Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/65226
Change Management Sometimes these customisations are to the materials, other times, they could be the vehicles or the communicators themselves that change. For example, regional change agents presented key change information to their leadership. In a global effort, the benefits of this activity are very powerful: Change agents have a better ability to communicate because they can a) speak the same language and b) understand any cultural nuances needed in a face-to-face communication. Likewise, in the aforementioned Latin American example, by having the field change team deliver the materials, the presenters could speak fluently in both English and Spanish—the latter often preferred and sometimes necessary to address nuanced questions. Another customisation could involve taking advantage of local themes or templates. During this project, South Africa hosted the first-ever World Cup on African soil. Many of the communications in Africa during 2010 reflected this momentous occasion, and HR BPO communications were no different. With tweaking, one might be tempted to diffuse change management responsibility locally. However, with five global regions and 102 countries, scaling as much as possible provides a significant cost benefit. Even with these examples of tweaking, the team still developed more than 60 percent of the materials for consistency. The key in balancing the tweaking of materials and the cost to develop them is to coordinate global reuse on labour intensive efforts (e.g. video) and focus less on other (e.g. PowerPoint presentations). Clear roles and constant communication between the centre and field change teams ensures no duplication of efforts. Takeaway 4: Expand service rehearsal testing to ensure management of service and adoption risks. Service rehearsal testing is a routine line item in HR BPO project plans. However, when dealing with the complexity of five contact centres, multiple support processes, and many region and country- specific process variations, such testing must be carefully expanded to avoid initial poor service perception and adoption at best, and a business disruption nightmare, at worst. For example, as Steve Yohn of Aon Hewitt explains, "The service model for The Coca-Cola Company included a contact centre in Shanghai, China, taking calls from Korea, China, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Having the representatives handle scripted calls during service rehearsal and using the third-party translation service was a key driver to a successful transition. The different dialects between Hong Kong and mainland China alone are material, and the rehearsal period allowed representatives to gain knowledge of their tools while practicing client interactions—win-win." Trish Kozola of Aon Hewitt recalls learning that service reps would have to "… explain how to key in … associate ID that started with a letter, when calling from a cell phone that didn't have a [U.S.] standard telephone keypad translation." The rep would be responsible for knowing which letters corresponded with which numbers on a keypad—like the number six would represent MNO. This taught the team not to assume anything and to explain everything!" HR BPO global complexities can be quite challenging. For example, transactions on employees located in a country differing from their manager create significant obstacles and barriers, including: • Local labour laws that vary and constantly change. Remote managers will not be aware of local nuances and will need support. • The shared service centre supporting the manager may not be the same as the centre supporting the employee—which can create additional complexity and frustration for a manager attempting to complete a transaction. Service rehearsals can be a great way to highlight some of these complexities and engage the business in leading change. As Yohn notes, "During the rehearsal period for a centralised, North America- based centre for North American and Latin American populations, a Spanish-speaking HR executive volunteered to make some test calls. He spoke to a U.S.-based, Spanish-speaking representative, and had an extremely positive experience. After that, he spread the word among his HR peers and Latin America-based client constituents that the change 'was going to work!'—clearly, the hands-on experience helped confirm what the change communications had been saying." If the extended change team has access and input to a rehearsal script, then participating in the testing will give them a first-hand experience of how the process works and what changes should be implemented. Going Forward Change management doesn't end with an implementation. The Coca-Cola Company and Aon Hewitt continue to partner in post- implementation change management and learn global HR BPO change management lessons as thousands of employees receive HR services. Of course, tracking adoption is the ultimate test of change management success. At The Coca-Cola Company, adoption is monitored on an ongoing, global basis. For example, in talent management: Development Plan Operating Group COR-Corporate Group EAG-Eurasia & Africa Group EUR-Europe Group LA-Latin America Group NAG-North America Group PAC-Pacific Group Grand Total Career Plan Operating Group COR-Corporate Group EAG-Eurasia & Africa Group EUR-Europe Group LA-Latin America Group NAG-North America Group PAC-Pacific Group Created 45% 19% 47% 49% 19% 41% 37% Created 37% 11% 25% 31% 11% 28% Plan Submitted 11% 7% 12% 11% 9% 10% 10% Plan Submitted 9% 6% 16% 9% 3% 9% Plan Accepted 44% 75% 41% 39% 72% 49% 53% Plan Accepted 55% 83% 59% 60% 86% 63% WINTER 2012 | www.hroglobal.com [15]