Most ERP implementations treat change management as a pathway to user adoption, but adoption is not the only outcome worth pursuing.
Executives leading ERP initiatives have a unique opportunity to use change management as a tool for surfacing hidden operational intelligence.
How? By deliberately engaging skeptical employees early and using their input to validate how work truly happens on the ground.
Change Management Case Study
The client recognized their need for more comprehensive change management, so they asked us to fill in the gaps. We developed a robust communication plan to supplement the vendor’s communication approach.
Why Front-Line Friction Reveals Operational Truth
The employees who are the most resistant to change are often the ones holding critical insights about workarounds, inefficiencies, and process exceptions that do not appear in official documentation.
For example:
- When a scheduler questions a new production workflow, they may be drawing from years of experience navigating late supplier deliveries.
- When a field technician hesitates to embrace mobile data entry, it may be because they know that connectivity fails in 30% of their service zones.
These examples illustrate more than just inconvenient resistance—they illustrate how employee pushback can provide operational insights. If you pay attention to pushback, you can form a clear picture of where the ERP design will support operations and where it will create friction.
The Missed Opportunity in Traditional Change Management
Too often, change management efforts are treated as downstream tasks, activated once key decisions have already been made. By that point, employees are expected to adapt—not contribute.
Panorama’s approach flips that model. Our ERP experts position change management as an intelligence-gathering engine that can surface:
- Localized process variations that contradict global design
- Unofficial tools or shadow systems masking broken workflows
- Gaps in accountability or role clarity that will impair adoption
- Workarounds that have become mission-critical (but undocumented)
Even in organizations with strong business process mapping (BPM) disciplines, change management adds a distinct layer of insight. BPM is typically led by process owners and analysts, so change management can complement this by bringing in more nuanced user perspectives, such as:
- How employees adapt when documented processes break down under real-world conditions
- Where informal norms or shortcuts override formally designed workflows
- How confidence, trust, and fatigue influence whether processes are followed as designed
This insight does not replace BPM-driven process design; it strengthens it by validating how those processes hold up in real operating conditions.
How to Use OCM to Uncover Operational Intelligence
Whether your organization is implementing an ERP system, HCM system, or supply chain management system, the ability to surface operational truth early will shape whether the system delivers lasting value or reinforces flawed assumptions.
1. Conduct Stakeholder Interviews That Look Beyond Attitudes
Begin with in-depth interviews with department heads, power users, process owners, and system skeptics. These conversations are designed to discover:
- Where do processes break under pressure?
- What informal systems are employees relying on?
- What handoffs cause confusion or delays?
2. Embed Feedback Loops in Design Sprints
Rather than soliciting feedback after decisions are made, embed feedback loops in the design process. During fit-gap workshops, sandbox testing, or pilot rollouts, capture real-time input on where system design fails to reflect real-world workflows and operational needs.
This feedback should feed directly into the implementation roadmap.
For example, our ERP consultants often advise clients to determine configuration plans, training priorities, and rollout sequencing based on what users reveal during early testing and feedback sessions.
3. Create Change Agent Networks That Surface Local Intelligence
Build change networks composed of highly trusted employees across functions and locations. These individuals should collect data, surface risks, and validate whether project assumptions hold true in day-to-day operations.
The result is a more nuanced view of organizational readiness and fewer surprises post-go-live. Project leaders can preemptively see where process assumptions may need to be revisited, where change fatigue may already exist, and where key roles or handoffs lack clarity.
What to Do Next
Executives leading ERP transformations should stop thinking of organizational change management as a downstream function. This means:
- Funding OCM early, not as a post-decision workstream
- Using OCM to test assumptions and refine business process design
- Treating resistance as a leading indicator of insight, not defiance
At Panorama, we believe ERP readiness has a lot to do with whether the organization has the operational insight to configure a system that works in practice, not just in theory. Our organizational change management consultants help executive teams convert front-line insight into measurable ERP outcomes. Contact us below to learn more.
