Interview Story - Overcame Challenge

Concerned about Y2k, one of my previous employers decided to discontinue the company’s legacy system in accounting on January 1, 2000. I was hired on October 1, 1999, to replace this entire system with Microsoft Dynamics software.

The implementation timeline was challenging. In general, when I do system conversion, the planning, scoping, assessment of staff competence and preferences, development of policies and procedures, integration, staff training, etc. would take 6 to 9 months. And I had less than 3. There were 1000 general ledger accounts and 8 employees to train. I had to convert the accounts payable, cash receipt, accounts receivables, and inventory systems.

To achieve this goal, I worked 60 hours per week including weekends. I also had to be exacting in understanding the project requirements, as I had no time to rework the details.

As I started to study their system, I discovered it had been built over a period of years with some features inefficiently tacked on, so as to not interfere with the original architecture. I spoke with the team about how we could streamline their system, how these changes would reduce redundancy and save them time. Instead of excited over these changes, I was met with surprising hostility. They were insistent about not making these updates, though wouldn’t say why.

Following these conversations, certain members of the staff were particularly unwelcoming towards me. I worked on other elements of the project in the meantime, but certain aspects of the project were now on hold until we found a workable solution. I wasn’t sure that I would still make my timeline.

Over the next couple of weeks, as I worked and spoke informally with the staff over lunches, coffees, and water cooler breaks, the staff became less resistant to my being there. Finally, I learned that they were scared these updates to the system would mean they would lose their jobs. Now that I understood, I was able to communicate the benefits of the new system and procedures and explain the value of this new system and how it would make them more efficient, not replace them.

My changes were now supported by the team, and I was able to move forward on all aspects of the project.

I was able to make the system run on January 2, 2000 – after 11 weeks. The new system ran so well that the annual audit relied on the numbers produced by the new system rather than the old system. But I attribute the success of the project to my ability to plan well, to think the right steps through, and to gain the support of my boss and my 8 staff members.