Using key user maps in change management

Even though we live in a time in which professional change management has long become a necessary standard for transformation processes, the true value of key user maps for change management is still largely undiscovered.

Successfully carrying out change initiatives requires that employees are smoothly integrated into new ways of working, technologies, processes or structures. But that takes more than defining areas of responsibility or introducing new workflows and tools.

So for change management to act effectively, it above all takes a deep understanding of the needs and fears of employees and their acceptance of the change set in motion. Because if your own teams aren't willing or able to accept innovations in their everyday work, even the best change strategy won't work.

That's the point where key user maps come into play. As a versatile instrument of change management, they enable organizations to put their employees at the center of the change process. That in turn allows them to identify touch points and design individual measures for involving the main actors of the transformation process.

But what exactly are key user maps, and how do they support companies in improving their own change management?

Whether org charts of companies, metro timetables or family trees – when it comes to matters that span several levels of elements, schematic representations are extremely practical:

• They give us an overview of all relevant aspects.
• That in turn helps us quickly understand what it's about.
• This puts us in a position to make better decisions.

Key user maps are basically such a schema. But unlike in the examples above, here it's not about public transport or family relationships.

Rather, they're a tool for change management with which it's visually represented which stakeholders within the company play a special role in the planned initiative, since they're affected by the upcoming changes. 

These are usually people who:

• Are directly affected by the change.
• Have a strong influence on the success of a transformation project – and can also make it fail.
• Contribute to the acceptance and implementation of the planned change processes.

As the term already suggests, the stakeholders with such a key role are the so-called key users.

Key users can be leaders, opinion leaders, project leads or other influential actors whose areas of responsibility are directly influenced by the measures of the change project. When introducing a new software solution, these are, for example, the people who use the software in their daily work or also the team leads responsible for the successful introduction of the new tool.

A key user map, however, doesn't only show the main actors; it also contains the following information:

• Why and to what degree the initiative influences the respective person.
• At which contact points, the so-called touch points, change management interacts with the key users.

That makes key user maps a powerful control element for actively involving these key people, identifying their mood changes early and counteracting possible resistance with suitable measures.

How are key user maps created?

Even though key user maps are a very common instrument of change management, there's no blanket solution for actually creating such an overview.

That's because every company and every change are unique and therefore require an individual solution.

Nevertheless, there are some basic steps that help in working it out:

1. Professional change management as a basis

Before you begin creating a key user map, you should make sure the foundation of professional change management is in place. That is, you should already have defined which change process it's about, how it will run and which goals are to be reached with it in the short and long term.

2. Identifying key people

Once you've narrowed down to what extent the planned change will influence your company, it's time to identify the affected actors.

For this, you analyze your complete workforce: which people can actively contribute to the success of the change process or are most affected by it and thus play a key role? Whose area of responsibility will be subject to changes, such as those that happen, for example, when implementing a new ERP system?

3. Analyze the influences and relationships of your key users

Once the key users are identified, the next step is to find out what influence they have within the company. Aspects like the relationships with other employees, the formal and informal networks in which they operate and communication paths provide information about this.

4. Visual representation

Once you've gathered all this information, you only have to translate it into a kind of visual map, the key user map. There are no limits to your creativity here, as long as the representation contains the decisive elements:

• the key users,
• their role in the company structure,
• the touch points at which change management interacts with them
• their emotional attitude toward the change initiative.

5. Review and update

Since the roles, degrees of influence and ways of communicating of key users can change over the course of transformation processes, key user maps are a very dynamic tool of change management. For this reason, they should be reviewed and updated regularly. Only this way can you ensure that the representation reflects the current circumstances at all times.

When can key user maps be used in change management?

From key user maps, you can derive what influence stakeholders have on a change project and which needs of the people matter here. That makes them a valuable instrument that can be used in the different phases of change management:

1. Planning phase

In the planning phase of a transformation process, key user maps offer useful orientation for identifying all important stakeholders. This way you can anticipate to what extent the pending changes influence their field of activity and what possible reactions of the main actors to it might look like.

That gives you the chance to recognize potential resistance early and initiate appropriate preventive measures. In addition, with this basis you can develop a targeted communication strategy to inform and involve the most important stakeholders of the change initiative early.

2. Implementation phase

During the delivery of a change initiative, key user maps are helpful to ensure that all relevant people are informed about the planned changes and involved in all relevant measures. This way you can ensure that the main actors do justice to their role and actively support the implementation.

The regular feedback you receive in the process allows you to recognize opportunities and risks early, which is also of great value across projects.

3. Monitoring and evaluation phase

Even after delivering the project, key user maps can support change management. They're a great help in analyzing progress and help monitor the achievement of set goals. In addition, they serve to find out which employees are particularly suited to give feedback on the effectiveness of the applied measures. All this allows you to make adjustments whenever needed and ensure the lasting success of the change. 

What advantages do key user maps have for change management?

• Better change management – Key user maps help you identify key people within the company, understand their role in the overall structure and grasp their attitude toward the change initiative. This way you can develop targeted measures to understand and positively influence employees' attitudes and reactions to the change.
• Emotion management – Change always comes with emotions. Especially profound change processes often evoke feelings like nervousness, skepticism, frustration, fear, which can trigger resistance. With key user maps, you can better understand the cause of these emotions and counteract possible resistance from the start.
• Effective communication – Based on the insights from the key user maps, companies can develop tailored communication and training strategies that ensure the key users are optimally informed and prepared. This fosters acceptance and support within a transformation process.
• Active support – Based on the touch points shown in key user maps, companies have the chance to interact directly with the relevant actors and assess the influence of the change processes on their work area more precisely. This way they can, if necessary, support employees in a targeted way or create additional help and training offers.
• Efficient collaboration – Not least, using key user maps can help build support networks within the company. By identifying the connections between stakeholders, companies can deliberately put together teams that support each other and drive the change process forward.

Key user maps: an important lever for professional change management

Whether you're introducing a new IT system, restructuring your organization or integrating a new product into your workflows – key user maps are a powerful tool for steering transformation processes. 

By representing the most important actors and their relationships clearly and transparently, they enable not only effective planning, communication and implementation of changes. Above all, they also ensure greater acceptance of the measures among the relevant stakeholders.

Ultimately, key user maps thus help reduce the complexity of change initiatives, shape change successfully and secure the future viability of your organization.

If you'd like to know how you can optimally benefit from the added value of a key user map in your professional change management, feel free to contact us.