In implementation projects, the focus often turns to technology: features, integrations, timelines, and budgets. Yet one decisive factor is frequently underestimated: change management.
What if the real risk in your project was not the solution you selected, but the ability of the people who will use it every day to understand it, accept it, and adopt it?
Change management: the often forgotten factor in implementations
Whether it involves a technological deployment or an organizational transformation, an implementation typically mobilizes significant energy around the solution itself. The human side, meanwhile, is sometimes addressed late in the process or only implicitly.
The result is well known:
- Teams adopt new tools only partially.
- New processes are bypassed.
- The expected value takes longer to appear.
Even when a solution is delivered on time and on budget, the absence of structured change management can lead to project underperformance. Without appropriate support, resistance, confusion, and organizational fatigue can settle in quickly.
Data that confirms real‑world experience
Industry data reflects what many organizations observe on the ground.
According to research from Prosci, only 13 % of projects with weak change management meet or exceed their objectives, compared with 88 % when change management is considered excellent.
These major gaps can often be explained by:
- a lack of clear and continuous communication
- training that is insufficient or not adapted to specific roles
- limited support for managers and end users
- resistance to change that is not acknowledged or addressed
In other words, the success of a project depends as much on the human factor as it does on the technology itself.
Structuring change through proven models
Change management is not a matter of improvisation. Well‑established frameworks make it possible to structure support in a concrete and practical way.
Among the most widely used is the ADKAR model, which guides individuals through five key stages.
- Awareness: understanding why the change is necessary
- Desire: wanting to participate in the change
- Knowledge: knowing how to change
- Ability: being able to apply the change
- Reinforcement: anchoring the change over time
These models help transform a change that feels imposed into a change that is understood, accepted, and sustainable, supporting adoption and the creation of real value.
Field‑tested expertise, regardless of complexity
At CIS Group, change management is an integral part of our approach.
With several hundred implementations completed, our teams have supported organizations of all sizes, from small businesses with a few employees to multinational groups with more than 1,000 users.
This diversity allows us to adapt our methods to your reality, your culture, and your specific challenges, whether it involves a targeted deployment or a large‑scale transformation.
Concrete support, co‑built with your teams
Our specialists support you in developing a pragmatic change management plan, co‑built with your teams. This support may include:
- identifying key stakeholders
- establishing project performance indicators
- a structured and targeted communication plan
- training strategies aligned with user needs
- practical actions to support adoption in day‑to‑day operations
The objective is simple. Deliver the project, but above all, deliver its value.
Moving into action, together
A project is not considered successful solely because it goes live. It is successful when it achieves real adoption and generates tangible benefits in daily operations.
Investing in change management secures your investment and accelerates the achievement of expected results.
Speak with your CIS Group account director or expert advisor, or contact us to discuss how to integrate change management into your next project.