April 2015 - When planning for change management or a core system replacement, insurers focus a great deal of effort on getting buy-in and sponsorship from leadership. End users may be required to accept this change, but their cooperation is critical to success. While insurers may determine a project to be in the company’s best interest, many companies will struggle with reluctant end users who drag their feet.

Even in the best scenarios, when most key users support a project, it’s hard to make everyone happy. Most big core system replacement projects leave some users grumbling, sometimes for reasons that are surprising and/or don’t align with the insurer’s strategic goals. Assuming there’s general agreement that a project is right for the overall organization’s strategic goals and fits most end-user needs, there are many reasons that can still cause reluctance or pushback.

It is important to have a plan to overcome this reluctance, as well as to be ready to understand why some end users are resisting change. This report covers some best practice steps to build the consensus needed to make sure end users are as enthusiastic about a project as the executive sponsors.