Author of "Ready for Change?" in March 2001 Issue of Intelligent Enterprise Asia

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Before embarking on any implementation, it's important to first measure your company's readiness for IT. We can look into the following areas:

Looking at how your company manages the current system, it is possible to foresee the problems that it will encounter when implementing IT systems.

This is a sign of uncertainty of the management's thoughts and priority. The frequent change of processes and procedures often confuse employees. Employees are also less willing to participate in new project's due to the uncertainty.

If your organization does not formally standardize and document its processes and policies, your company is less ready for systems that require more discipline.

The project team has to perform the standardization of the business process together with the IT implementation which makes the IT project more difficult.

If your staff and managers tend to deviate from the procedure, the discipline of your organization may not be sufficient for computerized system.

The quality of management is perhaps the most important factor to the success or failure in any IT project.

If there is no clear leader with some understanding of the computerized system, who is going to lead the project? This is a common problem with the small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Is there a clear vision for your company? Has the top management defined the purpose of the project and what it is trying to achieve?

Some organizations may not have strong concept of modern management. I encountered managements that preferred to keep excessive stock to avoid running out of stock without understanding the cost impact of keeping these stocks. They believed that having more stock indicate prosperity of the business.

To find out how good your company is in managing changes, look at results of recent projects that your company carried out. Many managers are good in planning but may not be effective in implementing their plans and motivating their staff to change.

People are important as they will be the users of the system, and their ability to use the system effectively will determine the return on investment of the project.

Level of education has direct relationship to the speed of learning how to use IT. If most of the key employees have little IT literacy, it will be more difficult to implement large scale IT projects.

If staff turnover of your company is very high, the continuity of the project implementation cannot be ensured. High staff turnover is also an indication of management problem. Since some projects implementation tend to increase staff turnovers, the management should be prepared for it. Not all attritions are bad, as long as they are controlled and managed.

Is your staff keen on learning new thing and technologies? When there is complacency and the "not invented here" attitude, it will be very difficult to implement IT projects.

Do the employees have the discipline to follow procedures? Some management may not have the determination to ensure that procedures are enforced. In an environment that lacks discipline, it is difficult to conduct business process reengineering in a structured way. IT solutions tend to be very structured. Your staff will find difficulty operating in this type of environment without the change in attitude.

There were managements that tried to force the IT implementation in organizations that were not well structured. These were done based on the belief that IT solution will enforce discipline and provide the necessary operations structure. Unfortunately, not many of such projects are successful.

By taking steps to improve your organization’s readiness to change, you create a healthy company culture for business growth. The factors to improve the readiness of staff can be illustrated by the following "Readiness Circles":

Set clear vision and objectives for the company. These visions and objectives should be constantly communicated to the employees. It helps to align the goals of various projects with what is expected of employees, so that they can contribute to the vision and it minimizes non-value added activities.

Formulate clear and workable strategies to achieve the vision, and include the IT plan.

Design organization structure to support the strategy and vision. The structure should allow easy measurement of each department's performance within the plan. Organizations that are structured around the business process have ., a much easier time during an IT J Implementation. Techniques such ''' `Business Process Reengineering (BPR) analysis will be useful in redesigning the business process.

Improve the skill of your managers and employees. Give incentives and make it convenience for management and employees to attend training. Reward those who have successfully completed training programmes. Formulate a training plan and put it as part of the company strategy.

The ability for business owners to identify, recruit, deploy and retain talent is perhaps one of the most difficult and yet important tasks faced by SMBs. Business owners and top management need to be creative in the remuneration package for their talents.

Business owners and top management must practice what they preach and "lead by example" : An open management style tends to encourage participation by the employees. A closed management style that is practiced by some SMBs has the effect of restricting the growth of the employees and the company. In a closed style management environment, employees are reluctant to make decisions. This places most of the decision-making tasks onto the business owners and top management. It is not a problem when a company is small. However, when the company begins to grow, the span of control of the company will be stretched, rendering the management style ineffective. The closed management style also reduces the opportunity of the managers to practice decision-making, which can lead to succession problems in the future.

Having an open management style has to be done with good management control. Having an open management style without corresponding management system to support it can be chaotic. There must be clear policies that help your managers in making routine decisions. There must also be a check and balance system especially when financial resources are involved. The management system must be efficient so that not too many resources and time is spent in managing it. Yet it must also have an efficient counter checking and feedback mechanism in place.

Effecting a new IT system is not just about technology but about fundamental management. Without a strong foundation, implementing IT is like giving a racing car to an untrained driver. It will be costly and dangerous.

So, where can small and medium sized companies start? It will be a difficult journey for most SMBs. But the rewards can be tremendous. With the limited resources and talent within most SMBs, it is unlikely that you can travel alone. You may want to get external help to achieve your goals. It is difficult for most managers to admit that they are not completely equipped to carry out these tasks. But, those who are brave to realize it and seek appropriate help are likely to be the more successful ones.