When to engage a change management professional

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When your organization decides to implement a new ERP system, the excitement is almost palpable. A solution that promises to streamline operations, cut costs, and drive efficiency sounds like a dream come true. You gather your leadership team, outline timelines, and start envisioning the productivity gains. Fast forward six months—things aren’t quite as rosy. Deadlines are slipping, your workforce is frustrated, and complaints about the system are piling up. What went wrong? More often than not, the answer isn’t the software—it’s how the change was managed.

Many organizations underestimate how critical it is to focus on the people side of change, assuming they can “plug in” new processes and tools without significant resistance. The truth is, no matter how powerful the technology, change success hinges on how well people are supported through the transition. This is where change management professionals come in. The question is: when should you bring them in? Spoiler alert—the earlier, the better. Engaging a change management professional from the start can be a game-changer for three important reasons.

The first reason is simple: people are not just a “phase” in your project plan—they are the foundation. When implementing a complex ERP system, it’s easy to focus on things like software configurations, workflows, and deadlines. But your people aren’t code—they’re not programmable. From the very beginning, they need to understand what’s happening, why it’s happening, and how it will impact their daily work. Without early communication and engagement, doubts and anxieties will grow quietly in the background until they become full-blown resistance. A change management professional helps you address this head-on by building a strategic plan for communication, engagement, and reinforcement from day one. They ensure employees aren’t left in the dark and create opportunities for feedback that help surface concerns early—before they turn into roadblocks.

Imagine you’re six months into your ERP project. Without change management in place, your team may start raising concerns that feel like déjà vu. “Why weren’t we consulted?” “This new system doesn’t match how we actually work.” “Do I still have a role here?” These are the kinds of sentiments that lead to confusion, rework, and trust erosion. When you involve a change management professional early, they work hand-in-hand with your project leaders to build empathy into the process—making people feel seen, heard, and prepared. They help bridge the gap between technical implementation and human adoption, so employees feel they’re being guided through change instead of pushed into it.

The second reason to engage early is that it prevents the chaos of “fix-it mode” down the line. ERP implementations are notorious for being complex. Even with the best intentions, it’s common for organizations to reach a point where they realize that teams don’t fully understand the new processes, or they haven’t received the right training at the right time. This often leads to expensive course corrections: additional workshops, rushed communications, and leadership scrambling to put out fires. These last-minute efforts aren’t just costly—they also burn out your workforce and undermine confidence. A change management professional can spot these risks before they spiral. They help identify stakeholders, map out the potential impacts on each role, and build out the right training and communication strategies in advance.

A good change management professional also ensures that leaders are equipped to lead the change effectively. It’s not enough to send out a few emails or schedule a training session. Employees look to their direct managers for guidance and support during periods of uncertainty. When you engage early, change managers can create coaching plans for leaders and supervisors, helping them become confident advocates instead of reluctant messengers. This proactive approach keeps teams aligned and reduces the firefighting that so often derails ERP rollouts. By preventing surprises and reinforcing clear expectations, your people feel supported rather than blindsided.

The third reason early engagement matters is that change fatigue is real—and preventable. In today’s workplace, most employees are constantly adapting to change. Whether it’s new software, reorganizations, or policy updates, each wave of change depletes their mental and emotional bandwidth. An ERP system implementation is a significant undertaking that can feel overwhelming without the right structure. By engaging a change management professional early, you’re taking steps to protect your workforce from burnout. They can help you assess how much change your people are already experiencing and tailor the timing and delivery of your communications so that information feels manageable. They’ll design a phased approach to learning, ensuring that employees receive the right messages at the right time—not all at once.

Let’s take an example: if you roll out details about process changes, new software features, and updated reporting expectations in one long meeting, chances are your employees will leave feeling confused and exhausted. A change management professional would approach this differently. Instead of one massive data dump, they would break the information into digestible steps, spaced out over time, with clear calls to action. This prevents employees from feeling overwhelmed and allows them to build their knowledge and confidence incrementally. Change managers also know that reinforcement is key—employees need to see consistent reminders, attend follow-up sessions, and have safe spaces to ask questions without fear of judgment. This helps ensure that what’s learned in training doesn’t get lost when employees return to their desks.

Ultimately, early engagement allows you to balance the demands of the ERP project with the well-being of your workforce. When employees feel informed, valued, and capable, they’re more likely to embrace change instead of resist it. They become partners in the process, not obstacles.

So, when should you engage a change management professional? At the very beginning. Change management isn’t just about sending out emails and running training sessions—it’s about creating a roadmap for success that considers the human side of your strategy from the start. By involving a professional early, you’re not just implementing software—you’re strengthening your organization’s resilience and reinforcing a culture of adaptability. Change doesn’t have to be chaotic. With the right approach, it can be transformational.