What is change management?
Change management is the process of getting the changes we've been discussing implemented and adopted – changes like CMS process automation.
Change management is loosely comprised of two factors: formal changes, for example, changing someone’s job requirements and informal changes, like the culture of a particular workplace.
Keeping your project on includes recognizing and managing the changes that come out of adopting new technology in both the formal and informal spheres. A leading cause of projects needing rescue isn’t that the idea is flawed, but that those who it's intended to benefit are not using it correctly.
That’s the problem change management solves.
The formal change process
Changes made in the formal space are more likely to be adopted because individual responsibilities are more clearly defined, and easier to change.
For example, if you’re implementing a new CMS that changes how projects are reviewed and approved within a company, the new approval process has defined roles for where people are responsible, and through consistent communications and retraining of staff, these changes can be made relatively smoothly.
One essential piece to remember is the need for top-down consistency. To give your project the best chance of success, everyone involved at every level needs to be carrying out the new process themselves.
Changes are much quicker adopted when other members of the team are seen doing it.
The informal change process
The informal change process is where you address things like culture, informal training, attitudes, and behaviours.
Naturally, this is where a lot of change failure creeps in.
Taking our example from before, imagine you have a new CMS to help with project approvals.
The formal change is communicating what needs to be done and how. The informal change is getting people to actually do it.
Informal change management should focus on two things: first, engagement (not just communication) with staff. And second, locating cultural influencers and getting them on board.
Engagement
Engagement is essential to getting people to buy into the idea you’re trying to implement. In contrast to just communicating the change you want to implement, engagement is about getting people to own the idea before it comes in. Getting stakeholder engagement early on, having their continued support throughout the change, and including them in the review of the process and change procedure at the end are all good ways to facilitate that critical ownership.
Like formal change, this needs to be done at every level from the executive suite down so that your change is consistent throughout the organization.
Culture leaders
Every organization has its leaders – people who others look to for help, for how to do things, for the best way to handle a situation. Sometimes these are managers but oftentimes, they’re simply experienced staff members. When engaging with stakeholders at large, it's important to have cultural leaders onboard to encourage adoption.
Fortunately, finding them is easy. Simply asking your employees which of their peers they turn to for help is one of the best ways to identify them. For example, if you have 10 sales staff, who do they all go to when they have questions? Chances are one or two people will stand out as the cultural or educational leader, who will, in turn, inevitably be speaking about adopting that team.
Including your identified cultural leaders during early stakeholder consultation is an excellent way to get them onboard early. You should also provide them with additional resources to better understand the change, that way when asked about it by their peers; they can provide the right answers or refer them to someone who has them, rather than referencing the old process.
Conclusion
Putting your project in place is oftentimes the hardest part, and is the point at which you’re most likely to run into problems. But if you consider the formal process changes needed, like initial and continued training, clear communication, and engagement with all tiers of your organization, in addition to the informal processes like engaging end users and finding and looping in cultural leaders, your project will sail across the finish line.
Getting your project used the way you had anticipated is frequently the hardest part, and is the point at which you’re most likely to run into problems. But if you consider the formal process changes needed, like initial and continued training, clear communication, and engagement with all tiers of your organization, in addition to the informal processes of engaging end users and finding and looping in cultural leaders, your project will sail across the finish line.
That brings us to the end of our mini-series on how to avoid becoming a rescue project. If you’ve still got questions on how best to execute your project or are in need of rescuing, get in touch with us.
