Abstract:

This was the final project as a part of the Digital Leadership unit for the Graduate Certificate in Customer Success Management at RMIT University.

I chose to focus on my current business, Earth & Soul Pizza, examining a technology change management project which occurred in 2023, when Earth & Soul Pizza switched POS and e-commerce software providers.

Noting that the organisation returned to the original technology partner three months after switching, as the alternative was not the right fit for the business.

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Executive Summary:

Earth & Soul Pizza, the organisation, is a gourmet pizzeria in Bairnsdale, regional Victoria, Australia. A cross-functional team of eight people across five roles, technology plays a major part in the business operations. Both co-founders form the basis of the leadership team, and work in the business. A typical trait of hospitality (Valent and Locke 2023), the organisational structure is traditional rather than agile.

The global pandemic gave rise to e-commerce competition within the hospitality sector. Throughout 2020-2021, businesses that usually offered dine-in experiences pivoted to takeaway and delivery (Ahuja et al 2021).

In a remote and regional area like Bairnsdale, East Gippsland, four pizza shops and numerous restaurants, cafes and fast-food chains service a population of 17,470 people (.idcommunity n.d.). To remain viable, hospitality operators, and their key partners (Strategyzer AG n.d.), need to ensure customer loyalty through a product and customer experience which is second to none.

During the pandemic, people shopped between platforms (Chandra V et al 2022) by using Menulog, Uber Eats and e-commerce websites like HungryHungry. This resulted in a 30- percent reduction in gross revenue for the organisation. This down-turn impacted the financial and mental resilience of the leadership team, which then flowed to the company culture through an autocratic, hierarchical leadership style, reduced autonomy and a lack of psychological safety.

In addition to these volatile, uncertain and complex circumstances (VUCA-World n.d.), the organisation’s e-commerce software provider was a part of a merger and acquisition. The product value and support declined, which meant the leadership team investigated alternatives to improve the customer experience and optimise cash-flow. Switching companies in late-2022, initially, the process promised to be a positive experience. A friendly rapport developed between the organisation and the new software sales team.

However, ambiguity clouded the onboarding process once the organisation was dealing with the customer success team. This escalated into critical problems for the leadership team to deal with. The new company did not have a clear onboarding process, the training session was ad-hoc and unplanned, financial questions were never answered directly, and they failed to deliver on sales promises.

The change management situation impacted wellbeing and created a lack of mental resilience within the leadership team. During onboarding, the team questioned their choice of software provider, and had major concerns about the new company’s capacity to deliver on time. Focused on the project vision, or “Why” (Sinek 2009), the leadership team worked to maintain a human-centred mindset by dealing with ambiguity through transparency (Humanistic Leadership Academy n.d.).

A week into the change management process, it became obvious that the leadership team also under-estimated the impact on the organisation. More focused on the customer-facing side of the software solution, rather than the way the digital change affected internal stakeholders, significant trust issues started to build between the organisation and the new provider.

Despite going through a similar software change in 2019, which had little negative impact on the organisation, a clearer change vision (Kotter n.d.) may have created a better transition for all involved. Furthermore, understanding and clarity arose by using radical candour (Scott 2018) to give feedback to the new provider.

With the heart of agile (Cockburn n.d.) and a resilient mindset underpinning future change management processes, the leadership team now understands the importance of reflection to drive opportunities for improvement within the organisation. That is why three experiments form the basis of this report:

1. Lead by example and create psychological safety
2. Understand customer desires
3. Improve customer loyalty and retention

Through the change process, the organisation discovered the importance of examining a problem, and the people impacted, before ideas are initiated. In future, research and insights can help the leadership team explore all options available. This will ensure a solution is designed with the customer at the heart of the problem, and is grounded in evidence.

Furthermore, if organisational leaders adopt a human-centred mindset – showcasing behaviours of empathy, community building, transparency, stewardship and mentoring – this will provide all stakeholders with the sufficient conditions (Miller 2019) to thrive in a post- pandemic, VUCA environment (VUCA-World n.d.).

Final grade: 80% – High Distinction

Skills demonstrated in this project:

Technology Change Management · VUCA · Human-Centred Leadership · Project Management · Agile Methodologies · Double Diamond Framework · Cascading Measures · Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) · Hypothesis Framework

References:

Valent D (host) and Locke R (producer) (26 January 2023) ‘Omar El Deek (Cosi, Cucinetta, Vaporetto and Carboni’s) – a tiny powerhouse’ [podcast], Dirty Linen – A Food Podcast with Dani Valent, Deep in the Weeds Network, accessed 5 February 2023. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/omar-el-deek-cosi- cucinetta-vaporetto-and-carbonis/id1518946986?i=1000596593729

Valent D (host) and Locke R (producer) (25 January 2023) ‘Ruby Haupt (Freda’s Bistro) – setting intentions’ [podcast], Dirty Linen – A Food Podcast with Dani Valent, Deep in the Weeds Network, accessed 5 February 2023. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ruby-haupt-fredas-bistro-setting- intentions/id1518946986?i=1000596356293

Ahuja K et al (2021) Ordering in: The rapid evolution of food delivery, Our Insights, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, McKinsey & Company website, accessed 9 February 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/ordering-in-the-rapid- evolution-of-food-delivery

.idcommunity (n.d.)’Bairnsdale Profile Area’, East Gippsland Shire Community Profile, .idcommunity website, accessed 9 February 2023. https://profile.id.com.au/east-gippsland/about?WebID=100#:~:text=The%202021%20Estimated%20Resident%20Population,13.04%20persons%20per%20square%20km

Strategyzer AG (n.d.) ‘The Business Model Canvas’, Strategyzer website, accessed 13 February 2023. https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas

Chandra V et al (2022) Next on the menu for food delivery, McKinsey on Start-ups Podcast, McKinsey website, accessed 24 January 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/next-on-the-menu-for-food-delivery

VUCA-World (n.d.) ‘Leading in a VUCA World’, VUCA-World website, accessed 26 January 2023. https://www.vuca-world.org/

Sinek S (2009) How Great Leaders Inspire Action, TED website, accessed 30 January 2023. https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

Humanistic Leadership Academy (n.d.) ‘Our Manifesto’, Humanistic Leadership Academy website, accessed 5 February 2023. https://humanisticleadershipacademy.org/manifesto/

Kotter (n.d.) The 8 steps for leading change, Kotter website, accessed 6 February 2023. http://www.kotterinc.com/methodology/8-steps

Scott K (2018) Care personally. Challenge directly. – Insights for Entrepreneurs – Amazon, YouTube video, accessed 17 January 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWaJ2pkDiWU

Cockburn A (n.d.) ‘Heart of Agile’, Heart of Agile website, accessed 9 February 2023. https://heartofagile.com/lets-begin/

Miller K (2019) Carl Rogers’s Actualizing Tendency: Your Ultimate Guide, Types of Therapy, PositivePsychology.com website, accessed 7 February 2023. https://positivepsychology.com/rogers-actualizing-tendency/