By Susan Riley, Partner, Columbus Consulting
New technologies like Generative AI are requiring retailers to think differently about every aspect of their business. Areas like forecasting, allocation and replenishment used to require manual, high touch engagement and heavy user input. With artificial intelligence, however, businesses are looking to revisit their people and processes to take advantage of the new efficiencies. With new technology comes new skill sets, new roles and new responsibilities; not just within a discipline, but across functions and throughout the company and supply chain.
So, how are leaders preparing their organizations for these changes?
Columbus Consulting works with global brands to facilitate transformations and one of the consistent key learnings we see is the need for more formalized change management. This is no longer deemed to be a “nice to have,” but are becoming key requirements embedded into the project plans and budgets.
In general, there are four main pillars in a change management methodology:
- Assessing the change
- Planning and preparing for the change
- Implementing the change
- Supporting the change
In all cases, detailed planning is required for communication and training to make sure all impacted stakeholders are informed in the right cadence, with the right vehicle and by the right people. Success is made easier when there is senior level leadership involved, even if they are not the ones directly executing or being impacted by the change. It is critical that leaders understand what their teams are going through and that they can assist with consistent messaging for functional alignment. Leadership is not only key to getting buy-in, but they play a key role in maintaining continued education and in ensuring that they have the right people in the right jobs to embrace and scale the changes being made.
In the case of leveraging artificial intelligence, most roles within an organization can be both impacted and benefited. Not only can the use of advanced machine learning alleviate mundane tasks, but it can also make prior roles obsolete. This should be seen as a benefit to the employees who are looking to elevate their roles and become more strategic. Not having the right talent to elevate, however, will cause a slower organic change or forced change for the organization to adapt to new business processes. AI will also introduce new levels of speed, transparency and accuracy to a company—further requiring employees to embrace trust in the technology and to pivot to keep pace with the new workflow.
One way to alleviate the friction of change is to build a strong, consistent and sustainable communication plan based on the benefits of the change. Establishing KPIs and messaging around how the results of those measures directly impact teams will build buy-in and define success throughout the process. Leading with the “what’s in it for you” personalizes the project and helps employees feel accountable and included.
Culture must also be considered when embarking on any transformative project. Knowing how your organization works, how change will impact daily functions and whether or not teams are open and adaptable to change should be part of the change management planning. This is where a change management champion can be effective. Utilizing a high performing company influencer who represents the organization’s authentic self is helpful—especially with brands that have a strong history and heritage. The role of the champion is to be open and listen to employees, allow for time and space for adoption and to continually enforce a message of teams being valued.
This may all seem fairly logical and obvious, but too many project plans focus on time and actions based on deliverables and milestones. Layering in change management to the process will head-off intangible complications. Identifying key stakeholders up front and documenting stages for feedback and messaging should be part of every stage of the transformation.
It is also a best practice to sustain change with continued education and support. Projects should not be considered done when implementation is over. Rather, leaders should create advocates through a “train the trainer” approach. Continued trainings like lunch & learns, mentorships, new hire assimilation programs and other methods will further build institutional knowledge that, over time, will become woven into the enhanced/evolved culture. In addition to building and sustaining longer-term momentum, leaders should be sensitive to any on-going resistance. Identifying departments or individuals who are struggling with change needs to be addressed quickly and early to avoid the emergence of negativity that can interrupt business transformation. Post implementation practices need to not only include on-going learning, but should also encourage on-going feedback and talent redevelopment or role reassignments. Like every other business practice, success is neither finite or static. Change is a constant and is comprised of both emotional and physical deliverables. Checking off the financial KPIs is only part of the success. Retaining and evolving your talent is the other essential part.
ABOUT SUSAN RILEY
Susan is a Partner at Columbus Consulting. She has more than 27 years of retail experience in Planning and Allocation. She has developed strong client relationships and has played an integral part in successful system implementations. Susan has led and managed large change management programs and training development. Her experience includes working with such brands as: Victoria’s Secret, Tapestry, Tory Burch, Whole Foods, Finish Line, Saks Incorporated and Abercrombie & Fitch.
ABOUT COLUMBUS CONSULTING
Columbus Consulting delivers solutions that drive true value and have been transforming the retail and CPG industries for over two decades. We are a retail consulting company of industry experts. Our approach is simple, if you do it, we do it. We are more than consultants; we are experienced practitioners who actually sat in our clients’ seats. We understand the challenges, know what questions to ask and deliver the right solutions. Columbus offers a unique, consumer-centric approach with an end-to-end perspective that bridges functional & organization silos from strategy to execution. Our specialties include: unified commerce, merchandising & category management, planning & inventory management, sourcing & supply chain, data & analytics, accounting, finance & operations, people & organization and information technology. Let us know how we can help you. To learn more, visit COLUMBUSCONSULTING.COM.
