Digitalization in Change Management
Digitization has dominated all social and economic issues worldwide in recent years. However, the term digitalization is often used too liberally. Namely, when companies talk about already operating their own management systems completely digitally. Especially in change management, however, this requires more than is often described as standard in practice.
Basically, in change management, the strategies and structures of the company must be continuously adapted to changing conditions. In the early days of software-supported management systems, this mainly meant clearly depicting existing information such as organizational structures, processes, risks or key figures and making changes dynamically. Current presentations were discussed in meetings or made available for general inspection at central locations. The design of and influence on new requirements was often reserved for management. The communication to all employees and the assurance of the implementation of new requirements could not be fully traced.
Increasing requirements due to legal and cultural standards
Particularly in highly regulated industries (e.g. medical technology, healthcare, food industry or automotive), laws and guidelines have been tightened up considerably in recent years. This has also increased the demands on the management software used. In order not to increase the costs for the further development and maintenance of the management systems, it is necessary to design them in a lean and efficient way. If the IT developments of recent years (Internet, mobile apps) are implemented correctly, management systems can be optimised and redesigned in such a way that the effort required for system maintenance actually decreases. The key here is to use the full potential of digitalization and thus to be able to document changes digitally throughout and to record deviations - also during audits - in a comprehensible manner.
Added to this is the change in corporate culture. Not only senior positions should have an influence on changing processes and content. Collaboration brings more acceptance and joy at all levels of the company and ensures that new things are really introduced and implemented. The earlier and more regularly employees are involved, the higher the quality of information and application. The additional responsibility means that the knowledge of each individual is given more weight, which in turn promotes interdepartmental cohesion and identification with the company.
Together with the collaborative-promoting functions, a management system must also be able to guarantee communication at the right time and in the right place. Retaining knowledge, passing it on in training courses and regularly checking it by means of confirmation runs is another component of modern change management.
New technologies change lives and usage patterns
New technologies - especially the Internet and mobile devices - have increased not only the functional requirements but also the desires for usability. Portable devices allow use directly at the place of action. The GEMBA principle from lean management, which is often considered a mandatory criterion in workplace design and the selection of optimal software products, can thus be optimally implemented. Whether on construction sites for safety inspections, in production lines for recording malfunctions, deviations or for carrying out and documenting audits - numerous management system application areas benefit from the use of mobile devices. Instead of handwritten notes and protocols, digital to-do lists as well as digital forms are used for recording, additional information such as photos are added and forwarded to the next responsible person for processing.
Integration and coupling with existing enterprise solutions
At the beginning of digitization, documents were stored separately on servers in various formats, information was collected in parallel on an intranet, and processes were modeled and stored in another tool. The management system was run in isolation. As a result, users often did not know where to find which information. If the information was found, it was often not up-to-date. Declining usage rates, lack of system acceptance and dissatisfied users were the result.
Today, the goal is that all information is available in a networked form - and can thus be found as complete, up-to-date information chains. According to IMS AG, which specializes in integrated management systems, this means that it is imperative for a management system to support collaborative functionality with other IT systems. This allows the best features and functions of each system to be integrated and enables the user to use them easily and consistently.
Special attention is paid to the integration of collaborative cloud solutions into a company-wide QMS system. The connection of the Office 365 platform enables the integrated and shared use of documents (Office), tasks (Teams) and entire information platforms (SharePoint). This leaves the choice of software used to the user, which in turn promotes the acceptance of the entire management system. Information is also easy to find across systems and is complete and up-to-date at all times - the basis for a functioning, efficient quality management system.
Workflow systems support the full potential of digitization
The complete replacement of the error-prone, incomplete and paper-dependent management system has not yet been achieved in many places. Forms, checklists and other documents contain multiple data entries, some processes still require paper filing and there is no overview of the processing status. Information from other systems is not available, the management system is operated in isolation from other IT systems. In addition, the processes recorded to date have often been limited to core processes.
With a workflow-based capture of information, the hidden potential and a truly end-to-end digitalization can finally be implemented. Through the automated and system-guided processing, a complete, correct and secure information maintenance succeeds, which supports a completely paperless system even in highly regulated industries. Through the direct integration of third-party systems, data can be exchanged between software products during workflow execution and workflows can be executed without media disruption. Dynamic information presentation reduces information density by displaying different content depending on the answer to decision questions.
Using the opportunities of change With the latest web technologies, information can be prepared in a condensed, dynamic and user-related manner (if required, also on mobile devices). Unproductive time is avoided and focused processing of tasks is possible regardless of location. Workflow-based process execution promotes a new level of automation, making the leap to paperless change management a success and revealing a great deal of potential for other processes. Through the company-wide networking of various systems, a seamless and high-quality flow of information can be guaranteed. These are numerous opportunities that should not remain unused in any company - for an end-to-end digital, mobile-capable, lively and intensively used change management.
