Building AM/FM/GIS User Acceptance Through Communications

Building AM/FM/GIS User Acceptance Through Communications

Rockford S. Webster
Team Leader, Future Focus Team,Tucson Electric Power Company,
4350 East Irvington Road Tucson, Arizona 85714
(520) 745-3425,(520) 745-3412 (fax)

Kate Varden
Senior Consultant, UGC Consulting, 6200 S. Syracuse Way,
Suite 222, Englewood, Colorado 80111
(303) 773-6166,(303) 773-6618 (fax)

Abstract
Facing ongoing corporate change and reengineering efforts, employees are cautious and unsure about the future. Many may be less likely to embrace new technology such as AM/FM/GIS, for fear the technology may take their jobs. In order for companies to realize the opportunities of AM/FM/GIS, employees -- executives, managers and line workers alike -- need to understand how the technology fits into the company’s long-term mission. When Tucson Electric Power initiated a two-year plan to redesign its Energy Service Process, along with introducing a comprehensive AM/FM system and related technologies, the company cited employee communications as a critical task. The project team developed and initiated a strategic communications program, complete with a full-time project spokesperson. The program’s objective was to build executive, project team, and user confidence and acceptance of AM/FM and related technologies by educating them about the benefits of the technology and the project’s progress. The paper will use Tucson Electric as a case study to illustrate how utilities may plan for, implement and maintain an employee communications program which will help support achieving the goals and objectives of AM/FM/GIS.

Employee Communication is Critical to a Successful AM/FM/GIS Project Once considered nonessential, “soft,” and “touchy-feely,” the role of employee communications within an AM/FM/GIS project more recently has taken on a much more visible and important role. In the aftermath of a GIS project setback, more than one 199.project manager has been overheard saying, “it wasn’t a technology problem, it was a ‘people’ problem.”

Many utility companies now realize that overall project organization, including effective communication, is critical to a successful project. In fact, employee communications is often cited as a risk mitigator that can help avoid the “people problems” encountered by GIS projects in the past. For utility companies experiencing significant changes in corporate work processes and technology during GIS projects, timely, relevant and consistent information must be conveyed to all employees - including top management, the project team, and the end users.

It is no secret that change, particularly technological change, can cause great anxiety among employees at an organization embarking on a GIS project. End users may feel anxious about using a new system; some employees may even be using a computer for the first time. Project team members may suffer many anxiety-ridden moments, wondering how and whether the project will be completed on time and within budget. Executives, too, have an understandable interest in the large technology investment their company has made and how and when the technology’s advertised benefits will materialize.

The overall investment in a communications program is just a small percentage of the total GIS project cost. Whether a utility dedicates a full-time staff person to handle communications or relies on the project manager to give regularly scheduled updates to key audiences, the objective is the same: To inform people about the status of the project and the benefits of the technology.

Developing a Model for Introducing AM/FM/GIS to Employees Before launching a communications program to support a GIS project, it is important to analyze the company’s current situation and environment. Project team members who have been with the company for many years may think they know exactly how to communicate information about the project. Chances are, however, they may have made some inaccurate assumptions.

For instance, although project team members may believe the company’s internal Web site is a valuable communications vehicle, many other employees may not yet be comfortable with the medium and therefore will not rely on it as a source of information. In other cases, some people may want to produce a videotape about the project without considering the videotape’s goal or intended audience.

By conducting a situation analysis, a GIS project team can help ensure that careful consideration is given to how the project-and, specifically, the communications efforts-- will fit into the overall corporate environment. It is helpfid to take the “temperature” of 200.the company by taking an informal survey. It also helps to understand how other large projects have communicated information in the past to learn from their successes and failures. For instance, if a particular project promised a seamless, paperless approach to the utility’s accounting fi.mctions within six months and did not deliver, the importance of managing expectations becomes clear very quickly.

In addition, it is helpfi.d to take an inventory of other large projects currently underway at the company. More than likely, the company will have several large initiatives underway at the same time. Recognizing that the GIS project is not the only “game in town” helps put the project within the scope of the company’s overall mission.

A list of target audiences is another critical component of a successful communications program. This list identifies who is likely to be directly and indirectly impacted by the project, and is typically compiled by department name. Included in the list should be the direct users of the technology as well as less obvious groups such as executives and the project team itself. The target audiences are the recipients of key project information. Once the situation analysis is complete, the next step is to identifi program objectives and strategies. These answer the questions “what do we want to do,” and “how do we want to do it?” A typical objective for a GIS communications program may be “to build the target audiences’ confidence and acceptance of AM/FM/GIS by educating them about the benefits of the technology and the project’s progress.”

