A Framework for Change Management

This perspective come from Alsbridge

 

Change management is a critical part of any project that leads, manages and enables people to accept new processes, technologies, systems, structures and values. It is the set of activities that helps people transition from their present way of working to the desired way of working. The focus of change management is to address the people and organizational factors that will both drive and obstruct change throughout the organization. The ultimate goal of any change initiative is to ensure everyone in the organization is ready, willing and able to appropriately perform their role in the new environment.

 

Challenges for Change Management

 

The nature of the change gives rise to a range of change management challenges, including:

• Lack of visible sponsorship: The change is not perceived to be important or even happening.
• Unclear, ineffective decision-making process: Reduced pace of implementation; additional cost: time + rework; lack of vision, direction and focus. Lack of buy-in; other priorities will be made.
• The right people are not involved: Delayed decision making; no sense of urgency; rework required by additional resources.
• Failure to remove organizational barriers: Project delays and could ultimately fail.
• Not anticipating and pro-actively managing people issues: Increased resistance; attrition; employee relations issues.
• Skills for new/changed jobs or roles are assumed and not tested/assessed: Training effort insufficient – additional effort required/reduced service level; unmanaged staff expectations.
• Planned organizational rationalization is not achieved: Staff are retained without a real need.
• Finance/HR resistant to "letting go" of certain current responsibilities which may in future be no longer theirs.
• Reluctance to change behavior: "Temporary" double effort; benefits are not reached (as quickly). Underestimating the time and effort required to "make the change stick."
• Lack of baseline/metrics/system to measure progress (how far have we got, how far do we still need to go?): No clear sense of how much has been achieved; lack of momentum; project fatigue.