How a Global Airline Transformed CRM Readiness with Strategic Change Management

Our customer embarked on an ambitious journey to enhance their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) capabilities by investing in a state-of-the-art CRM platform. This platform aimed to deliver a best-in-class experience, fostering a stronger connection between the airline and its customers. With a programme investment of £40M and an expected benefits case exceeding £60M, they sought to implement a robust Change Management approach. Project One was brought in to support the business change and readiness team in building the Change Management framework essential for long-term success.

The airline faced significant challenges in aligning its business readiness and change management teams with the CRM programme. These teams included both change management specialists and business analysts, bringing a technical background. With the change management team coming from two separate departments, customer service and a more corporate-focused team, conflicting perspectives and a lack of cohesion emerged. 

The CRM readiness team was the only group responsible for preparing the business for this transformation, coordinating with 25 different scrum teams, each on a fast-paced two-week sprint cycle. The technical knowledge gap and lack of accountability hindered their ability to relay critical information to the business, impacting customer satisfaction, case turnaround timelines, and potentially eroding customer loyalty. The organisational divide between the customer and the business analyst tech teams added further complexity, as did the high turnover of project managers. These issues, combined with an overwhelming project pace, created a sense of disillusionment within the team, with many feeling that achieving successful change was nearly impossible. Without a structured Change Management approach, the customer risked diminishing the CRM programme’s full potential. 

Upon engaging with the project, Project One quickly identified the need to streamline reporting and facilitate collaboration between the readiness team and the technical project teams. Simplifying the use of agile tools became a top priority. Previously, the team struggled with rigid and overcomplicated methods for tracking and reporting, often reverting to non-digital workspaces like Microsoft Word and Excel. Project One helped the team integrate these processes within agile tools like Confluence and Jira, encouraging them to work within one unified platform. As a result, the team’s delivery performance improved dramatically, rising from a 70% to nearly 100% delivery rate in each two-week sprint cycle.

To foster unity and accountability, Project One introduced regular team workshops, face-to-face meetings, and structured discussions on roles and responsibilities. These gatherings served to bridge the customer and business analyst tech teams, enabling them to work in tandem on CRM programme goals. Project One’s hands-on approach in managing team dynamics helped address deep-seated friction. By encouraging the airlines team members to advocate for their counterparts, Project One strengthened mutual trust across the organisation.

Through this approach, Project One successfully enhanced transparency, encouraged team members to take ownership of their roles, and created a shared sense of accountability. the customer’s business change and readiness team could now follow agile development cycles with more confidence, proactively communicating with the business and keeping it informed. Their close collaboration with the CRM product teams allowed them to anticipate adjustments and align expectations, easing tensions and helping the airline stay on track to deliver business value through effective change management consulting services.

As a result of Project One’s change consultancy, our customer witnessed a dramatic turnaround in its CRM programme’s readiness and adoption. The business change and readiness team began to take ownership of their roles, with improved clarity on the technical aspects of the CRM platform rollout. For the first time, the customer’s business teams expressed confidence in understanding the project’s trajectory, particularly at pivotal planning sessions, which helped cement trust in the new CRM capabilities.

Through improved reporting and adoption of agile tools, the team could now assess the impact of sprint and release changes swiftly, providing faster evaluation timeframes and better alignment with the wider business objectives. The CRM readiness team operated more cohesively and no longer required external support to manage their responsibilities effectively. This marked a significant milestone for the customer, as the business change team was equipped with lasting capabilities to support continuous improvement, creating a CRM transformation that would positively impact end customers.

Project One Value Add:

• The airline turned to Project One to overcome organisational silos and build professional change management experience within the CRM readiness team.

• Our value lay in our ability to work with diverse personalities and longstanding organisational dynamics, establishing trust across both teams.

• Project One brought a hands-on, practical approach that set us apart from other Change Management consulting services, making us a reliable partner in driving meaningful change.

Do you need change expertise to drive business transformation?

For complex, fast-paced projects, bringing in experienced change management consultants can make all the difference in achieving seamless readiness and integration. Project One’s change consulting services offer the strategic guidance and hands-on support needed to realise your programme’s potential. Contact us today to explore how our bespoke change management approach can help you overcome organisational silos, drive performance, and achieve lasting change benefits.

Unlock the full potential of your business with our expert insights. Contact us today to discover how we can help you achieve your goals.

theteam@projectone.com