Change matters: The secret to LMS implementation success

Paul Ferguson: The key thing about your change is the people. And if you’ve not dedicated that time in change management to people, it doesn’t matter how good your system is or how good it looks or how well it works. If you’ve not done the work to actually make people aware of those changes and why it’s necessary to upskill them and enable them to use that, even if you think it’s so easy. Never underestimate the person that’s sitting there going, "I don’t know where to start."

So yes, if you don’t do the work on change management, then your change is going to fail.

Matt Linaker: Today, we’re diving into one of the most critical yet potentially overlooked elements of success in learning and development: change management. As organisations evolve at an ever-increasing pace, the role of L&D is transformed. It’s no longer just about delivering training. It’s about understanding the business context, solving performance challenges, and guiding individuals and teams through behavioural changes that drive impact.

Joining us today is Paul Ferguson, Organisational Development Manager at West College Scotland. Paul is an expert in navigating the complexities of organisational change and has a wealth of experience in ensuring learning initiatives achieve their intended outcomes. Today, we’ll discuss why change management is essential in L&D, explore strategies for overcoming resistance, fostering buy-in, and empowering employees to become champions of change.

So whether you’re looking to improve communication, master project management, or align your own goals with organisational success, this episode has something for you. Thanks so much, Paul, for joining us. Would you mind introducing yourself? Where in the world are you coming from and what do you currently do in your organisation?

Paul Ferguson: I can indeed. I’m Paul Ferguson. I’m an Organisational Development Business Partner at West College Scotland. West College Scotland has campuses in Clydebank, Paisley, and Greenock on the west coast of Scotland. We have about 20,000 learners and 1,100 staff.

My role is quite varied. I have responsibility for strategic learning in the organisation as well as transformational projects, inclusion, and wellbeing. So it’s quite a varied role from day to day. I’ve been heavily involved in transformational projects that include digital enhancement. My very first project when I joined the college was to bring in the learning experience platform.

Matt Linaker: One of the things I’ve seen you talk about before is change management. I saw you speak at Learning Technologies, and I spoke to you about it afterwards. You said to me, “Change management is actually a passion of mine.” I wonder how or why change management in particular has become a passion for you, or why you think of it as a passion?

Paul Ferguson: I fell into the world of organisational development totally by accident. I had lots of different jobs and was kind of going from one job to another. Eventually, I had a mentor in a business where I was working as a bistro manager. She said to me that she would give me a year in that job, and then I had to choose my career. She was basically going to sack me after a year, is what she said.

I didn’t really take on board what she was saying. But nine months in, she said, “Okay, where are you going?” I said, “Oh, you were being serious?” And she said, “Yeah, of course I was being serious.” I said, “I’ve got no idea.” And she said, “Well, I’ve watched you over these last nine months and you’ve totally transformed the business. You’ve brought people with you, introduced inductions and appraisals, and changed us for the better. Have you ever thought about a role in human resources?”

I hadn’t. But I started to research it and found an internship in organisational development. The rest is history. From that time, someone actually saying to me, “You’re really good at this,” made a difference. I started to work in organisational development and realised everything is about teams. Whether you’re introducing a learning intervention, a new system, or you’re speaking to people about organisational culture, it all requires change.

Change is at the heart of everything that an OD or HR professional does. When that key dropped for me, I realised how pivotal it was to everything we do. That’s why it became a passion—because it’s central to making an impact.

Matt Linaker: Yeah, so there’s a lot of psychology involved in change as well. I know I might be someone who struggles a little bit with change sometimes. I can get stuck in my ways or try to do things the same way because I know how to do them or I’m comfortable doing it quickly in a certain way.

But like you said, change is inevitable. Especially now, with so much technological change happening, particularly in L&D teams. One of the things you talked about at Learning Technologies this year was implementing a new system. That could be Totara or any system, really, when you’re going from something old to something new.

I suppose I might be one of those people you’d have to convince that moving to a new system or doing things in a new way is a good change. When you have someone like me who’s stuck in their ways, is there a template for change management? Something you do consistently to help people move to a new way?

