In 2014, a larger franchiser of over 2000 restaurants reached out to me to get advice on consolidating their 5 franchise management systems into one. They were growing quickly and the legacy systems they used to manage franchise agreements as well as customer interactions were no longer sufficient. Additionally, they had different systems for each brand – making it even more difficult to have a complete picture of their company and how it was operating.

I met with their executive leadership team and presented them with some examples of how other franchise companies use technology to manage their franchise businesses. I ensured they understood not only industry best practices, but also pointed out mistakes other companies have made when attempting to select the most appropriate ERP system. They took the information I provided and then ultimately ended up selecting the system I recommended, which was Salesforce.com.

By summer of 2016, they were in the middle of implementing it. They had hired a consulting firm to do initial configurations as well as perform data migration. Large new systems always warrant process changes and subsequently role and responsibility changes. Some are very exciting and well received. Others are not. I was asked to come join the team to define these new processes, detail the new roles and responsibilities, as well as create user guides and training.

The team with the most reservations was the group that processed franchise agreements. They were the ones that used the legacy systems the most. Many people within these teams had been with the company for years, and so this magnitude of change was daunting. To alleviate some of the stress, I spent one-on-one time with them, listening to what their roles were all about, what was important to them, and what concerns they had about the new system. I also met with their management team to understand the new objectives they had for the team now that this new system was nearly ready to go.

After having spent one-on-one time with each of them, I did something very simple – I created process models that showed them step-by-step how they will be able to do their job using the new system. I put different roles into “swim lanes” to make it easy for the reader to see how they would interact with other teams using the new system. I’m also a big fan of using color. I color-coded steps in the process that required the use of the new system. At a quick glance, it was easy to see where the new system would be a part of their new process as well as showing them what would remain the same.

Process models do a world of good when you are trying to explain to someone how a new system is going to impact the way they do their job. It also is a great way to define roles and responsibilities and get the ambiguity of “who’s doing what now” out of the way. Additionally, spending one-on-one time with the team members that will be using the new system (not just management) goes a long way in making them feel important and needed. This in turn makes them more accepting of the new system. I used these process models to create step-by-step user guides, service level agreements (SLA’s) as well as training to support them. By the end of summer 2016, the franchise administration team was ready to go with using the new system…and even eager to start!

Deploying new systems – especially with team members that have been with the company a long time, can be very challenging. In cases such as this, it is very important to spend a good deal of time listening and empathizing. I also believe that the use of process models is invaluable to ensure adoption of the new system. They provide an opportunity to “see how it will work” before the users actually have to use the new system. End-users are able to provide good feedback on any process-related changes because they can see the big picture of how they will be interacting with the new system. Process models can effectively turn “naysayers” into eager new participants of the new system!