The strategies of a GIS communications program will vary by company depending on the project’s size and the utility’s overall business situation. However, effective communications strategies can include relating the corporate mission to the project, building project identity, demonstrating employee involvement, and communicating openly and honestly.

Identi&ing key messages that should be conveyed throughout the entire project is critical to ensuring that a project delivers consistent information. Key messages are facts about the project that describe how the project fits into the utility’s overall corporate strategy. For instance, GIS is often cited as a valuable tool for improving customer service. With competition intensifying within the utility industry, this benefit can be cited as one of the project’s key messages. Other important key messages include “what’s in it for me?” and the important role of employee involvement throughout the project.

Once the program’s strategies, target audiences and key messages have been identified, the next step is to outline the actual program tactics. However, before putting together this list of activities, careful consideration must be given to how the project can most effectively communicate with employees.

Oftentimes, a project team will get the urge to create its own newsletter to communicate news about the project’s progress. While this may sound like a good idea, teams generally find it challenging to keep up a regular publication and to include fresh and interesting news. Ultimately, the newsletter becomes obsolete and leaves employees wondering about the GIS project’s overall long-term viability. Therefore, it is very helpful to evaluate the current communications vehicles available within the company. More than likely, these vehicles exist because they have proven effective, and because employees have come to rely on them for meaningful information. Existing communications vehicles may include, but are not limited to, newsletters, department meetings, executive briefing sessions, management forums, the Intranet, electronic mail, voice mail, and bulletin boards. Any existing vehicle that features face-to-face communication is preferable for discussing a GIS project because it allows for more effective two-way interaction. The key is to evaluate all printed materials and determine the most effective approach for them. It is not prudent to choose a printed material vehicle that is not read by employees.

Measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of a communications program will help to determine what employees have learned about the project as well as areas where knowledge may be lacking. Because GIS projects generally take 18 or more months to implement, sufficient time exists during the project to evaluate how effective the communications program has been. Interviews with members of each target audience will help to measure the program’s overall success. As appropriate, questions relating to the project may also be included in a corporate survey of employees.

Based on the findings of the evaluation, the communications program can be modified to more effectively reach targeted audiences and ultimately achieve the overall objective throughout the remainder of the project. No employee communications program is ever final, but instead should be flexible enough to change as the environment within a utility company changes.

The key to implementing a successful communications program is to link together all communications-related activities directly to the project schedule. This ensures that all important project milestones and deliverables are reported appropriately in a timely manner. For example, the date for newsletter articles should be linked directly to project plan milestones instead of standing alone as a communications deliverable.

There are many factors involved in planning for and establishing a budget for a GIS communications program. These factors include the project’s size and duration and the number of employees within the target audiences. In some cases, many of the functions of the program can be performed by project team members in conjunction with the company’s internal communications department and consultants to the project. Components of an Effective Communications Program

There are three basic components of an effective communications program: face-to-face dialogue, printed materials, and technical tools. Separately each component plays an important role towards achieving AM/FM/GIS project success. However, when these basic components are integrated all of the necessary ingredients for a balanced, super-charged communications plan exist.

Technology changes in an organization often are coupled with social changes as well. This may create a fear within some employees of not being able to learn the new technology, and so jeopardizing their ability to remain employed. It is important that this volatile environment be combated with the most effective component of the communications program: face-to-face communication.

Face-to-face dialogue is by far the most powerful and effective form of communication for any project that introduces change into an organization. When properly carried out, this component brings a much needed and desired “friend” into the work groups to deliver news of the latest developments. Open, honest, and genuinely empathetic dialogue strips away the mystique, suspicion, and cynicism from the perceived “locked” doors of the project. Unfortunately, when not properly carried out, this can be the most disastrous and damaging part of the project’s communications efforts. Having a project spokesperson who is responsible for generating the majority of the face to face dialogue is paramount to a project’s success.

Setting up the face-to-face component of the communications program is a matter of getting “plugged into” meetings that are held within the affected areas. Using the list of target audiences identified in the communications program, the project spokesperson should prioritize the list of audiences and begin to schedule meetings or ask to be included on an existing meeting’s agenda. In today’s organization, time is a precious commodity. Therefore, a project spokesperson should never go to a meeting unprepared, and should always deliver substance.

