Are you struggling to implement change effectively? Learn the key focus areas that will make the difference.

As a consultant working across industries, I see that most businesses do not invest enough time in developing a change strategy, focusing excessively on project delivery.?

This week I am sharing the key sections to be included in an effective change strategy.?

Why change strategy is important

Developing an effective change strategy will help you:?

• Increase the impact and value for the business?
• Have more control over change implementation?
• Increase and accelerate change adoption?
• Gain clarity on the key messages for engagement and comms?
• Improve resource management and allocation?
• Reduce risks (including the risk of failure)?
• Increase employee engagement, reducing resistance and change fatigue?
• Embed lasting change?
• Establish a solid foundation and agree on ways of working during change implementation?
• Promote operational discipline

What gets in the way of change strategy development?

The main factors getting in the way of change strategy development include:?

• Competing priorities?
• Busyness and bias for action?
• Lack of awareness or knowledge on how to do it?
• “It’s too much”

Developing change strategy?

The following can be used as a checklist to ensure you have all the critical sections in your change strategy.?

A comprehensive and effective change strategy includes the following:?

1. Business Case for Change, including alignment with broader strategic and org principles. This could include high-level culture, change readiness, and impact assessments.??
2. Vision, purpose, key objectives, benefits?
3. Values and guiding principles for leading change?
4. Definition of Change Leadership roles and respective leads. It informs the establishment of a Change Community/Network.?
5. Change Governance, decision-making, and ways of working?
6. Responsibility matrix with accountabilities > RACI?
7. Change implementation process, methodology, and toolkit (including alignment between methodologies)?
8. Change Leadership Capability. This section covers the skills and capabilities needed to implement change successfully.?
9. Multiple project integration strategy?
10. Integrated Engagement and Comms Plan?
11. Acceleration strategies (focus on generating momentum)?
12. Resourcing, including estimations on the type and number of projects and business resources needed to implement change (or waves of change)?
13. Key strategies, objectives, and milestones for specific sub-initiatives
14. High-level timeline?
15. Change dashboard and Single View of Change?

Comments and clarifications

• Ideally, you would have a standardized approach to develop a strategy that you can replicate across business units or programs of work.?
• It’s important to clarify that you will not need all the sections nor a comprehensive change strategy for all your initiatives.?
• You can make some of the sections optional. You will need governance and high-level assessments to determine the level of change disruption and complexity and what initiatives require more or less change support and structure.?

What would you add to a change strategy??

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And reach out to our team if you need a template or support developing change strategy in your business.