ISP Flashcards
Current role and Background - GfK
GfK
Business relationship management focus
Sit on the regional management board
Conduit between IT and business activities
Strategic steering for the region and global alignment…
Where to centralize and where to remain autonomous
Global focus - lead global initiatives
Program management
AJW
Entrepreneurial company - global focus
Rapid growth + expansion
Acquisition - decentralized org
Business systems
ERP implementations - Quantum / SAP
UK / Canada / Miami / ME / APAC
Why do you want to leave
Reaching the end of the digital transformation
Returning to BAU activities (centralising biz apps)
Role will become less business-focused which is where I can deliver the most value
Want to continue my career progression
Why ISP
Working for a socially responsible organisation
I’m passionate about education, is critical to the development of future generations and making the process easier (a fulfilling career)
The role is perfect for my skillset and experience and where I want to go in my career - business focused
Entrepreneurial - I want to return to this
I will be able to deliver value in a business-focused role
Ideas for ISP
Centralised knowledge management
Contract management database - transparency
Reduce duplicated effort
Management Style
I focus on building TRUST through CANDOR and INTEGRITY
Candor
Honest and open
Accepting criticism
This creates a culture of honesty through SAFETY
Integrity Doing what you say you will Following up - taking action SACRIFICE and courage Assuming blame + Apportioning credit Letting staff know you have their backs
I create a COLLABORATIVE environment,
encouraging staff to CHALLENGE processes and ways of working, and EMPOWER staff to act on their own initiative and manage by exception wherever possible.
EMPATHETIC - I put myself in other people’s places to understand their point of view and see things from their perspective, and understand how they perceive value to ensure the outcome is aligned with both of our objectives to create win-win situations.
This all underpins a desire to develop people
BRM
Goal - What?
Maximise business value delivered by IT
Aligns IT and the business
Strategy (2-way alignment - business demand and art of the possible)
Investments in technology and organization
Fosters a 2-way appreciation between IT and the business
Strengthens collaboration
Drives a culture of creativity, innovation and shared ownership
Converges cross-functional teams - IT and the business
Eliminates value-depleting silos
Processes - How?
Stakeholder mapping and management exercise
Identify influence
Understand baseline opinion / brand of IT
Build trusting relationships
Communication
Transparency
Quick wins - show that IT can deliver business value (use-case)
Track and communicate value recognition
Translation of technology in terms that business leaders can understand
Needs buy-in from the top - start here
Business case / Prioritize projects
Strategy delivery -
Regular and ongoing communication with all stakeholders
Ongoing measurement of strategic benefits - ROI still valid?
Maintain alignment with business strategy
Course correction
Empowerment
Central source of truth for all
Data based decisions
Change management -
People - habits and culture (hearts and minds)
Change takes time - be patient, don’t force it
You need support and buy-in
(anonymous surveys - the silent majority)
Listen and communicate - it’s not one way
Programme management -
Break down large complex change programs into manageable projects
Understand dependencies
Review regularly - are the strategic benefits being realised and are they still valid?
Strategic alignment with the business
Measure:
ROI
Risk (including the risk of not implementing the project)
Cost / benefits analysis
Ongoing costs and resources
Benefits realization
Lessons learned - always review before a new project
Centralize or Decentralize?
Is it mandated? - Consolidated annual reports etc
Does it add value? (>10% cost saving etc)
Avoid risks / reduce bureaucracy / rigidity?
Ask?
Operating model - current and target? - why?
Process standardization and integration maturity
Benefits:
Single version of truth
Faster upgrades
Reduce TCO through standardization
Integrate new schools faster (acquisitions)
Faster and more accurate decision making through reliable data
Data management in a global + EXAMPLE (AJW)
Centralized data management platform using the Bespoke Web Portal - integrated using native APIs in our ERP and Finance applications.
This allowed for standardized reporting while allowing decentralized business applications to remain autonomous (due to mandated lone databases, requirements/processes were very different, and not financially viable to centralize).
