CMO: Think big, start small when setting up the Change Management Office!

Change is an inevitable aspect of organisational growth and adaptability in the dynamic business landscape. As organisations strive to navigate and excel in an ever-evolving environment, establishing a Change Management Office (CMO) has become increasingly essential in order to maintain an organised approach to change capability building. A CMO should be more than just a standalone entity; it should closely collaborate or integrate with other organisational functions such as Project Management Office (PMO), Strategy Management Office (SMO), and the Transformation Office. This coordination facilitates effective project change, continuous improvement, and the creation of change and value flow throughout the organisation, all directed towards intended outcomes and purpose realization.

However, setting up a CMO requires a pragmatic start-up approach, unwavering board-level sponsorship, and a clear focus on building organisational change maturity which is not always so clear for those landed with the job of getting it setup. Many of us are roped into the first CMO setup with very little idea of how we should get started, even with some of the above factors on side. This article aims to cover some of the basic topics important to consider for longer term success, put alongside a simple pragmatic start up approach.

A Pragmatic Start-up Approach

A pragmatic approach to setting up a CMO is essential for its successful implementation. This approach involves a systematic evaluation of your organisation's existing change management practices and the formulation of a clear roadmap to guide the process. Here's a more in-depth exploration:

Define Objectives: It's crucial to clearly define the objectives of your CMO. This will act as a scoping mechanism for tuning into the current situation and assessing what we have to work with. These objectives should align with the broader organisational strategy. Specify what you intend to achieve through the establishment of the CMO, whether it's enhancing change readiness, reducing resistance, or increasing the success rate of change initiatives.

Assess the Current State: Before embarking on the journey of establishing a CMO, you must take a comprehensive look at your organisation's current state regarding change management. This assessment involves identifying strengths, weaknesses, and areas that require improvement. You can conduct surveys, interviews, and review past change initiatives to gain a deeper understanding of your organisation's change readiness.

Assemble a Cross-functional Team: The success of your CMO will largely depend on the capabilities of the team responsible for its setup and operation. A cross-functional team, comprising individuals with diverse skills and expertise, is essential. This team should include change management professionals, project managers, communication specialists, and others with relevant experience. Collaborative, interdisciplinary teams can address complex challenges more effectively.

Develop a Roadmap: Creating a detailed implementation roadmap is pivotal to setting up a CMO successfully. The roadmap should outline key milestones, resources, timelines, and deliverables. It's beneficial to approach this in a phased manner, allowing for gradual integration and testing of the CMO's functions within the organisation. This incremental approach reduces the risk associated with large-scale changes and provides opportunities to adjust the strategy as needed.

Secure Necessary Resources: To ensure the effectiveness of the CMO, it's vital to secure the necessary resources, both in terms of budget and tools. This might include investing in employee training, acquiring specialized software or platforms, and hiring additional staff with expertise in change management. Adequate resources are essential to deliver successful change initiatives.

Deep diving into factors that will support longer term success

I am a big advocate of the 'Think Big, start small' strategy when it comes to getting anything off the ground. In the very beginning the balance between big and small probably leans more heavily on the small and simply getting to a healthy stable place from which to grow. Once this has been established, the balance of big will increase as we can now start to think about more strategic objectives and how to realise them. In any case though, its always good to make sure you have the essential building blocks already in place from the start because you know you will need them as part of the integral way the CMO have been designed and setup. Here are some of these building blocks explored in more depth below.

Connected and Realizing Value in Relation to Strategic Goals

A CMO's primary function is to align change initiatives with the organisation's strategic goals and ensure that these changes create value. When an organisation fails to achieve this during setup, it quickly leads to issues that can grow into full blown reason to end the CMO. One regularly re-occurring example is where the CMO ends up simply maintaining its own existence and the work of a few change managers, this leads to very real questions around whether the CMO delivers the value originally intended. To achieve this alignment and value realization, consider the following:

Strategic Alignment: The CMO should play a pivotal role in establishing a clear and direct connection between its activities and the strategic objectives of the organisation. Practically this alignment can be to at least collaborate with existing Centers of Excellence (CoE) like a Transformation office or strategic PMO. This alignment ensures that every change initiative has a purpose and contributes to the organisation's overarching goals. A structured approach to change management, guided by strategic objectives, enhances the chances of success.

Value Realization: The success of any change initiative ultimately boils down to value realisation. Continuous assessment and measurement of the value generated by these initiatives is a critical aspect of a CMO's responsibilities. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) play a crucial role in tracking progress and making data-driven decisions. It's important here not to dwell of KPIs that show CMO health but to include ones that are showing organisational health which are influenceable by increasing change maturity. By quantifying the impact of changes, the CMO can demonstrate its value to the organisation.

Agile Adaptation: The business landscape is not static, and strategic priorities can shift. The CMO must remain adaptable and responsive to changing circumstances. Flexibility in realigning efforts to align with evolving strategic goals is key. This agility enables the organisation to pivot swiftly when needed, ensuring that change initiatives remain in sync with the business's direction.

