Are you using the right tools for driving Business Transformation in your org?

In part 1, we understood the significance of Business transformation .?In Part 2, we have seen major drivers for business transformation . In this part 3(the last one in the series), let us try to understand how to drive Business Transformation initiatives within your organization.

Vision à Leadership Strategy ?? Planning ?? PMO/Governance ?? Resource Identification ?? Implement & Execution ?? Innovation Transfer ?? Celebrate failures(and Wins)

Vision:

“You’ve got to give yourself the freedom to dream – to use your imagination to see and feel what does not yet exist. A vision is not the same as goals or objectives; those come from the head. A vision comes from the heart.”

~?John Graham

?An organization wanting to implement change will have a vision of what they want their improved business to look like. The?vision should be aligned with the strategic goals and business case, with all stakeholders on the same page.

Be positive, specific, and ambitious while defining the vision for business transformation.

A good vision sets a standard of excellence and performance and forces your business to stretch

BT?Vision?should constitute What, Where, or Who you want the company to become

It can establish a benchmark, and provide a line of sight, direction, and where the organization wants to be in a set period of years.

The purpose of setting a vision is twofold: it is there to create a long-term strategy for where the company is going; secondly, it is meant to align everyone around the company’s direction

Leadership Strategy:

“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved.

He inspires the power and energy to get it done.”

~ Ralph Lauren

?A clear strategy will inform the development of a detailed transformation roadmap to help you achieve your vision for the company.

Developing a strategy?starts with defining where the business wants to be (the Target Operating Model), where it is today, and understanding how you can bridge the gap.

To understand the current state of your business, map out the people, processes and systems that support the delivery of your product or service to customers. Use this to help you identify your vision for the future.

Strong leadership is essential here in defining the strategy.

Appointing?leaders?to provide oversight and support for the transformation program is key

It's important to have buy-in from the senior leadership team, and the sponsor of the transformation should be the CEO, CFO, CSO, CTO, or another member of the board.?

Planning:

The implementation plan determines the changes that need to be made and when and outlines all the sub-projects that make up the transformation program.

Each sub-project should have clear?objectives, milestones, scope, timeframes, and budget.?

It is also important to identify all the workstreams, functional areas, people, processes, and systems that will be affected or involved in the transformation.

PMO/Governance:

By setting up a Programme Management Office (PMO), the PMO head/Director can establish program governance, manage all parties involved in delivery, and adapt and flex the transformation roadmap where necessary to keep the program on track. The PMO monitors progress, providing regular updates to the transformation sponsor and the board.?

Leaders should also be appointed in each individual workstream, for example in IT, HR, and Finance, to manage the transformation. It's important that they are aligned with the transformation's goals, and have the capacity,?data, and right skills to inspire teams and make change happen.

Create a robust governance structure to ensure that

·??????The projects are prioritized and aligned to short- and long-term goals of the business

·??????The right people have access to the right information to make the right decisions

·??????The projects are staying within the planned time and budget

·??????Enterprise resources are utilized in the most efficient manner

·??????There are ongoing risk assessments and mitigation across all projects

Resource Identification:

A PMO team is formed and the PMO director/head is appointed to take overall responsibility for ensuring the transformation is delivered smoothly, on time, and within budget. The PMO head will need to have the right experience and capability to deliver a successful transformation. Typically a Certified Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma or PfMP or PgMP and someone who served as a PMO leader of a medium-sized organization would be a right fit.

As per a survey, only 42% of business leaders say they currently have the internal capability to deliver business transformation,

As a result, business leaders often choose to look for outside help. Executives in demand have strong sector knowledge, enabling them to understand the market, accurately assess business performance, and build a high-performing leadership team that will?drive the transformation forward.

The best approach is to create blended teams of internal and external talent to manage each sub-project of the transformation, to get you to the end vision, or Target Operating Model.?

Function wise Points of contact/leaders should also be identified who will work in tandem with the BT central leadership.

Implement & Execution:

Business transformation is a journey that can last months or even years – it’s only once you take the first step that the journey really begins.

The Program/Portfolio Management Office (PMO) will need to reassess and re-evaluate the implementation plan regularly to ensure it’s still appropriate and adapt it as necessary.

Rigorously implement and drive all the programs and initiatives identified under BT Portfolio.

Ensure that migration to the new way of doing things is documented and validated. Also, disintegrate old processes or decommission old systems where applicable.

Also, the business transformation program doesn’t end once the change has been implemented.

Embedding and integrating new ways of working or new systems into the business takes time and can be complex.

If you’ve moved to a?new HR system,?for example, it will need to be integrated with other systems in your business, such as payroll, data analysis, and financial control systems. In this example, the new system affects everyone in the business too, so your workforce will need training on how to use it.

Innovation Transfer:

Sharing best practices can develop a community within an organization. Employees can provide helpful insights which boost employee efficiency and help businesses in cutting down costs and time with the right information search.

Integrating sharing best practices into the philosophy of a business can encourage transparency important for organizational accomplishment.

Find opportunities in other functions where similar improvements can be driven.

Celebrate failures (and wins):

Yes, you read it right – not every portfolio/program will yield successful results – but learnings are guaranteed on every execution. Hence celebrate failures too (wins are by default celebrated).

Also, ensure that team members are rewarded and recognized as appropriate.

This model is compiled based on our own experience and also through research.

If you are aware of any other Business Transformation framework/model, we would like to hear from you. Please feel free to share your thoughts/feedback.

Thanks much for reading!

Do not forget to share your suggestions or feedback at [email protected] or by messaging at +91 9494 587 187.