What are some of the best practices for designing and implementing a change management process?

Goals must be specific and achievable. Grab some early wins. It build confidence and momentum. Keeping score of multiple metrics on a balanced scorecard guards against a tendency that can take any of us down: Fooling ourselves into thinking we’re winning, even when we aren’t. Measurement is a great honesty tool. The test of time is the ultimate proof point. True success is rooted in long-term success.

When assessing the current state, administer a balanced approach of what is being assessed and the value this assessment will provide. While a change solution could produce great outcomes, if it is not delivered with the right intentions and mindset, then the solution will be met with stakeholder resistance. Assessing cultural relationships and their interdependency is crucial to see how a change may need to start within the culture first, before processes. Does the work produced and delivered emulate a desired optimal emotional outcome? If a new process is introduced, will that fix the problem, or is it a deeper issue within the culture administering this process. Balance the assessment relationship between people and process.

One effective technique to surface less obvious "end state" criteria is to ask, "why is that important?" five times. For example, an end state item might be, "Improve employee engagement." Why is that important? Because employee engagement is tied to performance. Why is THAT important? Because strong performance will ensure we meet our goals as faster than we are now. Why is THAT important? Because currently, there is a culture that avoids candid feedback, preventing people from identifying critical growth areas. Why is THAT important? Because candid feedback promotes trust. You can see how what might have started out solely as an engagement issue surfaced other critical aspects you might want to address in your change management plan.

Before rolling out the change initiative across the entire organization, consider implementing a pilot test in a controlled environment. Select a specific department or team to trial the changes and gather feedback.

Begin by fostering leadership alignment, ensuring all stakeholders understand and support the change. Communicate clearly and consistently, addressing concerns and emphasizing the benefits of the change. Establish a structured plan, breaking down the process into manageable phases. Engage employees by involving them in the decision-making process and providing adequate training. Monitor progress, gather feedback, and be flexible to adjustments. Celebrate milestones to boost morale. Encourage a culture that embraces change and continuous improvement. This holistic approach fosters successful change implementation while maintaining a positive organizational environment. #ChangeManagement #BestPractices

One important lens through which to create all of your plans is to identify key personas that will be impacted by the change. Think beyond "employees" to different types of employees such as tenured employees, new hires, hourly workers and front line managers. While they are all employees, their knowledge and concerns that will impact their support of the change will vary significantly. Spending time up front identifying and planning for these personas will set you up for success further down the change road.

Employ data analytics to monitor and measure the progress of your change initiative in real-time. Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that align with your goals and track them using dashboards and reports.

Defining the strategy and plan is essential for aligning the change process with organizational goals. The change management strategy is a high-level approach that includes the purpose, scope, goals, stakeholders, risks, and benefits of the change. It serves as a guiding framework for informed decision-making. The change management plan, on the other hand, is a detailed roadmap outlining the steps, activities, resources, timelines, and responsibilities for implementing the change. This plan should encompass key components like the communication plan, training plan, resistance management plan, and evaluation plan. Together, these elements ensure a structured approach to managing change, enhancing the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes.

Surely this should be the first step, particularly with the people who will be most impacted by the change? Telling people what needs to change and only then consulting them on how or what needs to change, starts in the wrong place - this is the old problem-centred, Newtonian science approach which only works at a transactional level. You need to start with a discovery process. Your staff are your intelligence - they have to be there at the start to help you understand what matters (the Vision) and the strengths and challenges in the system.

Customize your communication strategies to suit different stakeholder segments. For instance, senior executives may require high-level strategic updates, while frontline employees might need more detailed, operational information.

The most simple thing to keep in mind at this stage is to center the famous acronym, WIIFM -- What's in it for me? All of us respond better when we are intrinsically motivated and we're more likely to feel buy-in when we understand how embracing the change will be meaningful to us.

Make sure that the stakeholders communicating about change are aligned on the core talking points and stick to those when talking to the teams about how it will affect them. If leadership has a united voice and everyone is speaking the same language about change, it will put employees minds at ease.

Engaging and communicating with stakeholders is fundamental to successful change management. Prosci emphasizes identifying and segmenting stakeholders based on their influence, interest, and impact. Effective communication involves tailoring messages to resonate with different groups and using various channels to inform, educate, persuade, and inspire them. Frequent and transparent communication builds buy-in and support, while actively listening to feedback and addressing concerns to ensure stakeholders feel valued and involved. This approach fosters a culture of open communication and collaboration, essential for driving engagement and achieving change success.

Pro-tips on training: - Assume everything will take 50% longer than you initially plan. - Assume 80% of people will do the training at the last minute. - Plan how you will handle people who do not do the training. The carrot/stick paradigm of motivation is a simple framework. - Check for understanding, not just the check box. Just because they watched the video doesn't mean they retained information or are ready to apply it. Use knowledge checks and post-training observation as much as possible. - Make it fun. Learning always carries more impact when it's engaging, enjoyable and packed with relevant and effective story-telling.

Prosci emphasizes the importance of comprehensive training and support in building change management competency. This involves offering role-based training tailored to different stakeholders, such as sponsors, managers, and frontline employees. Training should be continuous and interactive, incorporating both virtual and in-person sessions to ensure accessibility and engagement. Additionally, leveraging tools like eLearning modules and the ADKAR Model can help individuals understand their roles and responsibilities in the change process. Providing ongoing support through advisory services and reinforcing training with practical applications ensures that change management skills are effectively developed and sustained.

As suggested in the planning phase, taking time to ask "Why is this happening?" can be extremely valuable. It's easy to assume people are resistant because it will require them to do more work. It might be less obvious that they have to now sign into two different applications to find the resources they need. What might start as a motivation issue could actually be a systems limitation. Assume positive intent when identifying resistance then be willing to ask "why?" and listen intently.

It’s essential to recognize that when it comes to change, there are usually supporters, opponents, and people who are undecided and waiting to see how things develop before taking a side. Once you identify who falls into these categories, evaluating the impact the supporters and opponents have on the undecided individuals is crucial. Supporters can be your allies; if they have influence, it’s essential to use it to win over undecided individuals. If the opponents have much impact, finding common ground with them is beneficial - identify something they want and help them achieve it. By gaining the opponents’ support, you are more likely to persuade the undecided individuals to lean towards the supporters.

Managing resistance and risk is crucial for successful change management. Prosci emphasizes proactive strategies to anticipate and address resistance, which can stem from fear, uncertainty, loss, or habit. Techniques such as empathy, involvement, recognition, incentives, and contingency plans are essential. Prosci's methodology includes resistance prevention through early identification of potential sources and targeted actions to minimize impact. Resistance response involves developing effective measures when resistance becomes persistent. By incorporating these strategies into the change management process, organizations can mitigate risks, foster engagement, and enhance the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes.

Remember, measure the obvious things (training complete, activity in the new system, etc.) while also keeping an eye on the less obvious. Sometimes employee indicators such as absenteeism, changes in communication (coming into the office, turning their camera on in a zoom call, etc) and the energy among the team are hidden indicators of something missing in your change management plan. Adoption should be measured periodically after the change and by giving employees multiple ways to provide candid feedback.

I am left wondering why we are still stuck in this problem-based paradigm. PDSA has become the bible of improvement methodology and is about 50 years out of date! Using the words change management immediately creates a barrier. Development, growth, learning are much better words - these are iterative changes and acknowledge that improvement is at the heart of all human endeavour. Harness this and you won't ever have to deal with "change aversion, resistance or non-compliance" again!