8 Critical Components when starting your Change Journey

1.    People - It is not leadership that implements change but people.

Questions to consider:

·         Do you have the right calibre of people?

·         Do they have the competencies to implement the change?

·         Are they motivated to do so?

2.    Business Case - The emotional and numerical rational for adopting the change.

Questions to consider: 

·         Why is the change centre stage?

·         Do your staff members know what to do differently on the Monday morning after implementation is announced?

·         Do they have the right tools and techniques to implement the change?

3. Communication - People can only adopt change if they know about it and understand it.

Questions to consider:

·         Do all your staff know what the new change is and why it has been adopted?

·         Is the change communicated in a way that it comes alive?

4. Measurement - You must inspect what you expect. Have the right measures in place.

Questions to consider:

·         Do you have the right measures for the change?

·         Are the measures being leveraged to guide the implementation?

5. Culture - You must change the day-to-day activities of your staff members and have a culture that support and fosters change.

Questions to consider:

·         What needs to change in the fundamental way you are working so as to encourage the adoption of the new culture?

·         Are we using the language of the new change?

6. Process - There must be alignment between what you say you are going to do (the implementation) and what you are doing (the process).

Questions to consider:  

·         Do your processes support or hinder the change?

·         Where can you redesign the process so it is more supportive and effective?

7. Reinforcement - You must reinforce the expected behaviours so that they are continuously repeated.

Questions to consider:

·         When staff members step in to the unknown and demonstrate the new behaviours, are they recognized and rewarded?

·         Does the reinforcement encourage them to continue to demonstrate the desired new behaviours?

8. Review - The weakest of the eight points among leaders. You must constantly review to make sure the right actions are being taken to deliver the right results.

Questions to consider:

·         Do you know if the actions being taken are producing the right results?

·         Do you know what has been learned from the implementation in the last 90 days?

·         Do you know what you need to start doing differently from today?

By paying attention to all of these areas and assessing the organisation strengths and weaknesses against each one, the organization can prepare itself with a realistic perspective of the challenge ahead and leaders can identify the actions to take to deliver the new strategies anticipated results.

 

6 KEY ELEMENTS OF MANAGING BUSINESS BENEFITS

MANAGING BENEFITS

This is about planning and managing the overall delivery of benefits from the programme.  The activities cover tracking the benefits from their initial identification to their successful realisation.  This process also covers managing the transformation from old to new ways of working while ensuring that business as usual is maintained.  The process is repeated through each tranche of the programme.

1.    Establishing Benefits Measurement

What you need to do

To measure improvements resulting from benefits realisation, the 'before' or 'as is' state needs to be measured and baselined in the Benefits Profile.

Benefits realisation, which happens towards the end of the benefits management process, is reinforced by the implementation of relevant measurement processes.

Points to consider

Providing realistic and usable measures for benefit realisation is not straightforward.  Benefits may be owned by different parts of the organisation. Some benefits can be tracked using financial measures, others will need more complex measures, or indicators, to demonstrate their realisation.

2.    Refining the Benefits Profile

What you need to do

The Benefits Profile should be managed and controlled as rigorously as costs.  It will need to be reassessed and adjusted as necessary during the programme.

Points to consider

Conduct regular reviews of the main benefits led by key stakeholders from the business or operational areas and facilitated by the programme.

3.    Benefits Monitoring

What you need to do

Progress should be monitored against the Business Case, the Programme Plan, the Benefits Realisation Plan and the Blueprint.  Adjustments may be identified from a range of events or circumstances:

·         Business operations may be unstable

·         Forward plans are no longer realistic
·         External circumstances changing

Programme's objectives being re-focused.

Points to consider

Some projects may not contribute to benefits in their own right, but they may be providing prerequisites for other projects that will contribute to realisation of benefits.

Linkages between enablers, improved capability and business outcomes should be clearly mapped and tracked over time.

4.    Transformation Management

What you need to do

The Transition Plan (part of the Programme Plan) provides the route map for implementation of the changes.

Managing the transition will also require careful consideration of individuals' personal concerns about what the changes will mean to them. This should be co-ordinated as part of managing the programmes communications.

Points to consider

Benefits Management should be an integral part of normal good management and service improvement, but the principles of effective change leadership and people skills are especially important in maximising the expected outcoes fo change.

5.    Supporting Benefit Realisation

What you need to do

The embedding of new capability into the business such that it becomes business as usual is where benefits realisation occurs.  New ways of working will inevitably require a settling down period and may produce dis-benefits and additional costs.  The Business Change Manager(s), supported by the programme, should ensure the programme provides sufficient support during this period.

Points to consider

Some benefits may not mature for some time after programme closure. A continuous improvement philosophy should be established such that the organisation is able to encourage further improvements in performance. There may be a need to ensure that a means is in place to continue to measure the benefits.

6.    Measuring Benefits

What you need to do

The Benefits Profile provides the baseline before measurement and details of the measurement of improvements.

Points to consider

Measuring benefit achievement should focus on the improvements in performance achieved by the business operations and changed working practices.