Most benefits are
realized many months after a change is made, and yet few, if any, resources are
invested during this time to realize them. Often, organizations believe the projected
benefits will materialize over time after a short period of post-change
monitoring. If no major issues arise, success is declared, future benefits are
assumed, and the implementation team is disbanded.
The reality is that
people need more time to master difficult, uncomfortable, and untested new ways
of working that create productivity gains. As people try out new practices they
compare them to the old ones they know well. A tension between the two creates
a barrier to change because, as James Belasco and Ralph Stayer have observed,
“People overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of
what they may gain by giving that up.”
Without ongoing support mechanisms, many people choose personal preferences over leadership mandates. They revert to old routines and behaviours, forfeiting benefits tied to the new ones. Old and new practices clash as people try to do their work. This leads to confusion, frustration, sub-optimal decisions and results. Without ongoing reinforcement and measurement, it can take many months before leaders discover the change wasn't adopted and benefits were lost.
Ideally, implementation resources would be retained to support embedding the change into day-to-day operations and track its benefits. For most organizations, this is a luxury they can't afford. Resources are limited and other change initiatives need to be implemented.
So how do you sustain a
change and realize its benefits without ongoing change support? The implementation
team must achieve two objectives: establish mechanisms to support the change and
transfer accountability for them to people who operate the business. Here
is a list of activities to do so:
Ownership
- Ensure a leadership team member (ideally the one most
affected by the change) is accountable for updating their peers on barriers
to adoption, progress made, and benefits gained
- Identify a business owner for every process impacted by
the change
- Appoint someone to measure benefits realized across the
business
Measurement
- Document early wins (including verbatim testimonials
from employees)
- Confirm that the leadership team has scheduled time on
their regular meeting agendas for updates over the next nine to twelve
months
- Identify where remedial training is needed and who will
deliver it
Process
- Remove access to old ways of working so they can’t
be used, e.g. databases, templates, and systems
- Establish a benefit tracking process including metrics
and data sources
- Ensure new behaviours and actions are incorporated into
HR systems – performance management, talent assessment, leadership
development, and new employee orientation
Engagement
- Involve people in lessons learned exercises to keep practices
top-of-mind
- Establish forums, chaired by process owners, where
people can share challenges and recommended improvements
- Coordinate early adopters to help peers overcome
difficulties with new operating procedures
Rewards
- Profile leaders who are following the new ways of
working
- Publicly acknowledge people who are gaining benefits
from the new practices
- Include new role requirements and demonstration of new
behaviours in annual goals
Communication
- Develop a communication plan to update leaders and
employees (e.g. town hall meeting, news blasts, newsletter columns, etc.)
- Share stories of how people are incorporating new
actions and behaviours into their day-to-day tasks (include pictures
of them in their work environments)
- Communicate results (good and bad) with the leadership team
followed by all employees
The degree of change
adoption directly influences the benefits gained from it. Most organizations
can’t afford to dedicate resources to ongoing change implementation support.
The next best approach is to create mechanisms that encourage adoption of new
practices and assign accountability to business operators for maintaining them.
This will increase the likelihood that new ways of working will stick and benefits
will be realized. Doing so will also build change management capability through
the organization, which is a benefit in itself.
Phil
