How would you run a Change Program to make the company good at change?

Hi Marieta,

Without entering into detailed considerations in terms of the different tasks of change management, I would start the process with basic questions in order to sketch an appropriate overview:

• What do I want to change?
• Why do I want to change it?
• When do I want it to change?
• Who should be changing it with me?

In my experience there are two main challenges in change management: the first one is related with the psychology of organizations, that is, the general behavior of people when confronted with change and the second one is communication and the management of expectations due to the change itself.

I would, in this sense, call your attention to the first problem, that is, the appropriate choice of change agents by redirecting you to the following articles:

https://www.quickbase.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-change-agents and https://www.quickbase.com/blog/how-to-identify-your-teams-best-change-agents

Besides the bookish remarks from these articles, I would like to highlight something out of experience:

It may be important to choose the right change agents, that is, individuals who possess certain skills such as emotional intelligence or proactivity BUT the factor X in the recipe, up to me, is to ensure that the chosen individuals, whoever they are, form a REAL network to drive change. As Andrew mentioned, it is indeed essential to make sure that keepers are part of the drive. One needs to avoid at any cost that change ends up being understood as "A taffy peddler does what he pleases".

Regarding the second problem which is communication, I think it can be mitigated if you enforce an understanding of change management not as something that is happening in the organization, in the sense of "it is being done somehow like a continuous process, i.e. the BAU of some team lost somewhere in the building" BUT  as a project, i.e., an exceptional effort in the organization towards a given goal with a full fledged project management strategy in place.

I hope this "solves" somewhat your question.

Best regards

Hi Marieta, 

I think my answers below can be a good start for your challenge:

https://consulthon.com/challenge/374/how-to-drive-change-in-a-small-organisation

If I can use your questions and elaborate more below:

Do you have a framework that you use? 

You can create any framework as long as it contains the following boxes:

1. understand deeply the technical aspects of the change (SMEs will help you with that if you engage them);
2. plan for work and engagement with the 3 types of employees: early adopters, followers and tradition keepers;
3. define the scope and budget
4. plan
5. establish governance and reporting

How should you approach the change in a company in order to make it happen?

You need to be prepared that there will be initial optimism, drop to disillusionment, and then up again - back to normal. It is different with any organisation but it is important to work with SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) in your Change Program. SMEs need to be seconded during the Change Program and perceive it more like a developmental benefit to the individual and the organisation, because of the different role they are in to. 

Would  you consider a transparent communication around the change to be a good step or on the contrary?

Yes!I would definitely advise- if you have 5 or more people in the Change team- you need one person who will be doing only professional communication.

You always need (that can be somebody from marketing) to sense check the change program communication. And do not be shy- communicate every benefit and achievement. 

Let me know if that helps. I am happy to jump on a call with you and deep dive into a plan.

Thanks, 

A.