A simple guide to change management on Salesforce implementations

Salesforce implementations, we’ve seen a few! As a Salesforce Partner since 2010, we’ve worked alongside our clients successfully roll out countless strategic Salesforce projects. So to help you prepare for success with yours, we’ve developed this simple guide to change management for your Salesforce implementation. 

Communicate early  

We see it all the time. Employees who are wedded to their legacy system because it represents a comfort zone. They are wary of new processes or new ways of managing information. Sometimes they also feel vulnerable because they might have a deep understanding of the legacy system and are frightened of a world without it. Remember, they may have even built some of these systems, so may feel a special kinship with the system, too.   

Early on, the management team or the project manager will need to establish project objectives and a foundational vision. With this set, the priority is to communicate clearly, create a synergy with users about the project, explain why a change to Salesforce is the best approach, and listen to feedback and concerns. Communication plans should start as early as possible – even during the purchase cycle – to prepare your people for what’s ahead.  

Evaluate the impact of change  

Before you even start the design or blueprint phase, you must first undertake a change impact assessment. This may be formal or informal but will set the foundation for conducting change management activities pre, during and post the project go-live.   

A change impact assessment identifies how new functionality will affect your organisation’s processes, people, technology, and culture. It includes stakeholder analysis to identify and understand the concerns of those impacted. A thorough risk assessment can spot potential challenges, allowing for proactive mitigation. And, a data quality evaluation checks the current platform’s data, recognising issues to address during the transition. This approach can arrest potential disruptions proactively and lead to effective change management.  

Assess roles and responsibilities  

One of the key activities is to understand and thoroughly document roles and responsibilities of all employees impacted by the change. What roles do they play and in which processes? Implementing a new system will change some of your processes.  So having this assessment will help you understand the impact on your people.  

This role assessment will lead to two key documents: the role impact analysis and the training needs analysis.  

People readiness for change  

Like most businesses, you will have three different types of people working with you:  

• People who embrace change (often because they know the current pain points and understand the benefits of addressing them).  

• People who resist change and may try to sabotage the project or those who don’t see it as a priority (often because they don’t understand or can’t accept the rationale for change).  

• Employees who are indifferent and will most likely accept change as inevitable.  

Give some thought to your own people. Think about where they might fit into these types. This will give you a good feel for your cultural environment and will inform your approach.  

Let’s face it: you may end up losing some people  

Change management on Salesforce and other projects is also about managing risks with lack of engagement, or even staff turnover. There’s a high chance some employees still won’t accept the change and end-up resigning. As harsh as it sounds, during the role impact assessment, it might be worth identifying early on which employees you could afford to lose and which ones you really can’t. If you have any employees you don’t want to lose and you believe they will resist change, then the project manager or the person in charge of the transition plan should spend additional time with them overcoming objections and building their resilience  

Over-communicating is hardly ever an issue  

No matter how big or small your Salesforce implementation, it’s critical that all employees are engaged and aware of the project execution plan. A simple way to engage employees is to involve them in workshops.  Maybe even involve them in some of the decisions. Set up a monthly project newsletter, host employee town halls, or even consider creating a project FAQ page. These communication elements can cover the progress of the project, the benefits, features some of the new functions of the system, and feedback forums that are aimed at ongoing engagement with your employees. But remember, no-one likes to be talked at, this must be a two-way conversation.  

Training for success  

Okay, so it’s not the Olympics. But training is an important part of ensuring your people feel capable and prepared for Salesforce, and understanding how people learn best is crucial to the success of training delivery. Training sessions should be planned well in advance, tailored to the processes undertaken by each team, and sessions should be mandatory for all (no excuses!). Hint: the best way to get buy in is to get endorsement from the project sponsor when the invitations are sent, or better yet, ask the project sponsor to attend the training. And, as much as possible, run face-to-face training sessions as in person, you’ll see cues that will help you understand if the training is effective.  

And… we’re LIVE!!!  

No two ways about it: go-live is an important milestone in the lifecycle of your Salesforce project. During the next few weeks, everyone will have to put in additional effort (and often time) to get familiar with Salesforce in a live environment. Make sure you recognise this effort. Some simple ways to do this could be:  

• Organising a small celebration  

• Paying overtime   

• Acknowledging the change champions who’ve stepped up and made a difference  

• Awarding certificates or spot rewards for the unique ways people contributed  

• Sending out a thank you email from the project sponsor  

• Acknowledging the to-date achievement of the vision and any project objectives.   

It’s up to you, but don’t let this moment pass without acknowledgement.