BAC Flight of the Modern Workspace: When Change Management is part of the 'inflight service'
Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Limited (BAC), the operator of Brisbane Airport (BNE), is a private, unlisted Queensland company that proudly takes on the challenge of connecting Australia to the rest of the world every day.
BNE is Queensland’s most important transport hub, Australia’s third busiest airport and a port that is well on its way to becoming Australia’s best gateway.
The Challenge
In 2019, BAC commenced an 18-month program called 'Modern Workspace', a gradual transformation of end-user-facing technologies to align with Microsoft 365 cloud technologies.
Through the Modern Workspace Program, BAC delivered to its employees the latest hardware, Windows 10, access to Office 365 productivity tools, and automation of selected manual/paper-based tasks with Office 365 tools.
The change in technology included a divergence from on-premises legacy email, and Windows 7 technology to a Microsoft 365 cloud workspace, coupled with DELL 2-in-1 hardware, and F5 Always-On-VPN technologies.
The benefits of Office 365 are, amongst others: the ability to have video conference meetings across the BAC campus; enhanced ability for teams to share files and collaborate on the same document at once; and the ability to have the same experience from around the world wherever there is a Wi-Fi connection.
“We were motivated to conduct a ‘not-your-average’ asset lifecycle upgrade to Windows 10 on modern hardware, while harnessing new collaborative technologies and ensuring we gave staff a great end-user experience and connectivity wherever in the world they may be.”
Eoin Connors - Digital Transformation Manager - BAC
L-R: Owen Huth (Sharing Minds) and Eoin Connors (BAC) recording a message for BAC staff
The Solution
"Typically, a significant system overhaul of company systems such as this can leave users feeling unsure and occasionally, threatened. In order to encourage a healthy adoption of new applications, and indeed behaviours, we need to be methodical in introducing the change, and provide some simple yet powerful ways of helping users in their transition."
Owen Huth - Change Manager - Sharing Minds
Our solution relied heavily on end-user participation and support from an active Change Champion network. This approach ensured that the solution delivered was tailored and stress tested before organisation wide implementation.
"The Change Champion Network actively tested the technology before go-live. They identified 80 changes that would make the implementation smoother, which were fixed before organisation-wide delivery. This meant that upon rollout it took significant stress off the service desk," explained Owen Huth.
Following the Prosci methodology (ADKAR Model) the change solution delivered an effective change and communications strategy. This strategy involved the BAC team throughout the process and used a ‘Train the Trainer’ model to deliver targeted and customised end-user training and upskilling. The launch was supported by onsite face-to-face training and users were walked through the main features of applications in bite-sized stages.
The solution provided:
Reliable Communication - timely communication that kept end users updated and engaged
Excellent Support - a team (Project Members, Sponsors and Champions) and online repository where end users could self-service and engage with the team openly
Connectivity - a diverse number of ways in which the project team effectively connect to end users
Ongoing Training - opportunities provided to all end users for face-to-face, remote and recorded training sessions that focused on the skills required to bridge the gap between their current skill set and the skill set required on the new system.
Last minute tech testing before a Modern Workspace Program briefing session.
What the Change Management will achieve
Assist staff in the transition from the current state to the desired future state
Increase the usage/ROI of Office 365 and associated technology
Technical literacy - a range of people were working on old systems with no knowledge of Office 365
“The team at Sharing Minds quickly embedded a layer of OCM goodness into our Modern Workspace Program. This expertise was invaluable in helping us to empower and nurture our champion network across the business leading up to and during the rollout of this program. Together we collaborated and delivered training offerings through a range of accessible channels ranging from traditional classroom, through to lunch n learns, and live event webinars.”
Eoin Connors - Digital Transformation Manager - BAC
To find out if our Change Management services could help you transition your team to a new technology, talk to us about your requirements today. We’d love to help.