Change Readiness
It’s all about a smooth transition... Whether your project is delivering new technology or new ways of working, your organisation’s readiness to accept change will be the single most determining factor in the quality of your results.
Real Change Readiness (RCR) avoids the reliance on anecdotal evidence and provides specific, quantifiable insights on where, and with whom, your change efforts need to be focussed to ensure success.
Change Management – the Difference between Finishing and Winning.
The Case for Managing Change
Most organisations and their project teams are familiar with the business resistance/acceptance cycle associated with major change projects and are aware of the need to consider Change Management during implementation. However, all too often this awareness translates into broad change management exercises typified by training and communications plans. A true awareness of Change Management allows for a ‘shallowing’ of the change curve resulting in the following benefits:
- Lower risks to current ‘day to day’ operations.
- Lower project effort and costs
- Faster path to benefit realisation.
1 Risks to be Managed
Organisations don’t always easily adapt to new technology, organisational or process changes. Whilst these issues are recognised by most project teams, all too often a general, common approach is used. In reality issues often differ by stakeholder groups, business unit and, or, geographies. Understanding these differences is key as, prior to implementation, any disruption or disaffection with proposed changes can present risks to the current ‘business as usual’.
2 Total Change Effort Required
The extent to which change management is planned and addressed prior to, and in the early stages of, the project dictates the total change effort that will be required to not only achieve implementation, but to ensure the full changes are embedded in the organisation. The earlier and more targeted the change management effort, the lower the total effort, and the better use of your project’s limited budget and resources.
3 Opportunity Cost
The better prepared your organisation and its people, the faster the benefits will be delivered and felt. The time to achieve the new state of ‘business as usual’ and the associated business case represents a significant opportunity cost for your project. The more insight you have into where and with whom issues are most likely to arise, and the earlier the warning, the more quickly you can target your mitigation strategies and accelerate the adoption of the new changes.
What is Real Change Readiness (RCR)?
Real Change Readiness (RCR), is an assessment tool which answers the question “where are we today”? The assessment is a highly effective method to assess how ready the organisation (and teams within it) is to embrace change. RCR measures readiness across 7 elements from the strategic – How shared is the vision? How understood is the case for change? Level of confidence in the plan to achieve it? Through to the tactical – How well resourced are we? How well equipped are we to deliver? How well are we performing? A combination of methods, including executive interviews, electronic surveys and employee focus groups provides a robust database, against which the success of the project can be measured on a recurring basis.
By making Real Change Readiness (RCR) an integral part of your project management approach, you can effectively chart your ‘readiness score’ throughout the life of the project.