Approach to Channel transformation

This video shows you how to transform an organization that has implemented or is implementing Pega Customer Decision Hub (CDH) in terms of Channel Adoption and Transformation.

Channel Transformation entails understanding the impact of CDH implementation on delivery channels to drive adoption and success through enablement and potential business process change. There are three aspects to consider:

• Creative content: How imagery and messaging are drafted and managed.
• Channel builds: The work required to enable the content in the channel.
• Adoption and enablement: Processes and people, covering user enablement, adoption of the new software, and workflow adjustments.

So why should we focus on this topic?

Technology alone does not guarantee success; it is the synergy between technology, people, and processes that drives exceptional outcomes. Organizations must invest in the necessary steps to ensure that employees understand and embrace the new technology, and that workflows and procedures are optimized to take full advantage of its capabilities from end to end. Only through a holistic approach can organizations extract the greatest value and achieve sustainable success. Delivery channels are a key step in ensuring end-to-end adoption and success for a Pega Customer Decision Hub implementation.

An essential foundation to transformation is identifying key stakeholders from the organization to take on the journey.

Key stakeholders in this area are those directly involved in delivering the marketing and customer engagement requirements in the organization through various channels. This usually involves the channel teams, creative and content creators and managers, marketing technology, and marketing operations teams. They may be supported by one or more IT teams. It is worth reviewing and reflecting on information about the organization as a whole, to ensure that all potential stakeholders are considered in context when assessing the current situation, and then applying typical stakeholder analysis methods.

Now that we have looked at who in the organization needs to be involved, it is important to consider how interactions with the client will occur.

From major workshops to establish the current business situation, and collaborative workshops to design a future state, working in person with the client can be great, especially for establishing relationships early on and making detailed observations and assessments of stakeholders and the business situation. Even so, there are plenty of tools that can help you conduct these types of workshops remotely and still keep them lively and interactive. One example of these tools is Mural. If you need or want to conduct such workshops remotely, it is worthwhile to have a brief one-to-one meeting with key stakeholders beforehand to introduce yourself, set expectations, and understand their point of view. This will make the workshop much easier to facilitate. Always bear in mind your foundational stakeholder analysis when considering interactions. For example, some very senior stakeholders may appreciate a one-to-one briefing before and after a workshop, rather than directly taking part.

When would we tackle these topics during a typical MLP delivery?

This timeline gives us a typical timeframe for an MLP, but of course, depending on the scenario, this can be done faster. We recommend tackling the organizational transformation topics in a specific order, based on best practice and field experience. As you can see, this topic is addressed nearer the end of the MLP, so at this point, you should have a really detailed view of how the organization works, how the system will work functionally and technically, and a good view of the relationship with key stakeholders, making it easier to jump into the detail of this topic.

So what are the key tasks that need to be undertaken in these areas?

Pega has a standard MLP backlog when delivering CDH, and under the adoption category, we have recorded all of the tasks required for organizational transformation. For each of these areas, we have a common approach to achieving transformation:

1. Mutual understanding of the current business situation: Understand the current processes around channels, how creatives are generated and managed, who is involved, and how their work will be impacted.
2. Present best practice: Derived from Pega's years of implementation experience globally. We will cover these best practices in the next topic and how they should be adapted based on the current situation.
3. Define client-specific channel processes: Keeping as close to best practice as possible.
4. Define a plan: Including steps to get from the current state to the mutually agreed future state, to bring it to life and make it happen.

These key steps to success are featured in the MLP backlog.

Now, what are the recommended methods to use to undertake these tasks?

As explained earlier, Pega takes a common approach to tackling each of these topics, so let's start with our common step 1, which is to review the current state. Pega recommends that you apply as many of the following techniques as you can, to establish a clear picture of the current business situation:

• Workshops: Where key stakeholders present their current ways of working to you and discussions can be conducted. You should set expectations in advance, so that stakeholders come prepared. A workshop is invaluable to establishing your relationship with the client, observing and understanding the dynamics between stakeholders, and refreshing your original stakeholder analysis, if required.
• Document analysis: Make a note of the documents that are mentioned in the process during the workshop, so that you can perform document analysis afterwards and add to your understanding.
• Protocol analysis, shadowing, or interviews: Identify individual stakeholders with whom it would be useful to perform these techniques after the workshop, so that you can build a complete picture.
• Documentation and sign-off: Clearly document your understanding and play it back to key stakeholders for a sign-off or agreement. This is essential as your understanding of the current business situation is foundational to the next tasks.

When establishing the current situation, it's great to have a checklist of questions that you can ask stakeholders, to ensure that you have all the information you need and to prompt further discussions. Consider the specific industry that your client is in and the channels that are relevant to them. Some questions for the most common channels could be:

• How is creative content managed?
• Do we have a Content Management System (CMS)?
• How are call center agents incentivized?
• Are they reluctant or worried about the change?

Going back to Pega's common approach, let's continue with our common step 2, which is to enable the client on relevant Pega best practices. We have developed best practices in each of the organizational transformation areas based on deep product knowledge and years of delivery experience with clients across the globe. Best practice materials are covered in future topics, however, in terms of approach, it is important to consider adapting the delivery of these materials according to your stakeholder analysis and analysis of the current situation. Ensure that clients understand the best practice in terms of channel adoption for the specific channels that are relevant to the MLP. Present clients with the key elements involved for the people and processes that support the adoption and effectiveness of Pega Customer Decision Hub. Create space for dialogue as the clients' feedback and questions help them to understand the best practice state, and therefore be more likely to adopt elements of it. According to your stakeholder analysis, although meeting with a group to share best practices will normally be appropriate, it is also advisable to identify individual stakeholders who may need one-on-one attention.

Step 3 defines a client-specific channel transformation process. The first part of this step is to assess the gaps between best practice and the current situation. Then, you take the best practice and design a future state that sets the client up for success and is feasible for them to implement within a reasonable timeframe, for each impacted channel. This end state should be as close to best practice as possible, only diverging when it is absolutely not possible to adopt the best practice. You should work as collaboratively as possible with the client on this step, to improve the likelihood of adoption. One example of how to do this is to work iteratively, incorporating client feedback. Another example is to workshop elements of the future state. If required, you should define several phases of change, for example, a change roadmap if the optimal state cannot be implemented from day one because of external restraints. Document the future state as visually as possible, to ensure understanding. Also consider adapting documentation for different stakeholder groups and different channels. Finally, present the solution. Ideally, someone in the business with whom you have collaborated will present the solution, demonstrating full ownership and buy-in.

Finally, step 4, in which you define implementation steps to transition from the current state to the future state. This ensures that the future state will actually materialize! Once the future state has been agreed, make a note of any tangible actions that need to be completed to get there. Ensure that the actions are time-bound, have clear owners, and are agreed upon with the organization. It is important to keep a risk and issue matrix so that you can address anything that might impact the delivery of these actions, and it is equally important to have regular checkpoints and an escalation route if matters fall behind.

You have reached the end of this video. What did it show you?

• The importance of a holistic approach to channel transformation, involving technology, people, and processes.
• Key steps to review the current state, present best practices, define client-specific processes, and plan implementation steps.
• Techniques for effective stakeholder engagement and communication throughout the transformation process.