Paul Ferguson: Everyone has a different approach to change. There are so many change models out there. The one that works for me is the Prosci ADKAR model, because I’ve been able to apply it consistently with good results. Even now, after years of doing this, I’m still learning things about change.

My biggest learning in the last year has been: don’t rubbish the things that happened before. If you have something old and you’re bringing in something new, that “something old” has worked really well for the people who liked it and have been using it. The last thing you want to do is to go in and say to those people, "That’s not really good, is it? We’re going to give you something new and shiny."

Some of those people may have been using that process, that system, or that way of working for decades. What you’re doing is pulling the rug away from them. So there’s a certain sensitivity that comes with change. You need to understand the upset that change might cause, and identify their pain points.

Paul Ferguson: So the last thing that you want to do is to go in and say to those people, "That's not really good, is it? We're going to give you something new and something shiny." Some of those people may have been using that process, that system, that way of working for decades. And what you’re doing is pulling the rug away from them and saying, "No, we’re not doing it that way anymore."

So there is a certain sensitivity that comes with change. And you don’t want to upset the people who have been working for your business diligently for a number of years with processes, systems, and ways of doing things. The first thing you have to do is go to them and understand the upset that the change is going to cause.

Understand from them where their pain points are. Maybe there are things with the system or the process or the ways of doing things that they don’t like. Is the change that you’re going to introduce going to help that, or is it going to further those pain points? You have to fully understand where teams are at.

That, for me, has been the biggest lesson in recent times in terms of the Prosci ADKAR model. ADKAR stands for awareness. So the very first thing you have to do is make sure that people are aware of what it is that you’re trying to do. What is the change that you’re trying to introduce?

The next thing is about desire. So you’re getting that buy-in from teams. What is in it for them? What are the benefits, not only to them, but to their teams, their managers, the organisation, and the customers who will be on the receiving end of it too?

Then "K" is for knowledge, and "A" is for ability. For me, those two steps kind of go hand in hand. Do the people you’re introducing this change to have the knowledge to change? Do they have the ability to change? Have you given them everything they need to go through that change? Have you provided the learning and development they need? Have you supported them through that change?

And then the last "R" is for reinforcement. A lot of people, when it comes to change, will often go, "Okay, that’s the change done," and walk away. What you have to make sure of is that people don’t fall into the old ways of doing things. You have to constantly reinforce that change.

That might mean celebrating the success of the change. It might mean reminding people of the benefits of the change. It might mean asking, "Does anyone need to refresh their learning on that change?" So ADKAR, for me, becomes the tool you can use to make sure that the change you’re introducing lands the way that it should.

Matt Linaker: ADKAR. Okay, great. We’ll add that into the show notes as well for the podcast today and link out to it so listeners can take a look.

One of the things I think about as well, Paul, is the difference in organisational size and also power. For example, let’s say you have an employee base of 100 people. The way you approach change and the ability to have those conversations might be very different. You might be able to personally have conversations with those teams. But when you scale that up to, say, an organisation with 10,000 people, I wonder if it still works, if it’s still relevant, and if there’s a different template. Or do you just go out to managers? Does it all get delegated? What’s the approach there, if there is one?

Paul Ferguson: I don’t think the approach changes. I think that you can still provide that awareness. For me, awareness can look like using all of your communication channels. For example, posting something on your intranet, putting updates in your weekly or monthly newsletter to employees.

You can utilise things like podcasts and webinars with your senior leaders, recording those and getting them out to people. That way, if people are working different shift patterns or even in different time zones, you’re utilising all of your communication tools to ensure that awareness reaches everyone.

Desire – you know, your benefits campaign – can also use those different communication channels. You could put out pulse surveys to understand where the desire lies. If you find low desire in certain areas and you have a large number of employees, then you’ll know where to dedicate more time.

Everyone will need that knowledge and ability, regardless of the size of your organisation. If they don’t have it, your change just won’t land.

Then, with reinforcement, you can identify who has been those early adopters, who is engaging, and who is not. For those who aren’t engaging, you can dedicate additional time and support. But the point is, you’re not the only person leading the change.

