Michael McNett shares how he can apply what he learned in the Prosci Change Management Certification Program to Office 365 deployments.
This month, Michael McNett, also our newest Modern Workplace team member, completed the Prosci Change Management Certification Program, a globally recognized program for change management excellence.
Graduates leave the program with the tools, know-how, and support needed to consistently drive successful change.
We took a moment to connect with Michael to get his view on the program and how he plans to apply what he learned. Read what he had to say:
Q: Your specialty is helping our clients create modern digital workplaces through use of Office 365 capabilities and other technologies. Prosci’s program is centered on change management. How does change management fit into the modern workplace initiative?
There is a tremendous alignment with a modern workplace initiative because of the direct and significant effect the technology has on the way work is conducted. While technology is a critical piece, it’s still the people that are at the heart of success.
And that’s exactly what the Prosci Change Management approach is all about – people!
Putting technology in place without truly considering how it will impact people will ultimately diminish the ROI of the investment and decrease the business value (real or perceived).
Q: Tell us why you selected the Prosci program over other change management certification programs:
There are several reasons, the primary one being that Prosci’s program and certification is the foundation for Microsoft’s approach to change management.
As a matter of fact, our class was actually taught by Steve Green who leads Microsoft’s Change Management program.
Secondly, Prosci’s program and approach is research-based. They use numerous studies to show how much more successful projects can be when applying proven change management methods.
I also found their program to be very practical versus other programs that are more theoretical. The instruction was hands-on, giving practical processes, artifacts, and guides that can be used when working with any of our clients.
Lastly, I am fortunate to work here, at Centric Consulting, where they invested in developing my skills by sending me to this course after only being with the company for two short months.
It’s become quite obvious that this company is devoted to its employees and clients by helping them through training, education, and just general support.
Q: How will this certification benefit our clients? What are you most excited to apply?
I believe that we are now well-situated to show clients, in an evidence-based manner, how much more successful their projects can be by formally including change management into their project plans.
Specifically, we will be able to show them how change management:
- Increases the probability of project success
- Captures people-dependent ROI
- Manages employee resistance to change
- Builds change competency into their organization
I’m most excited about applying the “Sponsorship Roadmap” into our plans because this aspect of the Prosci Program tells a compelling story for clients to understand the significant role they play in a project’s success.
Getting a set of change management sponsors for a project – such as their key leaders and supervisors – and having these sponsors visible and active in the project will significantly affect the business outcomes of the project.
Of course, included in this is coaching sponsors to help them explain the value of the project and why the project will ultimately help the employees they supervise.
But, the bottom line is that by including change management principles, such as those provided in the Prosci Change Management model, we will give businesses a competitive edge over competitors that don’t apply these methods.
Q: Did anything you learn surprise you?
Yes, many of the survey-based statistics were both surprising and enlightening.
For example, it’s been shown through surveys that there is a six-times increase in project success (achieving or exceeding objectives) when using proven change management methods during a project.
Similarly, projects that include change management are five-times more likely to be on or ahead of schedule.
These statistics seemed to be somewhat unbelievable at the beginning of the course, but by the end of the course, I can certainly see how these numbers would be accurate!
Q: Based on your experience and new knowledge, what are some of the basic things an organization can do to ensure they are ready to adopt Office 365?
My number one, two, and three recommendations are to get business leaders involved! And by involved, I mean they need to be active and present throughout the project.
These business leaders need to lead and show people across their organization that this isn’t just an “IT thing.” They need to help employees understand that implementing Office 365 will impact them much more than IT support staff.
My last recommendation would be to ensure there is a well-thought-out Governance plan developed that meets the business needs of the organization.
Decisions made in this plan will impact the business, so the business leaders and IT leaders need to be involved.