There are also unique venues and opportunities to capitalize on the effectiveness of face-to- face communications. These may include additional meetings that are generated by the project or strategic corporate information sessions such as a “lunch and learn” program. Lunch-and-learn programs can be highly effective in communicating information about the technology to users as well as to non-users. During these sessions, employees can learn about the technology’s benefits while viewing a demonstration. Lunch-and-learn sessions tend to build excitement towards the technology on a corporate level. Using every opportunity to make the technology and the project visible greatly reduces employees’ fears and enhances the chances for success of the project.

The downside to face-to-face communication is that it is extremely demanding in terms of time and emotions. The demand on time is self evident and can be easily measured in dollars and cents. The drain on emotions is more subtle. Change and the fear of change will bring out the best in some and the worst in others. Dealing with volatile human emotions on a daily basis can be extremely difficult.

The second component of a balanced communications program is using printed materials. Their value lies in allowing the project to leverage its presence throughout the company. Where face-to-face communication is limited in the number of people reached at any given moment, printed material enables the project to be in many places at the same time. During times of change employees may feel a sense of security in information they can “touch and hold.” Printed material gives the employee an opportunity to review and absorb the information within their own time frame. It also can be referenced at a later date to clarify questions that arise as the AM/FM/GIS project progresses.

Another effective approach to using printed material is “project fact cards.” These laminated cards contain basic facts about the project and the technology, such as the history of the project, benefits of the technology to the individual and the organization, logistics on the roll-out of application and background information on technology service providers. These cards typically are handed out to front-line supervisors to help them communicate facts about the project and selected applications. Using these cards eliminates subjectivity and builds consistency in the information that is distributed to those not close to the project’s day-to-day operations.

The risk of using printed material is that during the course of the project information is constantly changing and employees may reference material that is no longer valid. It is important to negate this risk by keeping employees abreast of the changes with the latest information.

The third component of a balanced communications program is to use technical tools. Examples of such tools include e-mail, voice mail, or a “hot line” for employees to call and leave questions or concerns. These tools are highly effective in quickly distributing information to many people. This is especially true for major changes in the project or news “flashes” which need immediate distribution.

As with the other components of the communications program, it is necessary to identifi and evaluate the different technological communications tools available in the organization. The variety and sophistication of the tools will vary from organization to organization and industry to industry. Once the tools have been identified and evaluated, help from other areas of the company maybe required to establish their use. For instance, the company’s Communications department may be called upon to set up a “hot line” account.

A few of the tools may also require the project team or the spokesperson to enlist special training to become proficient in the tools being used. If this is the case, then it may indicate that the rest of the organization is unfamiliar with the tool, or lacks access to the technology. For instance, remote sites may not have access to certain technologies such as electronic mail.

Different phases of the AM./FM/GIS project will place different demands on each component of the communications program. At times during the project, face-to-face communication will be the predominant method of distributing information. At other times some other component will be the preferred vehicle. Without a balanced communications program, the project may suffer considerably if information is not distributed using the most effective vehicles. With a balanced communications program, valuable information can be distributed in a variety of ways as the demands and status of the project dictate.

Challenges
One key challenge for any AM/FM/GIS project is that it may not be the “only game in town,” and therefore may be competing for precious time with other projects. Since time is a commodity that cannot be replaced, the chosen information media of the GIS project should never waste an employee’s time. After all, when users perceive that information coming from the project is less than substantial, the project and the project team lose valuable credibility. The price tag for this error ultimately could be the loss of acceptance of the technology by the users.

Another key challenge is the fact that most utilities have limited facilities for conducting meetings, demonstrations, and workshops. Again, the GIS project will be competing with other projects and existing meetings. Unfortunately, because the project plan is the driver for when project information is distributed, the flexibility to schedule around the limited facilities becomes a real challenge. Some tactful negotiating or alternative methods may be necessary.

It is also challenging to differentiate between the target audiences’ “social” and “technical” emotions. Social emotions are characterized by hurt feelings and, in some instances, outright hostility. Technical emotions are more aligned with feelings of inadequacy in relation to the new business environment. For example, a typical employee has worked in the utility for many years and probably has experienced little or no change during his or her career. Today, such employees are increasingly expected to accept and adopt dramatic change at break-neck speed. They often feel as though they are literally riding an emotional roller coaster. The objective of effective communications within the project is to distinguish between types of emotions, be genuinely empathetic to employees’ feelings, and avoid taking any attacks on the project personally.

Summary
Today as utilities become more adept in project organization, effective communications is no longer an afterthought. Projects are resource intensive; no utility can afford to risk a project with ineffective communications. After all, projects don’t fail because of the technology, they fail because of the people issues. In the future, with GIS projects implementing effective communications programs, fewer project managers will be overheard saying, “it wasn’t a technology problem, it was a ‘people’ problem.”