Raad der Wijzen maakt Europese stand van zaken - CxO

Change Management
Let the Games Begin
Are you contemplating or already involved
in a reorganisation, the implementation
of a new system, a merger?
Then prepare for failure! Indeed, as
demonstrated by a PwC/MORI survey,
70% of change programmes do not succeed
in delivering the intended value.
People Stop Change
The same survey sums up the top-ten reasons
for this failure, and nine of them
relate to people. They include: competing
resources, functional boundaries, change
skills, middle management and communication.
So companies realise the importance
of human behaviours and staff
motivation for the success of their change
programmes, yet they give them only
a fraction of the attention that is paid to
processes, finance and IT.
Change Olympics
So what do you have to do in terms of
Change Management? To make an analogy
with the world of sports: your change
initiative can be a Sprint, a High Jump,
a Marathon or a Decathlon, based on its
complexity and duration.
Outsourcing a single function and bringing
a new product to the market are typical
Sprints: of low complexity and short
duration. Time overrun is your worst enemy.
So narrow the (IT) scope of changes
to a minimum. Do not spend too much
time explaining the case for change, let
the situation speak for you. Introduce the
change with a shock-wave. The message
is: “We must catch up; we are behind.”
Adopt a directive leadership style, stating
clearly what you want people to do.
Mergers and acquisitions are typical High
Jumps: of high complexity and short duration.
High Jumps are characterised by
considerable employee stress and job
security issues. So prioritise key changes
into a critical mass. Identify which
Management & Human Resources
Stephan Podevyn and Barbara Van Rymenant
Advisory Consulting Financial Services – PricewaterhouseCoopers
existing change programmes can be
stopped or delayed. Implement a smallscale
project within 30 days to send the
speed message. Have top management
lead the change, but put high-potential
middle managers into key positions early
on the programme. Anticipate suppressed
resistance to fall out later on. Plan
for continuity of business and customer
service levels.
Cultural change implementations or Total
Quality Management projects are typical
Marathons: of low complexity and long
duration. This is about sustaining momentum.
So phase the changes to deliver
new improvements regularly. Expect to
keep updating the vision to new management
requirements, competitive needs
and technological developments. Actively
manage staff retention on the project.
Minimise parallel running of old and new.
Combat change fatigue by periodic bursts
of communication, varying medium and
message. Reinforce new behaviours with
recognition and reward programmes.
Corporate transformations or international
systems implementations are typical
Decathlons: of high complexity and long
duration. You have to be superhuman to
win this one! Break big changes into smaller
ones. Create a change staircase over
a three-to-five-year timeline to link the
Managing the change.
While going through change, people follow a typical curve:
changes. Make sure to run pilots or usability
labs, they send the message that
things are changing. Create a network of
change agents. Rotate people through the
team, but ensure continuity of the Change
Sponsor and Manager. Adopt an inclusive
leadership style, stressing the importance
of involvement. Use hard facts from market
intelligence and customer feedback to
overcome complacency, and raise urgency.
Invest heavily in end-user validation,
team building and training.
Knowing your Change Path
is not enough
Regardless of the nature of your initiative,
we believe you have to fulfil three
prerequisites:
1. an agreed-upon Case for Change, outlining
the risks and costs of not changing;
2. a clear Vision of what you want to
achieve, including the ‘What’s-In-It-
For-Me?’ for all those impacted, and
taking into account the change readiness
of the different stakeholder
groups;
3. commitment and visible support of
leadership.
When prepared like this, you will be able
to participate successfully in any of the
above Olympic Change disciplines.
CxO Magazine | February – March 2008 | www.cxonet.be 1