How to win the hearts and minds of users
Helping Your Clients Manage The Cultural Change Of
Implementing An MPS Program - Part II

How many times have you seen a really great MPS solution whose results fall disappointingly short of expectations when you come to review progress with the clients after implementation? One of the commonest reasons for this is that both dealers and clients may underestimate the cultural change involved in introducing a successful Managed Print Service. To help them understand and get the most out of the technology, we need to take account of the human factor, as well as the technical aspects of the hardware and software involved. I have covered the first five points in the last issue. I’ll continue to cover the rest in this article.

6. Appropriate Technology
Although we are stressing the need to take account of the human factor, technology is still important – provided that it is deployed in a way which helps meet user needs.

As we have seen, the introduction of an MPS solution may involve changes in the way people work – for example a shift in printing from personal desktop printers to a shared MFP.

Here are some common problems which we have seen when such solutions are introduced:

• High volumes of abandoned documents at shared devices
“Users don’t have time, or forget to collect print-outs from the shared device.”
“Documents are lost in a pile of work from multiple users.”
“The result is reprinting at extra cost.”

• Confidential documents printed on shared devices may end up in the wrong hands
A user intends to collect print-outs immediately, but gets diverted.
- This type of problem has led to serious security breaches and lawsuits.

• Users may continue to print large jobs on high-cost small devices
- They may not know how to access a shared device.
- They may think it is too much trouble.
- The result is slower printing, higher cost-per page, and maybe no duplex.

Such problems may be avoided by intelligent deployment of appropriate technology. For example, secure release printing can allow users to output documents from a chosen device when they are ready to collect them – by identifying themselves, using a swipe card or PIN.

Rules-based printing can be used to advise or even require users to print jobs on appropriate devices – e.g. anything over 10 pages cannot output on a personal printer, and must go to a shared device.

Lesson 6 Use appropriate technology to support users – e.g. secure release printing vs. rules-based printing

7. Environmental Impact
We all know that good MPS solutions can result in significant cost savings for clients. However, some users, especially those further down the organization, may not find this very motivating. They may say, “I’m not going to go though hoops to change my working practices, just to save a few dollars for the company.”

If we want to take these users with us, and get their buy-in for the MPS solution, we need to find another way to motivate them.

Environmental concerns, especially climate change, are topics which are on most people’s minds. By reducing paper and power consumption through elimination of unnecessary print jobs, increased use of duplex printing, and a shift to more energy-efficient output devices, a good MPS solution can have a significant positive environmental impact.

This can be brought to life in terms which users can readily understand. Paper consumption can readily be translated into a number of trees destroyed. This can even be made quite personal. The document output of an attorney in a busy law firm (typically managed by his or her administrative assistant) can represent the equivalent of between five and ten trees destroyed per year. Put in those terms, it provides another type of motivation, especially for the administrative assistant, to manage document output more efficiently.

The impact can be heightened if there is an authoritative assessment of environmental impact by an independent specialist, which can show the change in carbon footprint, taking into account both paper and power consumption.

Lesson 7 Include the environmental impact

8. Support and Training
For an MPS solution to have a smooth introduction and successful implementation, users need help in understanding the changes this will involve. Some simple, common-sense steps can aid this process.

The first is to ensure that the planned changes are communicated to all staff in such a way that they cannot miss them – so that they know what is going to happen, when it will take place, and there are no nasty surprises. We’ve all heard about the users who arrived at the office on a Monday morning, to find that their old printers and copier had disappeared, and no-one had bothered to make them aware of how and where they could print documents.

The second point is to make sure the implementation is as smooth and seamless as possible. Nothing undermines the credibility of an MPS solution as things not happening when they are supposed to, equipment not turning up on time, installations and connections not being made correctly and so on. People will look to the MPS provider to take care of all these issues, and it is no good blaming someone else – for example the IT Manager. It is vital to have a robust project plan which involves all those who have a part to play, foresees potential pitfalls, and includes enough spare capacity to recover if things go wrong.
In tandem with the installation, there must be a good process to provide training and support for users, so that they understand how to use the new solution and have the opportunity to try it out. A good tip here is to run multiple sessions at different levels, detailed for heavy users and higher level overviews for more senior executives who have less time and may print less. It is also a good idea to appoint a champion for each department who can become the expert and owner of the solution in their area, and someone other users can go to if they need help. Finally, provide a clear and simple user guide, available on the Intranet and in printed form, which users can refer to in case they encounter problems or have questions.

