First Things Fast: Rollout Issues Rollout Performance People What is a Rollout? A rollout is an opportunity that arises because the organization is attempting to introduce a change, something new.It might be a new product, like a drug or software or a computer system. Or it might be a new philosophy or perspective on the work, like a commitment to continuous process improvement or the self-regulation required of mobile employees. You'll know you're dealing with a rollout when you hear phrases like, " I want our people to be able to use Lotus Notes. What should we do to make that happen? "One of the things that I want to bring to this position is my commitment to global perspectives. I want us to move forward on supporting employees as they do short and longer term stints worldwide." "Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had an influx of families from Ethiopia. I want to do something for teachers and principals that will help them understand and serve these children and parents." "I’m committed to empowering our bank tellers to settle customers’ concerns, even if it involves giving them small amounts of cash. How do we prepare them to make good decisions on this?"   Strategies for handling a rollout In a rollout, the emphasis is on figuring out what it is that the customer is attempting to bring forward and anticipating what it will take to achieve success. Here you are on a quest for the beginning outlines of the vision, of what optimal rollout what would look like, if the product or philosophy or system was in place and operating well. Top priority then is to seek the essence of "it" from sources, to attempt to find some concensus regarding what it means. The next priority for a rollout is figure out what might drive successful performance or what might get in the way. Table Here’s an abbreviated example. Let's presume that the request was for help in rolling out a new automated point of sale register to a fast food company. At the close of the table, you can ask why Allison Rossett made these recommendations. Again, remember please, you must alter this template to match your unique circumstances. Stages  Sources Possible Questions  One  Customer, sponsor Why? What will this do for the organization? Why have you decided to go in this direction? How will it influence how employees do their work? What about shift supervisors? Store managers? Are employees eager for the change? Does this reliance upon technology match the culture and skills of employees across the nation?  Two  Internal expert What about this change is most promising? What can it do for the organization? What problems will it solve? Opportunities it will create? How do you want people to use the registers? What concerns you as we plan what must be done to bring the computers to the stores?  Three Committee members involved in roll-out decisions What about this change appealed to the committee? To you? What is new here? Familiar here? Why this particular vendor? What will it do for the employee? The unit? What will it take for a successful roll-out? Will employees be enthusiastic about the change?  Four Vendor, vendor materials and documentation How does it work? How do effective users think about this? What examples do you have of it at work on critical opportunities and issues? When others have begun to use it, what helped make a successful roll-out? What problems should we anticipate? What existing materials might we repurpose?  Five  The published literature What does the literature say about this? about the most typical barriers to successful roll-out in the fast food environment?  Six Store employees and supervisors Now that I’ve described the rollout to you, I’d like your reactions to it. Can you see why the organization is going this way? Do you see benefits for your work? For your unit? What will it help you do? Do you think you have the skills it will take to make the shift? What should the organization do to help you move in this direction? Rationale  and Tips Note that the time with vendors and especially with job incumbents and their supervisors involves querying regarding the obstacles, barriers and drivers to success. What is it going to take? While training is an obvious element, on what should it focus? What else is key?           The first few stages are focused on defining "it." You can save time in Stage 3 by looking at the committee minutes rather than interviewing all members, if the minutes are sufficiently detailed. I left stage 5 in the example because many rollouts profit from this kind of effort, although I'm not sure there would be much to be gained for this situation. Imagine you were introducing technology into a global sales environment or a new drug to pharmaceutical sales people. There is a useful body of published literature well worth tapping into. Tools for Rollouts Here are"tools" you can use for performance analysis when the situation is a rollout. Review all the choices and then go back and select those that are likely to work in this case and with this person. Print the whole page or copy and paste the relevant questions into a document, then save it to your desktop or hard drive.   What will change do for the organization? Why have you decided to go in this direction? How will it influence how employees do their work? Are employees eager for the change? Does this change match the culture and skills of employees across the organization? What did you read that influenced you in your decision-making? Why did you decide to do this NOW? If this is successful, what would your people be doing? Any changes in management? If we were to talk with employees after the rollout, what do you expect they would be saying about it? What can I read to help me understand this topic? How can I see into it with more depth? What can I read? To whom should I speak? Are you selected a vendor and what are the contractual arrangements with that person? Do we have employees who are already that way? If so, what do you see them doing? Have we captured examples of their thoughts and actions? Is there a way we can begin to do that, encouraging the production of data bases of examples? As we look a little further along, what might get in the way of our move in this direction? What will it take to successfully move your people this way? Do you think your employees will embrace this shift? Why? Where might resistance to this change reside? How might we address it?