How to define, empower and execute effectively in complex change management projects

After completing an organisational or technology change, there are two things that every membership body comes to understand. Firstly, regular change is essential to continuous improvement and to staying relevant in a competitive sector. And secondly, the process required to achieve this change is always far more challenging than expected.

If your organisation is about to embark on this journey, we recommend thinking of the change management programme in terms of a three step process. Following this approach whilst adhering to the guidelines below will help to avoid common pitfalls and give the best chance of a successful outcome.

Step 1: Define

In any journey, the first stage is always to know the destination. This is as true for a family road trip as for a million pound organisational change project. Properly understanding where we are right now, where we need to get to, and quantifying the gap between the two is the fundamental basis of strategy.

For membership organisations, this step helps us to recognise required change in four ways.

a. Define our purpose:

What is the purpose of the services we deliver and what do they mean to our members? What does this mean to the organisation and the wider group of stakeholders? Defining this purpose as concisely as possible helps to ensure that every element is analysed through the lens of member value. This also guarantees alignment with the organisation’s broader business goals.

b. Define and quantify the “as is state”

Aim to map and document all the current ways of working. The goal here is to acquire a shared understanding of current operations and expectations across the entire project team. Then we must review and quantify the business and customer impact of our current approach. How much does it cost? Is it delivering value? Where is the waste? What is the cost of risk mitigation?

c. Define the measurement criteria

Pulling together the findings so far allows us to identify the effectiveness of our current systems and processes. It also provides clues on how to more accurately measure future improvement. Having this tool available places metrics around our project, gives insight into its progress and provides indications whether any course correction might be required.

d. Define the outcomes

The destination of any change management process is less about what the organisation wants and much more about what it needs. Having a clear definition of this and using it to prioritise the competing elements of the project is mission critical.

Step 2: Empower

With definitions complete, our next step is to develop and embed self-sufficiency into our change management and continuous improvement processes. This matters because change programmes that really engage with people’s hearts and minds always prove to be more successful that those that feel forced on people.

The key is to provide a simple, effective change management framework and toolkit that can be used by people across the organisation. A step-by-step process for defining and delivering change also helps people understand how to change, not just what to change.

We can harness the time and talents of our teams by involving them directly in four areas.

a. Identifying

Involve a multi-disciplined team in identifying the opportunities for transformation by understanding what they believe the organisation needs

b. Mapping

Get their help to bridge the gap between the “as-is state” and the “to be state” by mapping and documenting current and desired ways of working

c. Investigation

Work together to systematically break down problems as a group, exploring options and considering how to measure progress towards the optimal solution

d. Outcome analysis

For incremental change, a wider group can be invaluable in surfacing, analysing and prioritising change elements. They are also excellently placed to discuss, develop and implement any necessary remedial action.

For more involved transformational change, the same group has all the experience necessary to accurately quantify opportunities against the cost of waste. The task of mapping future states to develop a technology roadmap and business case for investment can also benefit from this wider input.

Step 3: Execute

The final stage focuses on delivering the transformational change that has been identified, quantified and agreed. A proven project implementation methodology is essential and has particular importance here in underpinning a multi-disciplined delivery team.

When working with a technology partner, it’s also important to understand and plug any resource gaps that exist in our organisation or in their project team. Regular stress testing of the technology project strategy is also important to ensure that it continues to support the delivery of our wider organisational goals.

For our internal teams, we must always provide the support, skills, tools and framework to support each stage of our transformation. Without the requisite knowledge for each step, they will not be able to adopt and support effective transformational change.

Finally, when putting these concepts into practice, we should always implement any incremental changes in the priority order that we defined and agreed earlier. This not only ensures that the team can put their new learnings into practice quickly. It also delivers quick wins that build confidence early in the change process. Keeping your team engaged and motivated is a success multiplier in any strategy.

Where to get help

Intercloud9 is obsessed with helping membership organisations to deliver change successfully. We work only within the membership sector and over the years, our team has supported more than 50 organisations with a total of 38 million members. We also have decades of experience working with leading vendors in the industry.

This gives us unique insight into avoiding pitfalls, ensuring all stakeholders and appropriately engaged, and helping organisations to achieve the outcomes they need.

Our approach is underpinned by a solid focus on change management and designed to ensure clients achieve their objectives. We aim to bridge the gap between organisations, their technology partners and their vision by providing a one stop shop for all things change management. Learn more at www.intercloud9.co.uk.