We have seen it countless times: an organisation spends millions migrating from legacy shared drives to a pristine SharePoint Online environment. Six months later, it's just a newer, cloud-based version of the same old mess.
Why? Because they migrated the content, but not the culture.
Successful Information Management (IM) transformation isn't just about metadata tags and taxonomy-though those are vital. It relies heavily on behavioural science.
"Technology is easy. Changing how people think about and interact with information-that's the hard part."
The Three Pillars of IM Cultural Transformation
When Recusant manages an IM transformation, whether it's for a CSG major or a bulk fuel facility, we spend as much energy on "People & Change" as we do on "System Configuration." Here's why:
1. Embed Ownership
We reinforce the principle that "IM is everyone's responsibility," not just the Document Control team's job.
This means engineers need to understand how their naming conventions impact discoverability. Project managers need to see IM as a risk management tool, not an administrative burden. Executives need to model the behaviour by using the system themselves, not asking assistants to "find that document for me."
2. Tailored Learning
Generic training fails. Death by PowerPoint doesn't create behavioural change.
We develop role-based content (e.g., specific guides for Engineers vs. Operators), allowing users to self-serve the knowledge they need to do their job, not everyone else's. This means an engineer doesn't need to sit through training on vendor onboarding workflows, and a procurement specialist doesn't need deep dives into technical document classification.
3. Show Immediate Value
You must demonstrate the benefits of the new system from the outset.
This means identifying quick wins and showcasing them to the organisation. If users can see the value of the system from the start, they're more likely to adopt it and make it a part of their daily workflow. Visual design isn't vanity-it's a signal of importance and investment.
The Common Failure Pattern
Here's what typically happens when organisations focus only on technology:
- Month 1-3:Excitement. The new system is deployed. IT celebrates. Documents start flowing in.
- Month 4-6:Confusion. People can't find what they need. They start creating their own workarounds.
- Month 7-12:Regression. Users revert to email attachments and local drives. The new system becomes "the official repository nobody uses."
- Year 2:Crisis. An audit reveals the compliance gap. Management demands answers.
Sound familiar? The pattern is predictable because the root cause is always the same: insufficient focus on adoption and behaviour change.
The Recusant Approach
Our IM transformations start with understanding your organisation's culture, not your current folder structure. We ask questions like:
- •How do people currently find information? (Not how they should, but how they actually do)
- •What are the existing power users doing that works well?
- •What are the pain points that make people avoid the current system?
- •What informal workarounds exist, and why?
Only after understanding these behavioural patterns do we design the technical solution. Because the best taxonomy in the world is useless if nobody follows it.
The Key Insight
Don't just architect the system. Architect the behaviours that will sustain it.
Practical Steps for Success
If you're planning an IM transformation, here are the non-negotiables:
1. Executive Sponsorship (Real, Not Ceremonial)
Leadership must use the system publicly and hold teams accountable to standards.
2. Champions Network
Identify power users in each department who can provide peer support and feedback.
3. Measure Adoption, Not Just Deployment
Track how many people are actually using the system effectively, not just how many accounts were created.
4. Continuous Improvement Loop
Build feedback mechanisms and commit to iterating based on user experience.
Technology will always evolve. SharePoint today, something else tomorrow. But the principles of effective information management-ownership, usability, consistency-those are timeless. Get the culture right, and the technology becomes the enabler it was meant to be.