Critical Considerations for Your Organizations Transformation Project
Change management is project management and everything that applies to project management is applicable to change management as well. The reality is that 70 percent of complex, large-scale change projects fail (research by McKinsey and Company). What differentiates change management from project management; why do we have such high failure rates for change management projects, and how we can avoid it? The difference is that project managers often focus on the "what" (the project objective), i.e. project goals, while not putting enough focus on "how" (managing change effectively).
Change management requires employee collaboration from multiple departments for successful implementation. In other words, to implement change in a project, we must consider the impact of this change on the people involved in the project. People are enablers of change; without their cooperation, a project is likely to fail. Therefore, to avoid project failure, it is essential to consider the "how". How will this change be received and managed? Projects are executed by people, so we must endeavour to understand the change's impact from people's (the stakeholders) point of view.
When planning a transformation project, it is essential to consider all stakeholders and how they will react. If you are asking "Who are my stakeholders, and how can I correctly identify them?" - the best way to do it is to consider all groups and individuals who are affected by your project. It is essential not to miss a stakeholder group, who might be affected, and understand stakeholders' reactions, especially if some may have a negative perception. A big part of success for a transformation project is communication. Communication starts with the project launch and continues after the project is complete. Inform all stakeholders about what you are trying to accomplish and why this project is required. Try to anticipate their questions and concerns and address them in your communication. Communication should be ongoing throughout the project, i.e. use employees as subject matter experts to test possible solutions with them. It will not only help to identify the best solution possible, but also will get employee's buy-in, which will be extremely useful during project execution.
What I described is the application of a human-centred design approach. Following this approach is highly recommended when dealing with transformational projects. According to Don Norman, researcher, professor, and a director of The Design Lab at University of California, this approach consists of 4 steps: 1) focus upon the people, 2) find the right problem, 3) think of everything as a system, and 4) always test your solution with people. We already talked about steps 1 "focus upon the people," and 4 "always test your solution with people." Now let's focus on the meaning of steps two and three. "Find the right problem" means that you need to understand a root problem to solve and not just be solving its cause. A root problem disappears when causes are automatically resolved. It also means that as a Project Manager, you need to understand a genuine reason for resistance from those stakeholders who are negative or suspicious about your project. Be prepared to look further than their initial reply, seek to uncover a real answer. To win your stakeholder's trust and gain buy-in, a PM must demonstrate that she/he cares about them, and not just her/his agenda.
Think of everything as a system. Ensure that the change improves the final result. For example, we want to improve the client's experience with a final product as the opposite of improving the experience of a tool user making this product.
Communication does not stop after the project is complete. It's essential to keep people updated about how the transition is ongoing, demonstrate early success, and keep people's attitude positive towards the transformation. According to Gina Abudi, a consulting expert with 25+ years' experience in project management, for complex transformational projects, it's essential to continue the communication for about 6-9 months after the implementation. It can be 2-3 months for mid-size operational projects and less than a month for small continuous improvement projects. The communication wrapped into a human-centred design approach seems to be a missing factor in transformational projects. Getting it right will help project managers to ensure that a transformational project solves a fundamental cause and that people have a sense of acceptance and even ownership of the solution. This way will enable our project toward long-lasting success.
—Olga Minikh
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