Australian-based Panviva's Business Process Guidance solution SupportPoint is being used within divisions of Aurecon, to support its ongoing learning and development programme, as the company implements a number of new enterprise systems and processes.
Aurecon, a leading global provider of multidisciplinary professional technical services, is a new company resulting from the merger between Australian-based Connell Wagner and two South Africa-based firms Africon and Ninham Shand. Connell Wagner had selected SupportPoint as the solution to guide its Asian Pacific employees through the implementation of new business processes prior to the merger.
Aurecon (Asia Pacific) recognised that to embed a new global, client-focused, standardised business model it needed a way to quickly and efficiently ensure employees could easily adapt to new processes and enterprise applications being rolled out. The traditional approach to addressing the change management aspect of implementing new systems and processes is to schedule a lot of classroom training or e-learning. This approach is not only very expensive, especially when it takes high value consultants away from billable work, but low retention rates following training also make the effort ineffective.
SupportPoint addresses this issue by providing access to up to date information on policies and procedures in an easy to apply format. Employees are guided through the task at hand much like a GPS directs the driver of a car, reducing the reliance on expensive and time-consuming up-front training.
Aurecon General Manager for Business Services in Asia Pacific Paul Thorstenson said the traditional approach of face-to-face training could not solely support the introduction of a number of new enterprise systems and processes. “While training is still a component, there are so many process changes to deal with that it would be impossible to cover them all in a training course, and the rate of change of the information would render much of the training obsolete in a short space of time.”
Mr Thorstenson said SupportPoint enabled Aurecon to move through the various phases of change more effectively, boosting productivity and most importantly improving service provision to clients.
“SupportPoint guides our employees step-by-step through processes in real time and makes our staff more self reliant and confident of how to do their jobs.
“With it we can achieve standardisation in our business processes and enabling tools, which increases productivity and reduces risk and costs associated with wasted time, support services and administration.
“Changes can be quickly communicated to all employees, regardless of role and location, allowing us to efficiently service a geographically diverse base of clients.”
Panviva CEO David Frenkel said that, particularly during uncertain economic times when businesses were morphing to remain competitive, 'change fatigue' was a real threat to efficiency and morale.
“Significant business change typically requires employees to adopt a slew of new policies, procedures and systems. Mergers are stressful enough for employees without adding the burden of lengthy classroom training that takes time from productive work and assumes they will remember the myriad details when they get back to their desks,” said Mr Frenkel. ”Using SupportPoint helps to ensure an easier and less stressful transition process and one that does not incur the same opportunity costs of taking high value consultants away from the client and into the classroom.”
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