
announcement about the exciting new system that would help
make things more effective and efficient in HR and help the
employees simplify their lives as well. She sent out a company-
wide e-mail announcing the new payroll/HRIS and outlining its
ability to interface with other systems and its Web-portal
capabilities. To her disappointment, no one seemed to
understand the significance or even pay attention. A few
employees asked her if their paychecks would be delayed as a
result.
She wondered how she would ever get through this project and
what she needed to do to get everyone on board.
Case Study Questions:
Overall, what did Julia Woodland do right? What could she
have done differently?
Were the correct people involved in the process? Whom would
you have included and why?

6. What errors did Woodland make with her own staff? What
impact might these errors have had on the success of the
implementation? What should have been done?
Discuss the cultural issues involved in this case. Are there
things Julia Woodland should have taken into consideration
prior to starting the implementation? Why are they important?
If you were in Julia Woodland's position, what would you
include in your communication plan for the implementation?
How can training be used in this case to make the
implementation more successful?
How can the Grant Corporation increase user acceptance of the
system?
Discuss the potential benefits of process reengineering in this
implementation. What impact might it have had?
After the implementation, what steps should the HR department
take to ensure proper maintenance and support of the system?
What can Julia Woodland do now to "get everyone on board"
and increase the likelihood that this implementation will be
successful?
GRADING RUBRIC
Category
Points
Description

7. Understanding
35
Demonstrated a strong grasp of the problem at hand.
Demonstrated understanding of how the course concepts apply
to the problem.
Analysis
35
Applied original thought to questions asked. Applied concepts
from the course material correctly towards answering case study
questions.
Execution
55
Wrote answers clearly and succinctly, using strong organization
and proper grammar. Demonstrated effective written
communication that is free from errors in punctuation, syntax,
spelling, and grammar. Used at least three (3) scholarly sources
correctly. Included a cover and reference page in APA format.
Answers are numbered such that readers know where to find the
various information. Final report is at least three pages, not
including title page, graphics, references, and appendices.
Total
125
A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above
requirements