Companies are going Google for various reasons. Some want to cut costs or consolidate their systems, some have a clear need for a better collaboration and want to completely transform their business.
Companies that look at Google Apps as just another technology, don’t capture the value of the solution. They’re not alone. According to the Gartner CIO agenda (2013) 72% of the CIOs realize less than 50% of their technology potential.
One thing has to be crystal clear for companies that are going Google: letting people work the same way they used to, isn’t going to change a thing.
Most companies know they need to transform. That’s a good first step. The reasons why they don’t when going Google are the following:
- Technology administrative challenges
- Resistance to change by most employees
- Inflexible business processes
You can prevent these challenges through effective change management by providing guidance, enough communication and aligning internal teams before Go-Live and keeping the project alive….forever!
Maximizing satisfaction @Go-Live date
To maximize satisfaction at Go-Live date the following change management activities have to be executed:
- Great (executive) sponsorship
- Training
- Communications and branding
- Organizational impact analysis.
If you slack on any of those aspects, your project is in danger, certainly if the sponsor isn’t engaged.
Once Go-Live is over, everyone is on Google Apps and support calls have slowed down, some companies think the transformation road is finished.
Well, wake up, because it’s not. Transforming your business and weaving the Google tools in your DNA takes time.
Keeping it going
Migrating to Google Apps for Work isn’t like another project which stops at a certain date. It will and should become a constant project in your company by executing the 2 following activities:
#1 Keeping the people engaged
Google Apps for Work has to stay at the top of people’s mind in order to keep the transformation going by constantly communicating new product features and tips & tricks, by providing ongoing training to sharpen the employee skills and by motivating key stakeholders.
#2 Driving constant innovation
The mistake most people make is to replicate the way they worked with Outlook/office or Lotus Notes in Google Apps instead working in a new way.
Transformation labs (analysis of current and new processes) and guidance is necessary to get the new way of thinking in the people’s head.
Once the processes have been analyzed, mini projects have to put on a roadmap, implemented, and re-assessed afterwards. This should become a constant procedure until people have the reflex to think in a Googly way.
Bottom line
Take advantage of Google Apps for Work to transform your business by putting in the necessary effort before and after Go-Live. Otherwise your investment has been useless anyway.