Challenge with this approach - you have to understand the intricacies of each application, the processes, the working culture, and encourage buy-in by focusing on the benefits.
Increased efficiency (streamlined processes) reduced spend, lower risk, reduced duplication of effort
Example - understanding demand against patterns of business activity allowed more efficient stock management, integrated into our couriers.
Power BI and automated crystal reports to create real-time dashboards for a standardized view.
Tools + Projects (Experience)
Tools I’ve used:
• Navision
• SAP - finance / procurement / CRM / HR
• ERP - Quantum
• Workday - HR
• CRM - Salesforce / MS Dynamics / SAP
• IT - ServiceNow / Office 365 / Confluence / Slack / Jira /
• Cloud - AWS / Rackspace / Google cloud / Kubernetes + Docker for orchestration
• Litmos - LMS
• Moodle - LMS
Projects I've run: • ERP upgrades (Quantum) • SAP upgrade - orchestration regionally • CRM Salesforce rollout - AJW + GfK • CRM Dynamics rollout - AJW • Office 365 migrations - AJW + GfK • HR Workday rollout - AJW + GfK • SAP • Cloud migrations - AWS / RS / GC • Finance upgrades - Navision - AJW + GfK
Vendors: • Microsoft • Oracle • AWS / Rackspace • Dell / EMC
AJW • ERP - Quantum ○ AJW Aviation UK ○ AJW Technique Canada ○ AJW USA - Miami ○ AJW Middle East - Dubai ○ AJW APAC - Singapore
ERP Upgrade
ERP Upgrade Summary: ○ Create an inventory or modules licensed vs modules used ○ Analyse current functionality and business processes ○ Update procedures, policies, documentation ○ Analyse workflows ○ Assess reports and forms ○ Establish a strong project team ○ Resource and budget planning ○ Executive buy-in and execution strategy ○ Objectives ○ Scope ○ Timeline ○ Change management strategy ○ Infrastructure plan ○ Project roles and responsibilities ○ High level project plan ○ Budget
○ Change management § Identify changes to systems, processes, and org structures § Clear user communication § Create a change network § Build and enforce accountability Provide monitoring and feedback mechanisms
Manage and motivate by influence + EXAMPLE
Gain buy-in immediately - communicate not only why the project is important, but why it’s important to them and how they are important to the project
Empathy - take the time to go over schedules, understand other priorities and projects and avoid roadblocks early on, and make the golden rule a habit
Communication and candour - respond to questions promptly and completely, have an open door policy and have a frank, judgement-free culture
Gratitude - recognise contributions and praise personally and publicly
Clearly define goals - manage expectations early on
EXAMPLE GfK - global teams for fast office move. Get everyone on board straight away, be clear and manage expectations, communication channel (Slack)
EXAMPLE -
Challenges I might face + EXAMPLE (GfK)
Gaining buy-in, changing cultural behaviour
Demonstrate the benefits, how the project benefits THEM and the company as a whole, how they are an integral part of the project and give ownership.
EXAMPLE GfK - gaining buy-in to centralize our business applications. Feared change, disrupting BAU. Demonstrated the benefits in THEIR terms, including a lower TCO (by leveraging economies of scale and shared infrastructure) and guaranteeing QOS, SLA’s, and disaster recovery services that weren’t previously available.
Non-centralized apps example - AJW
CRM - moved to centralized Salesforce
ERP - remained separate in US, ME, + APAC.
Aviation industry is heavily regulated and required that each operating entity ran its own database.
Different modules required for each entity, so more cost effective. Simplified the upgrade process.
Linked reporting via bespoke web-based portal, using native APIs to pull data into a single source of truth.
Prior to this, accounting data was a nightmare, unreliable and inconsistent. - that data was used to make critical business decisions.
Non-centralized apps example - GfK
Finance - Navision, onto global SAP accounting
HR - centralized into global Workday
- some processes remained decentralized
CRM - centralized into global Salesforce
IT - centralized into global ServiceNow
- some processes remained decentralized
