THE CHANGE EQU>TION

See how our proven method could ensure a successful project outcome for you

Step 1: Undertake an INPACT Project Readiness Assessment
Assess the complexity of your project >> Quantify impact of culture and process barriers >> Gain Board ownership of risks

ENSURE CLEAR STRATEGY AND SHARED OBJECTIVES

Change is how an organisation moves from one position and way of working to another. But knowing which direction and approach to follow requires that a clear strategy has been agreed and objectives are well understood by all stakeholders before embarking on the change. We identify any confusion and lack of clarity and, if necessary, revisit the strategic analysis and planning stages.

The Assessment is scoped and undertaken by Peter Duschinsky and our Associates.

We use the INPACTTM Project Readiness Assessment toolkit.

A typical assessment will take 5-10 days.

Because we start by undertaking a Project Readiness Assessment, we know exactly where the barriers to change lie and where to apply the experience, skills and tools needed to shift them.

That means you get the assurance of a positive ROI, at a fraction of the cost you'd pay a top 5 consultancy

BASELINE THE ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND PROCESS CAPABILITY

The success or failure of a change project is highly dependent on the complexity of the project being within the capability of the organisation. In order to understand this, we look at the culture of the organisation, using the Kinston model, and its business process capability, using the Capability Maturity model. Putting these together provides a baseline: the Organisational Capability Indicator.

ASSESS PROJECT COMPLEXITY AND ROI IMPACT

In order to judge whether the change project is within the organisation's capability, we need to quantify the complexity of the project. We do this using the Exponential Complexity model. Once we have this data, we can analyse the gap between actual capability and that needed to realise the full benefits from the project. That gives us An ROI Impact spreadsheet showing the impact of the barriers on the business case ROI of the project.

GAIN OWNERSHIP OF THE RISKS

We workshop the outcomes of the assessment with senior managers to gain their ownership of the barriers and risks. We then deliver the Action Plan and Route Map that provides a clear, structured framework for success and shows precisely where skilled resources and tools need to be applied. At this point we access the knowledge and expertise of our Associates and Partners group to put together a costed Project Support proposal to provide the skilled resources, methods and tools the project needs to succeed.

Step 2: Support the Change Project Associates

Apply precisely the right skills and tools and Partners

HELP PEOPLE INVENT THEIR OWN ROUTE TO THE FUTURE

Organisational change means adopting new processes. But it's people who have to take on these different ways of working. And people don't like change. It's challenging, scary and takes a lot of additional work and effort. So organisational change will only happen successfully when people have been fully engaged and are committed to making it happen. And the more complex and far-reaching the change, the more it is critical that management recognise that this cannot be achieved within the lifecycle of the project – it has to start earlier to gain trust and go on beyond project delivery to embed the behaviour changes.

We use the Trust/Cost model to assess the level of trust and sharing within the organisation, then apply the Change Equation approach to help people gain the confidence and trust to ‘invent their own route to the future'.

We bring in our Associates and Partners, selected for their ability to make a real difference, quickly. They include:

Business transformation, process redesign, project & programme management, cost and efficiency improvement

Iain Begg , Nikki Cole , Mark Connell , Amit Eitan , Terry Foster, Stephen Gaubert , Jeff Hurst

Knowledge management, Enterprise 2.0 collaboration, Sensemaking

Colin Bainbridge , Dick Willis

Culture change & innovation, HR infrastructure, employee benefit solutions

Nikki Ferguson , Stuart Sinclair

Interim skills recruitment

Iain Begg

Leading edge methods and expertise from UK academia

Jeff Hurst , Alan Rae

Leadership coaching

Alison Kemp

Marketing & sales skills, training and coaching

Richard Griffiths , Andy McIntyre, Rob Fear , Allan Rae

Organisational change design, culture mapping, assessment

Peter Duschinsky , Nikki Cole , Roger Martin

Policy and project evaluation

Peter Duschinsky

Project readiness, health-checks and troubleshooting

Peter Duschinsky

Software development project management

Jeff Hurst

Web marketing, social media

Allan Rae

IT skills training

Rob Fear, Valerie Merrill,

Andy McIntyre

Cross-cultural, multinational

Amit Eitan, Debby Swallow

MAKE THE BUSINESS PROCESSES VISIBLE

Because it's people who make change happen, they need to be closely involved in the mapping of existing and ‘to-be' processes, which, in our approach, puts emphasis on the ecology of process change – the change is unlikely to change everything a person does, so it is important to make visible the impact of the proposed changes on the rest of that person's work, to reduce resistance to change.

STRENGTHEN PROJECT AND PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY

The best managed projects won't deliver the benefits without due attention to the culture and process issues we cover in our approach, but too many change projects fail due to poor project management. If necessary, after assessing the complexity of the project, we may need to bring in an experienced Project or Programme Manager to supplement in-house resources.

BUILD AN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CHANGE

We believe that behaviour is a product of the system you put people in, so we pay attention to the proposed new systems and processes, look at whether policy and practice changes are needed to the HR and employee rewards framework and, where appropriate, introduce innovation enabling software and other ‘levers' to bring about rapid culture change.

Conventional change management interventions attempt to design and control the outcomes. This approach can block and constrain the naturally emergent patterns of learning and behaviour that are crucial in a complex project, where the outcomes are so dependent on people. We have the skills to recognise when it is right to put in place and support an enabling infrastructure to facilitate and enable the new relationships and behaviours.

FOCUS ON PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Change requires that people learn new ways of thinking and acquire new competences. To support this learning, we offer capacity-building coaching, mentoring and skills training, to individuals and teams.

The way an organisation functions, its levels of trust and empowerment, are heavily influenced by leadership style. A good leader combines qualities that engage and empower people to achieve make the changes. While not everyone has these skills and capacities, they can be honed and improved through coaching and mentoring.

10.

MANAGE EXTERNAL PARTNERS

Most change relies on influencing external partners: customers, suppliers, other organisations. Partnering and collaborative working are becoming the norm and these require careful planning and sensitive management. Our Organisation Culture and Trust/Cost tools provide a basis for mapping the landscape, then we bring in experienced facilitators and managers to generate and support the governance, contractual, operational and relationship management frameworks.

Where the change depends on external suppliers to provide the new systems, infrastructures or outsourced functions, the project's success will be highly dependent on their capability. We have the experience in our team to ensure that procurement processes, supplier capability, IT plan etc. have been thoroughly scrutinised and appropriate risk management and contractual mechanisms put in place.

Step 3: Track Progress to a SUCCESSFUL PROJECT OUTCOME

The Project Readiness Assessment methodology lends itself to monitoring progress and ensuring that the project is going to plan. Because we focus on a wider set of data than conventional project healthchecks, we can spot issues and barriers that will hinder take-up and realisation of the project benefits and maintain focus on the organisational culture changes, which need to be supported and embedded well after the completion of the project itself.

In cases where the project is going badly adrift or is no longer meeting the changing business objectives, the data we provide can help to justify stopping the project - something many organisations fail to do (with serious cost implications).

Use the INPACT tools to carry out periodic healthchecks and post-implementation audits.

Use them to assess all the projects in a programme and gain insight into the risks and interdependencies.


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