In the corporate world it seems as though all we hear about is being Agile, failing fast and thriving not just ‘surviving’ and Change Management, just like some of that corporate lingo, is seen as a ‘buzzword’ to many.
So, what exactly is ‘Change Management’ and why do we need to invest in it? and just to clarify - we are talking about Change Management when it comes to projects with impacts to people, roles, or processes not the technical management of change requests our IT folks are familiar with.
Prosci defines Change Management as the application of a structured process and set of tools for leading the people side of change to achieve a desired outcome.
Change Management is the guarantee to a project that the people who are directly impacted by new systems, technologies or processes will be trained, supported, and equipt to adopt, maintain and operate the new solutions with ease come time to ‘turn it on’. This means as a business you know you’re getting your ‘bang for buck’, so to speak.
To break that down, let's understand the three key drivers people would typically choose to not engage and/or adopt a new project and how effective Change Management mitigates the risks.
‘Why is this necessary? The old way works okay as it is.’
This can cause people to not understand the importance of the project and ultimately result in people resorting to the old way of working post-implementation. Effectively communicating the ‘why’ and what happens if we don’t change, is a critical part of Change Management and is managed by a Change Management professional.
‘What does this mean for me and my role? Will I lose my job as a result?’
When it isn’t clear how people will be impacted once a new project has gone into production, this can cause some unease and emotional responses from the people whose jobs are changing as a result, causing unrest and confusion leading to active resistance. And as we know, resistance is contagious.
Essentially this type of response has the potential to disrupt the implementation of the project and its overall success when KPIs for usage aren’t met.
Change Management requires an in-depth analysis upfront to understand all the impacts and degree of change required of people. Plans and strategies are then created to help mitigate, manage, and support the project implementation resulting in high adoption rates and benefits being realised.
‘I’m not sure how to use this new computer application so I’m going to keep using the old processes I’m comfortable with.’
When implementing something new whether that be computer software or even a new step to an existing process; training is required to enable those who engage with/or complete the process in their day-to-day activities. The type of training, who needs more support than others and other supporting material is all assessed, managed, and delivered by a Change Management professional.
As we can all appreciate, anything that involves humans is generally a little complicated but let’s make it as simple as possible – people need to feel supported and enabled to ‘get on board’ and adopt a project.
Change Management follows a series of tools and steps to ensure people feel supported, are aware of what’s happening and why, have the necessary skills and ability to adopt the new way of working and ensure project teams are building solutions that are fit for purpose.
Knowing what we know now, I can’t help but ask the question… next time you’re implementing something new, will you include Change Management in your plan?