The responsibility for change doesn’t just rest with the project team or the change manager. Change is the responsibility of what we call a coalition of sponsors. Everyone who is a senior leader in the organisation has to be involved in the change. They have to actively and visibly participate in the change, showing leadership and saying, "I’m doing this too."

They have to build a coalition of sponsorship. So, among senior executives, directors, and heads of departments, they all need to be working together to show support for the change. For example, a senior leader might send out a communication saying, "This is the new approach we’re taking, and here’s why I believe in its benefits." Then, a week later, a head of department might reinforce that message, saying to their teams, "You heard from the director last week – I’m really on board with this too."

It’s about directing that leadership into specific teams and showing how it aligns with their work.

Paul Ferguson: And the last thing—and this ties back to communication—is what we call your sponsors’ ABC. They need to actively and visibly participate, build a coalition of sponsorship, and communicate.

For managers, they’re also heavily involved in the change process. The Prosci model for managers is CLARC. That stands for communication, liaison, advocacy, resistance management, and coaching. Managers have these roles to play when leading their teams through change.

When it comes to change, those three groups I mentioned—the project team, senior leadership, and managers—are all a step ahead of the rest of the organisation. The project team or change agent is about three steps ahead of everyone else. Then senior leadership is right behind the change agent, and managers are one step behind them. Finally, you have the wider organisation following after.

This way, those groups are going through the change process first, so they’re able to bring the rest of the organisation along with them. It’s not about being a one-person band when it comes to change; you have to utilise your leadership and management in the process.

Matt Linaker: Thanks, Paul. I’ve been thinking about why change often fails, and I’m trying to sympathise a bit with heads of HR or L&D. They’re trying to implement new technology or new ways of working, but I imagine they might be so focused on things like the content—how the platform is going to look, what they’re going to put in it, how it’s going to revolutionise the company—that they lose sight of the people side of it.

Maybe they spend a lot of time forecasting how long it will take to build the platform or communicating with senior leaders about its impact. But they forget to include change management as part of the project. Do you think that without the change management piece, it’s quite likely a new system or technology will fail?

Paul Ferguson: Absolutely, Matt. You’re completely right. It’s easy to focus on the things you think will make the change work, like a user-friendly system or the potential for it to change your organisation in X, Y, and Z metrics.

But ultimately, the key thing about any change is the people. If you’ve not dedicated the time to managing the people side of change, it doesn’t matter how good the system looks, how well it works, or how easy you think it is to use. If you haven’t made people aware of the change, explained why it’s necessary, or upskilled them so they can actually use it, then your change will fail.

Never underestimate the person who’s sitting there thinking, "I don’t know where to start." That’s why change management is so critical.

The biggest mistake people make when it comes to change is underestimating how long it’s going to take. Whether it’s getting people to pick up a new system, engage with it, or actually change their behaviours—it all takes time. And often, it takes a lot longer than we expect.

Matt Linaker: That’s interesting. So far in the podcast, we’ve been talking a lot about change management in the context of implementing a new system. But obviously, a big part of L&D is about changing behaviours—teaching new skills or encouraging people to work in new ways. That’s another kind of change that L&D teams hope to achieve.

For example, let’s say someone takes a course on IT security. Maybe they watch some videos about fraud detection or best practices, and then they pass the course. The company has ticked the box—it’s compliant—but the individual doesn’t actually change their behaviour. They carry on doing things the old way, and nothing really changes in practice.

How do we break out of this cycle of "training for the sake of training"? How can L&D teams really drive behaviour change so that the training has a lasting impact on the business?

Paul Ferguson: That’s such an important question, Matt. And the first thing I’d say to L&D teams is this: don’t be disheartened when it doesn’t happen right away.

You’ll always have people in your business who clock in at 9am, do their work, and clock out at 5pm. They don’t want to engage with corporate initiatives, wellbeing programmes, or development opportunities. And that’s okay. As an L&D professional, you’re not going to change the world overnight. Your job is to support the business, help it meet its objectives, and ensure the organisation is able to satisfy its customers.

