The Challenge
Inizio, a holding company for several advisory and marketing communications firms, serves large pharmaceutical clients and employs more than 11,000 people across 50 countries. The company is owned by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
Amid a challenging rollout of Certinia for Salesforce, an off-the-shelf financial management software, Inizio brought in independent management consultant and Trouncem CEO Brian Pia as its change management and communications lead. The rollout was plagued by delays and widespread frustration, prompting a need to identify the root causes and implement effective solutions.
The Work
Through discovery sessions with IT executives, division leaders, subject matter experts, project managers, and finance teams, Brian identified several root causes of the problems. The software needs of Inizio’s marketing communications firms were vastly different from its advisory businesses, leading to complications when trying to customize the software. These efforts caused cascading issues that disrupted other software components.
Employees described the rollout as “fixing a plane while flying it,” with many spending 50% to 100% of their time on the project at the expense of client work. Developers rushed to meet tight deadlines, while the small IT and Fluido teams struggled to manage ServiceNow and Jira requests.
Another critical issue was the lack of integration of change management into the rollout. Treated as an afterthought, change management left employees without the tools or support needed to adopt the software, delaying the realization of business value.
To address these challenges, Brian implemented proactive solutions to align change management with technical workflows. He developed a clear vision statement and insights report to explain the purpose of the rollout and its benefits, helping employees see it as a strategic improvement rather than a burden. He also recommended increasing the Certinia-trained IT team to handle software bugs, design improvements, and real-time requests, reducing bottlenecks and easing burnout.
A comprehensive communication plan prioritized user engagement through training, feedback loops, and iterative updates, fostering confidence and smoother adoption.
The Results
Brian’s strategic interventions reduced downtime, streamlined workflows, saved costs, and accelerated employee adoption. Embedding change management practices into the rollout set a new standard for handling future digital transformation initiatives effectively.