Change management = preparing the organization to absorb the change. It's distinct from technical deployment.
Activities span the project lifecycle:
Phase 1: Awareness (early Discovery)
- Vision communication — why is this happening? Sponsor leads with the "why".
- Stakeholder identification — power and interest map.
- Champion network — recruit advocates in each affected team.
Phase 2: Engagement (during Build)
- Demo cadence — sprint demos with users, not just stakeholders.
- Champion involvement — they preview features, give feedback, evangelize.
- Newsletter / updates — periodic written communication on progress.
- Q&A sessions — open forums for concerns.
Phase 3: Training (closer to UAT)
- Curriculum design — role-based: what each persona needs to know.
- Multiple formats — instructor-led, video, written, in-app guidance.
- Trailhead modules — Salesforce's free training; orgs can build custom Trails.
- In-app guidance (Setup -> In-App Guidance) — tooltips, walkthroughs inside Salesforce.
- Train-the-trainer model — champions train their teams, scaling reach.
- Certification for power users / champions to deepen adoption.
Phase 4: Launch (go-live)
- Cutover communication — what's changing, when, what to do if issues.
- Support channels — Slack, Teams, email, helpdesk for fielding questions.
- War room / hypercare — heightened support for the first 1-2 weeks.
- Visible leadership — exec endorsement of the change.
Phase 5: Adoption (post-launch)
- Adoption metrics — login frequency, feature usage, completion rates.
- Ongoing training — for new hires; for users still struggling.
- Feedback loops — surveys, focus groups, usage analytics.
- Phase 2 planning — what's next based on user feedback.
Common pitfalls:
- Treating change management as an afterthought — surface a separate budget line for it from day one.
- One-size-fits-all training — different roles need different training.
- No champions — top-down communication doesn't substitute for peer endorsement.
- Measuring adoption only as login counts — need usage depth metrics.
- Insufficient post-launch support — adoption drops if users feel abandoned.
- Ignoring resistance — surface concerns; don't suppress.
Red flags during a project:
- Stakeholders not attending demos.
- Users complaining about being "told", not "engaged".
- Champions disengaging.
- Adoption metrics flat or declining post-launch.
A senior consultant invests in change management early — the build can be perfect, but if the organization doesn't adopt it, the project fails.
A common rule: for every $1 spent on technology, spend $1 on change management. Many fail because they spend $9 on tech and $1 on people.