Networking Event for Change and Transformation Leaders

IGA Talent Solutions were delighted to hold our first networking event for transformation and change leaders in London, on Thursday 6th October. The topic of discussion for the evening was “Can Transformation Survive Recession?” and the event was chaired by Mark Epps, Global Media Operations Officer at Dentsu.?

We invited 15 change leaders from various industries and sectors to discuss and debate the following lively topics:

“What does a potential recession mean for inflight transformation programmes?”

“How do we generate a sense of urgency around change”

“How do we sustain a programme and avoid change fatigue?”

Due to the diverse backgrounds and sector expertise within the networking group, we found that a lot of the answers to the above questions are very much dependent on circumstance. Public Sector vs. Private Sector, Regulatory Change vs. Organisational Led Change and how business critical is the programme were some of the considerations that needed to be made.

Whilst there are unique challenges in each area of transformation, key themes emerged that proved to be sector agnostic. Recessions aren’t new and many companies have managed through downturns previously, so taking note of lessons from the past is an important factor. Although crises can be used as an accelerant for change, uncertainty is the enemy of strategy and a programme can very easily be paused or cancelled altogether in these uncertain times.

Following the event, Mark Epps added:

“It’s always a delight to be in person with a group of talented leaders and change agitators. We live in a world with ever present macroeconomic, social and political dynamics that businesses are navigating.

The one constant in every industry is that doing nothing isn’t an option. We as leaders and industries can’t stand still. Whilst it doesn’t always need to be a big ‘heavy’ transformation, change, continuous improvement and adapting in your own context is vital for success.”

Transformation continues to take many forms depending on the market sector and there is a perceived dichotomy between having a central transformation team and 'devolving' the work into the business; but it's not an 'either/or' situation. The people aspect of transformation and change has evolved and is more widely valued.

There is no single formula for how organisations respond to external influences like a pending recession but change always has and always will remain as a constant to drive growth and efficiencies. Surprisingly, not all organisations take a strategic view when making discretionary investment decisions and transformation is not seen as a strategic enabler, more as a cost.

The universal takeaways from the evening were:

1. Importance of buy in
2. Sponsorship at the right level
3. Organisations must look to embed change as BAU, not just as part of a transformation programme

IGA Talent Solutions will be hosting a series of similar networking events in 2023. Our current topic suggestions include;

• Doing more with less. Prioritisation and strategic alignment
• How to put ￡ on customer satisfaction
• Deep dive on a single topic or aspect of transformation in the form of a case study - with key challenges or a type of people or team intervention.

If you are interested in attending a session in 2023, or suggesting and hosting a topic, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with IGA Principal Consultant, Mark Stanton directly at [email protected] ?to discuss future networking events.