At Avaap, we know that organizational change efforts succeed when people—not just processes or technology—move forward with clarity, confidence, and commitment. Yet in large transformation programs, the gap between the client organization and the system implementor (SI) can easily become a barrier: misaligned expectations, unclear ownership, and competing priorities often slow momentum at the very moment when teams need to move in sync. 

Our team has spent years operating at the intersection of these two worlds. Recently, Avaap was presented with a unique opportunity to partner as organizational change management (OCM) leadership on both the client side and the system implementor side, and that dual perspective ended up being one of our biggest strengths throughout the project. It allowed us to build trust quickly, anticipate friction before it surfaced, and create a unified experience for stakeholders who were navigating the change. 

Why Dual-Perspective Organizational Change Management Leadership is Impactful 

Working across both sides of the partnership gave us a unique advantage. We were able to better understand the realities of the client’s internal culture, decision-making rhythms, and organizational constraints – while simultaneously adhering to the SI’s delivery model, project cadence, and technical dependencies. This combination enabled us to efficiently and effectively translate, align, and accelerate. 

1. A Dedicated Client-Side OCM Lead Creates Early Clarity and Sustained Momentum 

Here are several ways our dedicated client-side OCM lead made a measurable difference throughout the transformation initiative: 

• Anticipated challenges before they became blockers. Because the client-side OCM lead effectively functioned as an employee of the institution, they were trusted with candid details about the organizational culture and history, enabling them to identify risks early – whether related to stakeholder readiness, communication gaps, or process impacts.

• Escalated issues with precision and credibility. Grounded in the organizational context and overarching change strategy, the client-side resource escalated issues appropriately and on time, and their perspective carried significant weight with project leadership due to their strong institutional relationships. This kept the core activities conducted by the OCM workstream moving without unnecessary delays. 

• Drove productive collaboration across teams. Working sessions were more focused and efficient. The client-side lead could bridge perspectives, clarify expectations, and ensure that decisions were made with the right information and the right people in the room. 

• Reduced ambiguity and accelerated decision-making. Their presence created alignment across stakeholders, helping teams move forward with confidence rather than revisiting decisions or reinterpreting requirements. 

2. The SI-Side OCM Lead Drives Delivery and Change Adoption 

• Ensured alignment between project milestones and change activities. By proactively mapping change activities to each phase of the system implementation, the SI-side OCM lead helped teams anticipate resource needs, manage expectations, and avoid last-minute surprises. 

• Facilitated cross-functional collaboration. The SI OCM lead fostered collaboration across technical, functional, and client-facing teams, ensuring that messaging, training, and support were consistent and appropriately validated. 

• Monitored and responded to adoption risks. Using data-driven insights and feedback loops, the SI OCM lead identified areas of resistance, tracked progress, and adjusted engagement strategies to maximize user adoption and minimize disruption. 

• Provided expertise that streamlined training efforts. Leveraging prior experience, the SI OCM lead was able to accelerate training development—an area that is often challenging in Workday implementations without support from an experienced Workday resource.  

• Supported continuous improvement. By capturing lessons learned and sharing best practices, the SI OCM lead contributed to ongoing optimization of both project outcomes and organizational readiness for future transformations. 

Together, the client-side and SI-side OCM leads complemented each other’s strengths, resulting in a holistic approach that delivered both technical success and sustainable change adoption through dual‑perspective organizational change management leadership. 

Establishing Trusted Partnerships and Unified Change Management 

Respectful Partnership Strengthens Brand Credibility 

Operating on both the client and SI sides requires a careful balance of advocacy, neutrality, and professionalism. Our approach centered on: 

• Respecting each organization’s role and expertise. We reinforced shared accountability and mutual respect for each other’s strengths – the client as the expert in their culture and operations, and the SI as the expert in best practices for digital system transformation. 

• Representing each brand with integrity. Our resource that was embedded with the client acted as an extension of their team—upholding their values, communication style, and expectations, while adhering to Avaap’s policies and procedures. 

This balanced approach enhanced credibility for everyone involved. Stakeholders noticed a unified front, not competing agendas. 

A Unified OCM Strategy That Works Across Both Organizations 

Because we understand the dynamics of both sides, we were able to design and implement an OCM strategy that was: 

• Practical for the client to execute (aligned with their culture, capacity, and leadership style) 

• Compatible with the SI’s delivery model (integrated with milestones, testing cycles, and deployment timelines) 

This alignment reduced rework, minimized confusion, and ensured that change activities supported—rather than lagged—the technical implementation. 

The Result: A More Cohesive, Confident, and Change-Ready Organization 

By bringing together the strengths of both the client and the system implementor, dual‑perspective organizational change management leadership helped create an environment where:  

• Teams collaborated more effectively 

• Decisions were made faster 

• Training and readiness efforts stayed on track 

• Stakeholders felt supported and informed 

• The organization moved through change with clarity and purpose 

This dual-perspective OCM model doesn’t just support transformation—it elevates it. 

Looking for the right support to ensure your large-scale system transformation is a success?  Explore Avaap’s Organizational Change Management services to learn more about our capabilities.