Congratulations! You’ve committed to implementing the best ECM solution for your organization, Laserfiche! Now what? While we will be handling the technology and training part, here are a few change management suggestions that will help*:
Work critical areas first. Foster agreement on what those areas are. For instance, the project’s main, long-term goal might be digitizing records. However, to prime, the pump for success consider some relatively fast-to-automate-workflows such as building digital forms for service requests or processing expenses. That will ensure you can achieve at least one quick-win that can be communicated across the organization.
It always depresses us when we see organizations using Laserfiche as a digital file cabinet when there’s so much else you can do. (To be clear, using the product as a digital filing cabinet is a good start) Every department can be positively impacted when an agency invests in an enterprise platform. If you want ideas for utility, ask CPS, check out the CPS website, read the Laserfiche Blog, ask other agencies, attend Laserfiche Empower, network with other Laserfiche users.
Talk about the project—a lot. Share the vision. Use your agency newsletter or send out email updates. Share the project vision, outcomes, impacts, and expectations you have for the Laserfiche project. AND, don’t forget to take in feedback. Iterate with what is useful. It will be easier to gain buy-in from staff if they know their opinion has been considered.
Work with us to decide what you need and when you need it. This includes hardware, infrastructure, software, staff (you may want to add headcount), etc. We’ve implemented Laserfiche a few hundred times, so we have advice for you. If you construct a Laserfiche team, involve them with us.
Build out policies and procedures. Laserfiche is frequently used as a governor for compliance and records management. You will probably find yourself adapting existing policies and creating new ones. Choose who will have access to information and establish guidelines for its use. Include recommended lifecycles of data and procedures for how it should be discarded once it’s no longer needed.
When ready to launch, have a not-IT staff prepared to test in a production environment. Then troubleshoot, tweak, or happy-dance accordingly. Be sure that your Laserfiche Partner works the testing process with you.
Keep your wits about you. Every new technology or process needs a break-in period. So give it some time. Allow the members of your organization to get familiar with Laserfiche. And be willing to make adjustments—schedule regular meetings to review feedback from all involved.
* I wrote this with the assumption that you have at least some change management processes in place. Try starting with this book: Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard if you don’t.
