How can we future proof our Transformation teams?

“Transformation” is defined as “a marked change in form, nature, or appearance”. So, if you’re going to make a change, you might as well make it worthwhile and enough of a change to warrant doing it, right?

For far too long, many of the organisations we have partnered with have embarked on “Transformation journeys” that have merely been a dipping of the toes, tweaking and making minor adjustments. These haven’t significantly impacted their performance or their desired business outcomes.

Persistent Teams

However, as we now rattle through 2023, many businesses out there are building long term, sustainable workforces in line with creating lasting change. One of our main clients are considerably investing in building out persistent teams who will stay together for multiple projects. They have revamped the way they are working beyond just being focused on Agile Transformation and this has allowed them to develop clearly defined pillars, or Chapters.

Ways of Working

As a result, they have created and fostered ways of working that can be easily transferred across a variety of different projects and domains; either copy and pasted or edited according to the needs of the Program. By developing a common understanding of how the business run projects, through clearly defined communities of practice and centres of excellence, people feel engaged because communication is slick and their role in the overall Transformation is clearly defined. They know where to go for different needs and requirements and there is a far stronger feeling of security and an understanding that things are moving in the right direction.

Contingent vs Permanent hiring

For a while we witnessed a relentless contract driven market, with companies significantly ramping up with the addition of contractors to the point where they probably became a bit too heavily weighted with contingent workers. This was clearly a reactive way of recruiting, with a focus on delivering to tight deadlines at pace, yet not a sustainable method in the long run; churning through lots of people and losing IP at a rate of knots. If we’re always hiring contractors at such a rate, and probably losing them at a similar rate, we’re constantly starting again and not carrying enough of our work forward to completion or in line with the overall business strategy.

Maximising Productivity

However, by building persistent teams of permanent employees, and with a more careful and thought-out sprinkling of contingent contractors, there’s a long term, sustainable and productive way of working that can be scaled up or stripped back according to the needs of the organisation. It’s far more productive and efficient in every way, particularly cost-wise. And who knows, if you create a bought in workforce with a clear mission statement and an achievable goal, maybe more people would consider permanent opportunities over chasing the dollars in the contract world?

For me, there’s so much to be gained from building out persistent teams and creating clearly defined and consistent ways of working. It’s worked for one of our biggest clients and I’m sure it’ll work for so many more once people hear of the countless Transformation wins that can be made!