Implementing an Organisational Change Programme - Simply Put!

Introduction

In the Marstan Guide Introduction to Change Management, we said that there are three main stages in making an organisational change successfully.

The first of these stages is assessing the need for change. (See Assessing the need for Organisational Change - Simply Put!)

The second stage is planning the organisational change programme. (See Planning an Organisational Change Programme - Simply Put!)

The final step is implementation.

The implementation stage should be treated like any other project; you have prepared a programme, now work to it! You should apply all of the normal techniques of business management and project management.

There are, however, some aspects of implementing a change programme which make them more sensitive than managing a normal project or “business as usual”.

Key areas for management attention when implementing a change programme

There are seven key areas for management attention when implementing a change programme:

1. Communicate the plan to everybody.
2. Motivate people.
3. Be flexible.
4. Spend time “on the shop floor”.
5. Celebrate success.
6. Measure results.
7. Evaluate and close-out.

1. Communicating the plan

Before you fire the starting gun on the implementation programme, it is beneficial to make sure that everybody knows what they have to do and how they fit into the whole programme.

This is an opportunity to calm nerves and smooth out any problem areas. During the process of this communication exercise, it is important to provide the opportunity for people to ask questions. You should also use it as an opportunity for assessing the sentiment towards the change programme. People generally fall into one of four categories:

1. Supporters – welcome it and can help others.
2. Agnostics – they do not necessarily think it is needed but will readily accept it and will not be a negative voice. In fact, they may just remain silent.
3. Sceptics – they don’t really see the need for the change but will go along with it. They will be a negative voice.
4. Opposers – they disagree with the proposed changes and will not hesitate to tell anyone and everyone.

The important thing when communicating the plan is to be professional and diplomatic. Remember that during the planning stage you should have carried out a lot of consultation, so that whilst the detail of the plan may be new to some people, the concept of it should not.

2. Motivate people

Communicating the plan relates to the “mechanics”. However, we should never underestimate the importance of vision. The whole idea of a change programme is to produce some real benefits. Everybody should be reminded what they are and how much better things will be when the programme is complete.

Stress the drivers for change and explain that you are trying to avoid the dangers of NOT changing. Expressing this clearly can work wonders if there are some opposers in the team.

3. Be flexible

When you are implementing a change programme, you are often running “business as usual” as well. This means that people often have a greater workload.

As a result, people may make more mistakes, cut corners or become irritable. The important thing is to be flexible and not too critical. If some aspects of the “day job” can be eliminated during the programme it can often have a significant impact on keeping people fully engaged.

4. Spending time on the “shop floor”

Successful change programmes come from organisations where the management team spend most of their time with their people during the implementation period, rather than in their offices. It is an opportunity to see what is really happening, make adjustments to the programme and provides an opportunity to keep motivating people.

Failure to take this step can lead very quickly to the conclusion that things are not affecting the top management and, therefore, the change programme is unimportant. Worse still, it can be considered as an imposition; something which is “done to” the workforce rather than “done for and done with”.

5. Celebrate success

Celebrating success and thanking people should be a standard part of managing people, but it is even more important during a change programme.

It is important to look very closely to see what stages can be celebrated. Create the opportunity to identify “early wins”. Use them as an opportunity to:

• Apologise (again) for any inconvenience or additional work that the programme has caused.
• Thank everybody for what they have achieved.
• Re-motivate everybody and remind them of the next stage in the programme.

6. Measure results

The purpose of your change programme is to deliver benefits. Most programmes will not have all of the benefits on the final day; some benefits would have arisen during earlier stages of the implementation.

It is important to review what benefits you were aiming for and whether or not it has been achieved. If you have not yet achieved the benefits you may need to do some more work on the issue.

7. Evaluate and close-out

At the end of the change programme there should be a period for evaluation and close-out. The purpose of this is to ensure that everything has been completed and the benefits have been realised.

It is also beneficial to use it as an opportunity to document the lessons learnt and to give a final thank you to everyone who made it happen.