Ventiv Technology

Risk Management Software Deployment Your Guidebook to Success 26 Aon eSolutions share this guide A desirable trait that some organizations deploying a RMIS may find surprising is flexibility. Why flexibility? Because even though both RMIS provider and the client team approach an implementation armed with formal plans for the implementation and project, it's still important to build in give-and-take along the way. Flexibility in the process creates a cooperative mindset for both provider and client, but it still allows the project to meet the stated success criteria and even the milestones. The value in being open to revisions To show how flexibility can be a powerful ally, here's an illustration from a retail client. Going in to the implementation, their number-one requirement was to implement incident entry capabilities in their new RMIS in time for Memorial Day. But to meet this deadline, we, as the RMIS provider, initially set system go-live for before Memorial Day. However, as we progressed through the implementation, members of the client team and their pilot users expressed a need for added functionality to make it easier for the end-users to adopt the new system – particularly employees new to risk management automation. These added functionalities would ultimately result in less work for the users responsible for field-level data entry. But because the additions were substantial, we and the client faced the question of whether to: (A) push ahead with the initial go-live date, or (B) step back, rework the implementation slightly and then get back on track. Looking at the options, the client was convinced of the value they'd get from faster rates of user adoption since, by building in better functionality, end users could get back to their "day jobs" more quickly and take to the system faster. We agreed, and that's the course we took. And we still came very close to our original go-live date because the system was easier for new users to learn and adopt. Ultimately, it was easy to collaboratively arrive at this decision, as both sides wanted what was best for the project, the client and the users who would be hands-on with the system. The "top three" for flexibility The idea of flexibility really comes down to some essential elements: 1 2 3 Introducing the concept of collaboration early Making provider-client communication a priority Linking any changes back to the success criteria

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