Microlistics believes that the single biggest issue experienced when implementing any technology is change management. Planning and managing change, both cultural and technological, has become a major stumbling block for any technology based company to confront on most of all our projects.

Understanding the key areas of change management and the associated issues which may be encountered is critical to the success of most implementations.

At Microlistics, we have addressed these issues by forming a Change Management Toolkit, which contains methodologies, templates and guidelines for both our team and the customer. It helps effectively employ change management and assist in completing a professional change management plan.

Assessment tools and implementation guides also help our staff implement an effective change management strategy.

A major trigger for negative culture and lack of acceptance of new technology is fear and lack of knowledge. To address this, Microlistics’ staff inform all relevant parties of what is occurring and provide training for both internal staff and/or customers. Communication plans, training methodology and scheduling of training are completed and tailored to the specific customer.

This approach is the result of extensive analysis of previous implementations in similar industries / warehouses and is constantly reviewed and updated.

A part of the methodology is to identify staff roles and needs and communication and training are planned to ensure staff are equipped to perform those roles using the ISIS system and Standard Operating Procedures.

This methodology is used by the ISIS WMS project team, Customer Management and Human Resources as a guide for implementing training and coaching.

The training conducted consists of a range of learning activities in which staff will participate and is based on the agreed work practices. These activities enable staff to develop the confidence, knowledge and skills to change from existing, to new work practices, thereby, achieve the aims and benefits of the new processes and system.

The methodology consists of the following components:

• Identifying and working in conjunction with all Customer Management to ensure communication continues to occur in accordance with the ISIS Warehouse Management System Communication Strategy.
• Delivering training (based on a needs analysis and new system requirements) on a just in time basis to staff.
• Identifying key staff members to become champions and/or coaches in various aspects of the ISIS Warehouse Management System in the longer term.
• Providing on the job coaching in ISIS Warehouse Management System processes, techniques and tools to key staff.

The above strategy is based on the following skill acquisition metrics, which indicate that 20% of skills are attained from formal training, 30% from workshop participation and 50% from on the job experience.