But can you change behaviours? Absolutely. Can you engage people who weren’t previously engaged? Yes, you can. It just takes time and effort. It depends on where your organisation is starting from.

A lot of people think the way to make change work is to focus on those who don’t want to change. My advice is the exact opposite. Start with your keen people—your early adopters. They’re the ones who will help you bring others on board.

If your message isn’t landing with certain individuals, change your message. Focus on those who are already interested in learning, growing, and changing their behaviours. When you build momentum with those people, they’ll naturally influence others.

For example, someone who’s taken part in a great management programme might go back to their team and say, "We learned this, and I’m going to start using it." That person becomes your advocate, and their enthusiasm can encourage sceptics to give it a try. Change becomes less about something HR or L&D is doing to people and more about something people are experiencing and sharing with one another.

Matt Linaker: That’s such a great point. It reminds me of something you said earlier—that change shouldn’t feel like something that’s being done to people. It’s about bringing them along on the journey.

But I imagine that as an organisation scales, that gets harder. When you’ve got thousands of employees, people might feel like their opinions don’t matter. They might think, "No one asked me about this change; it’s not my responsibility." Do you think a lack of change is often linked to people feeling disempowered?

t say, "We tried that back in: 2001

Sometimes that scepticism is valid. New leaders or managers come in and try to put their stamp on things without understanding what’s happened before. They might not listen to the people who’ve been there for years and know why past attempts failed.

If you’re introducing a change that’s been tried before, my advice is to go to those people—the ones who are saying, "This won’t work; we’ve already tried it." Ask them why it didn’t work. Invite them to be part of the project team and help make it work this time. By involving those sceptics in the process, you give them a sense of ownership and accountability for the change’s success.

Paul Ferguson: So, by involving those sceptics, they’ll feel like they’ve been heard and valued. They’ll have a vested interest in making the change successful because they’re part of it. And you’re flipping their scepticism into advocacy. That’s incredibly powerful when it comes to driving change.

In terms of people feeling like change is being done to them, the ADKAR model can really help. By focusing on awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement, you’re actively engaging people at every stage of the change process. They’re not just passive recipients of an email saying, "We’re making a change." Instead, they’re part of a journey where they understand why the change is happening, how it benefits them, and what they need to do to make it work.

I always say, "Change is not an email on Monday, training on Tuesday, and go-live on Wednesday." That’s change being done to people. But if you have a proper lead-in time and take people through that process of awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement, you’re no longer doing change to them. You’re taking them with you.

Matt Linaker: Amazing. Thanks, Paul. If you had to summarise, what would you say to L&D managers or HR professionals out there? If there’s one thing they could take away from this episode about managing change—whether it’s changing behaviours through training or implementing a new system—what would it be?

Paul Ferguson: My key takeaway would be: give yourself more time than you think you need. Change always takes longer than you anticipate, and rushing it will only lead to problems.

Secondly, you don’t have to be a trained change manager to use the ADKAR model. Just remember: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement. It’s a straightforward framework that can guide you through the process.

Finally, if something isn’t working, ask yourself why. Why are people lacking awareness? Why are they low in desire? Why don’t they have the knowledge or ability to change? Why didn’t the change land the way you wanted it to? Keep asking "why" and be curious about what’s happening. That curiosity will help you identify gaps and improve your approach.

Matt Linaker: Brilliant. Thanks so much, Paul. I’m sure lots of people out there will find this conversation incredibly useful as they tackle their next big change project. With all the technological change happening right now, there’s going to be plenty for us to work on in the years to come. Thanks for your time today, Paul.

Paul Ferguson: No problem. Thanks, Matt.

Matt Linaker: You’ve been listening to Totara Talks Talent, a series that goes behind the scenes with learning and development and HR professionals to understand how they use technology to achieve meaningful outcomes for their people and organisations.

Totara creates talent development software to enable lasting employee success. You can learn more at totara.com or join our community of learning professionals at totara.community to share ideas and collaborate. Thanks for listening.