BL Magazine

Business
he says, at the forefront of any leader’s mind should be two key
questions: change is an answer to what question, and what
is it you want to achieve?
A change management programme doesn’t necessarily have
to mean radical upheaval. As Debbie Rayner, Director of IT at
law firm Ogier in Jersey, says: “A lot of small changes can add up
to a radical difference without the added downside of upheaval
and disruption to the business. Understanding your organisation’s
appetite for change, identifying quick wins, and a common
sense approach go a long way.”
Jonathan Atkinson, CEO of change management consultancy
Greenlight, says his own rule is not to change unless you have
a robust business case that spells out the proposed benefits and
how they will be measured and made real.
“Companies need to change for many reasons. It might be
because systems, processes or services have become out of date
or because they simply need to be improved due to new demands,
or there are opportunities to grow revenues or profit,” he says.
CHANGE OR DIE
“Evolve or become extinct,” Rayner says more plainly. Moving
towards a state of continuous improvement is what most firms
should be aiming for. “It’s essential that we continually challenge
why we’re doing things and the way in which we are doing
them, and that we adapt our processes to continually enhance
and improve the services we offer,” she says.
Mike Jeacock, COO at the Jersey Financial Services
Commission, is spearheading a major transformation programme
at the financial regulator. The reasons behind it, he says, are
to increase efficiency and effectiveness and to bring about
modernisations that were put on hold during the financial crisis.
Once the “major surgery” that he is spearheading is complete,
only “routine changes” will follow, he says.
Although advancements in technology are the catalyst for
much change, Rayner warns that organisations can be too easily
seduced by the next magic Hogwarts IT solution. “Any time the IT
Many experts agree that
change in a business
should encompass
continuous small
improvements married
with the major change
programmes that are
sometimes necessary
department is the driver of change into the business is a recipe for
disaster,” she explains. Instead, technology should underpin and
support the strategic plans for every area of the business,
including cultural, environmental, technical and financial issues.
“Just because a new technology ‘can’, doesn’t necessarily mean
the organisation ‘should’,” she cautions.
Many experts agree that change in a business should encompass
continuous small improvements married with the major change
programmes that are sometimes necessary. Solely sticking to a
‘big bang’ approach, which drags an organisation kicking and
screaming into the present day, can be fraught with problems.
The business may have to wait for months, or even years, to
reap any benefits from the new regime – or worse, a change
may be so delayed that it becomes outmoded itself.
WHAT TO CHANGE
Identifying which areas to fix in a business can be done in a
number of ways. The most straightforward is to talk to employees,
clients and suppliers to find out what is going well and what
needs to be worked on. This leads to an important stream of
organic ideas for change, but must be supplemented by a proactive
approach that analyses whether each process or area of business
is working as best it can.
Atkinson advocates a combination of business analysis
techniques and measurement to identify any areas of weakness.
“Measuring the performance of certain functions or outputs paints
a picture that allows you to understand what needs to improve,”
he says. “Then it’s back to the business case again – what are the
impacts in terms of time, cost and resource to improve, and what
is the return on investment.”
He argues that the greatest assets an external consultant brings
are objectivity, along with lessons learnt from other organisations,
54 January/february 2016 www.blglobal.co.uk