Lesson 8 Make sure solutions are workable and understood – provide support and training for users

9. Ownership and Accountability
The keys to ongoing success for any MPS solution are ownership and accountability. On the client side, there must be a commitment to make this happen at a high level in the organization. It must come from the top, and they must hold managers throughout the organization accountable for making it happen and delivering results.

The client in turn will expect the MPS provider to take responsibility for managing the service and delivering agreed service levels and results. It is important therefore to define clearly who is responsible for what.

As an MPS provider, it is very important to be clear about what you can and cannot be expected to deliver. For example, clients may have unrealistic expectations. One client I know tried to hold his MPS provider responsible for the volume of documents being printed by his users. He claimed that the solution might somehow influence users to print more documents, because the planned deployment of output devices and print management software would make it easier and more convenient for them to print. However, it was possible to demonstrate by looking at user behavior that this was not plausible. It is true that an advanced MPS solution may help a client to reduce the number of documents printed, but that is a Stage 3 implementation which re-engineers work processes.

Another more common demand from clients is for the MPS provider to commit to deliver an agreed level of cost savings – and in some cases to be paid partly on the basis of this, through a gain/share agreement. This may be reasonable, but only if the parameters are clearly defined. For example, costs can only be compared in different periods if they are based on the same volume and mono/color mix of output. A provider cannot be held responsible for a cost increase driven by higher volumes, or a greater proportion of color printing.

All of these issues need to be defined carefully in the MPS contract. Beyond this, the key to ensuring the agreed targets are achieved is the management and accountability structure. Experience shows that the best way to do this is to have one-on-one working relationships between client and provider at all levels – starting at the top with responsibility for the total contract, and cascading down to individual sites – which should each have a site champion who is accountable on the client side, and a project manager who delivers for the provider. Each of these individuals reports up through his own organization, but crucially they must be accountable to and communicate directly with each other. Avoid situations in which a local client manager has to communicate operational issues up through his organization, and it then has to come back down from the top through the provider’s organization, before action is taken.

Lesson 9 Provide leadership and communication – appoint site champions and project managers

10. Transparency and Reporting
The pay-off for any MPS contract is a better document output solution, which improves user convenience and productivity, and reduces costs. These deliverables should be measured against agreed targets and service levels.

To get the whole organization behind this and to drive continuous improvement, the results and achievements must be made readily accessible and transparent.

This requires regular reporting, with a process to follow up on deliverables which do not meet the agreed targets. One of the best ways to manage this is through a portal, where both client and MPS provider can have immediate access to the current status and latest results. Achievement against targets can be presented in the form of a dashboard, which displays variances visually using a simple color coding or traffic light system.

Lesson 10 Provide regular and timely reporting, showing results, benefits and opportunities for improvement

The Ten Commandments of Cultural Change
The key points in this article can be summarised in the following ten rules, which we present as “The Ten Commandments of Cultural Change.”

1. Understand users as well the technology ... at all levels.
2. Get sign-off on a strategy which covers all parts of the organisation ... before designing the solution.
3. Benchmark current state vs. relevant best practice and highlight opportunities for improvement.
4. Show a range of solutions with trade-offs and a realistic transition path towards best practice.
5. Make solutions practical – take account of physical and organizational location of devices.
6. Use appropriate technology to support users – e.g. secure release printing, rules-based printing
7. Include the environmental impact.
8. Provide leadership and communication – appoint site champions and project managers.
9. Make sure solutions are workable and understood – provide support and training for users.
10. Provide regular and timely reporting, showing results, benefits and opportunities for improvement.


As a general manager and business development director, Steven Swift has a long track record of both building and turning around international businesses. He was instrumental in establishing Ricoh Global Services Europe as a €100M + business, and ran a €140M European business unit for Acco Brands. He has a broad background with experience throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. His diverse experience includes blue-chip consumer marketing at P&G + Mars, followed by corporate strategy responsibility with an FTSE 100 company. Swift is a graduate of Oxford University with an MA degree in chemistry. His language skills include fluent French. He has completed the Inchcape Senior Management Programme at INSEAD, and courses in corporate finance and M&A.