Remain Outwardly Focused: While it's crucial for a Change Management Office (CMO) to establish internal systems and processes, it must also maintain a strong outward focus. This means that the CMO should not be solely occupied with self-organisation and maintenance; it should consistently drive collaboration, integration, and value creation throughout the organisation. Here's a deeper exploration of this vital aspect:

There is strength in numbers: If we simply rely on a handful of Change Managers to do all the change work, we are already limiting ourselves. Particularly if these resources are maxed out on projects with a good amount of basic Change support and CMO maintenance tasks. There is no room to be strategic or to support change on a bigger scale than the sum of the collective change resource availability. Clarifying the level need for change in different re-occurring situations and then catering for training, Change playbooks or other support materials means that the most basic change can be managed by others in the organisation. The goal is to democratise change management, and what better way than by training more individuals to be able to deliver it across the organisation.

Board-Level Sponsorship

Having board-level sponsorship, such as the endorsement of the CEO, CSO, or COO, is vital for the success of a CMO. These high-level sponsors can contribute to the CMO's success in various ways:

Elevate CMO's Status: Board-level sponsorship elevates the importance of the CMO within the organisation. When top leadership visibly supports the CMO, it sends a strong message about the organisation's commitment to change management and its significance in achieving strategic goals. It also means that the CMO is directly connected into the strategic heart of the organisation, giving it much more opportunity to stay updated with strategic changes in order to incorporate them.

Secure Resources: Board-level sponsors are instrumental in securing the necessary resources and budget for the CMO. They can advocate for the allocation of funds, staff, and tools required for the successful execution of change initiatives. This financial backing is crucial for the CMO to carry out its mission effectively.

Foster Accountability: With board-level sponsorship, accountability for change management becomes ingrained in the organisation's culture. When leaders at the highest levels of the organisation endorse the CMO, it sets a standard for accountability throughout the organization. Employees at all levels are more likely to take change management seriously when they see that top leadership is committed to it.

Building Organisational Change Maturity

Building organisational change maturity goes beyond focusing solely on change management maturity and change found in projects. It involves cultivating a culture and structure within the organisation that can effectively navigate change. Here's a closer look at building organisational change maturity:

Develop a Change-Ready Culture: A change-ready culture is one where adaptability, innovation, and continuous learning are encouraged and nurtured. Employees are empowered to embrace change and view it as an opportunity for growth rather than a disruption. To cultivate this culture, the organisation should value and reward innovative thinking and flexibility in adapting to new circumstances.

Promote Leadership Buy-In: Effective change starts at the top. Leaders at all levels, from middle management to executive leadership, should champion change and model the behavior expected of employees during transitions. Leaders who are enthusiastic about change and actively demonstrate their commitment can inspire the workforce and set a positive example.

Empower Employees: Empowering employees to navigate change is essential for building organisational change maturity. Investing in change education and training equips employees with the skills and knowledge needed to not only adapt to change but also actively contribute to the success of change initiatives. By providing the necessary tools and resources, the organisation ensures that employees are well-prepared for change.

Create a Change Governance Structure: Establishing a change governance structure is vital to maintaining consistency and alignment in change management efforts. This structure defines the roles and responsibilities of key individuals involved in change management. It helps ensure that change initiatives are well-coordinated and that change management practices are standardised across the organisation. This consistency contributes to the overall effectiveness of change management.

Connect different types of change: Change in the form of projects is both vital for organisational development but also somewhat abused. If you think about it, projects are often unpredictable, high risk and require a lot of resources. If we can both recognise and strategically harness more types of change, we can use the type that's fit for purpose. Furthermore, properly integrating continuous improvement best practices ensures that the need for specific types of major projects gets diminished over time due to continuous improvement maintaining a more updated status than without it.

Collaboration and Integration with Other Functions

A CMO should not operate in isolation but should closely collaborate or integrate with other organisational functions. These collaborative efforts help in streamlining change management and ensuring its alignment with the organisation's broader goals. The question of whether to integrate or collaborate is one that has come up many times in my work. I would counter this by asking how strategic any of the business units are below and what would best support strategic change management and capability building within the organisation. The collaboration with these business units or function houses include:

Project Management Office (PMO): Collaborating with the PMO is crucial to ensure that project changes are in line with the organisation's overarching change strategy. The integration of change management principles into project management practices enhances the chances of successful project outcomes. It also facilitates a more efficient approach to change management within project teams.

Strategy Management Office (SMO): Integrating with the SMO ensures that the CMO's activities are synchronised with the strategic direction of the organisation. Strategic goals and objectives set by the SMO play a significant role in guiding the CMO's change initiatives. Close alignment between these offices ensures that change efforts contribute directly to strategic success.

Transformation Office: Collaboration with the Transformation Office is particularly important during major organisational changes, such as mergers, acquisitions, or significant restructuring. The CMO can provide guidance and support to the Transformation Office in implementing these changes, ensuring that they are well-planned and effectively communicated to stakeholders.

Conclusion

Setting up a Change Management Office is a strategic decision that requires a pragmatic start-up approach, strong board-level sponsorship, and a focus on building organizational change maturity. By aligning change initiatives with strategic objectives, focusing on value realization, collaborating with other organisational functions, and coordinating change & value flow, organisations can ensure that the CMO becomes a driving force for success in an ever-evolving business landscape.

Reach out if you are contemplating setting up or in the middle of setup and interested to have a conversation. We have various webinars, research sharing sessions coming up that you might like to take part in. Last but not least we have years of experience supporting the setup of CMOs along with other Change related business units and function houses and are happy to support this process at your organisation.