Mastering Organizational Change Management

Flexibility, adaptability and agility are key characteristics of successful organizations that want to outperform their competitors. Transforming your organization to harness these characteristics requires a strong change management strategy executed from the top down. In this white paper, we’ll share why creating an Agile organization that embraces change is so important in today’s fast-paced business environment. Next, we’ll show you how to utilize project managers to organize the transformation process, track progress and manage implementation. 

We will also share the ADAPT formula for creating organizational buy-in and provide insight into selecting the right software solutions to provide visibility and guidance, governance, collaboration, and centralization. By the end of this guide, you will know how to prepare your organization to not just navigate and survive change but, most importantly, thrive while doing so. 

Adapt or Fail — The Dangers of Playing It Safe

Gaining a competitive edge requires organizations to be agile — able to swiftly adapt to the dynamic changes in their unique markets and the evolving needs of their customers. However, changing one’s business methodology is not an easy feat. The intimidation factor keeps many businesses in a state of comfortable paralysis that prioritizes stability over growth. On paper, this type of risk aversion seems like a sensible business decision. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily the case and fails to keep up with the pace of change required to be competitive.

The failure to be proactive and adapt in business also puts your organization at risk. Being reactive — waiting and hoping change won’t be inflicted upon you — costs your organization strategic opportunities to craft an overarching vision, drive messaging and determine processes. Fear cedes control to chance and cuts into your ability to deliver continuous business value internally and to your customers. And if your competitors have seized the opportunities that your organization is missing, you’re inevitably going to be left behind. 

If the biggest influence preventing your organization from adapting is fear, then the best solution is to create and implement an effective change management plan. Change management is a term that’s used quite often, and it has different definitions depending on the industry. When it comes to adapting your business processes and initiatives to enhance agility, change management describes the strategic approach to facilitating that transformation across departments, projects, operations and individuals. In the next section, we’ll share how the project management office can be the driver of change to bring your vision to reality.

The PMO can be a Catalyst and Facilitator of Digital Business Transformation

One of the key challenges of organizational change management is implementing change without causing major disruption to regular business operations. Knowing this, the professionals from your Project Management Office (PMO) can swiftly become your organization’s star players, for these reasons. 

Your PMO will have access to a portfolio view of all projects, deliverables, tasks and resources. This builds trust and credibility into information you provide to the business and if your organization ascribes to Agile project management, which has them trained to maneuver on the fly, all the better for you.

Your PMO is already accustomed to upholding standards, ensuring all actions are accomplished and reporting progress to stakeholders.

Your PMO can support you in selecting the right people for the right tasks, as they work closely with many different departments and can help you match strength to purpose.

The PMO can facilitate dissemination of information, instructions, organizational standards and best practices through their already established system of engagement and communication.

Your PMO is an asset that you can and must engage to ensure success. They not only have the skillset to accomplish many of your goals, they know exactly what is going on and can make sure no projects or people get left behind.

ADAPT – Your Formula for Gaining Transformation Buy-in

In May of 2019, National Geographic published a fascinating article about a type of spider that had adapted its web to operate like a crossbow, loading a central silk line with tension and then holding it until it could release it to capture its prey. 

The web fires at an astonishing speed — 26 times the acceleration of a NASA space shuttle — making it nearly impossible for its prey to escape. The point of sharing the feats of Hyptiotes cavatus isn’t to provide you with an interesting story for your next dinner party; rather, this small-but-mighty spider illustrates a far more important concept: Adaptability is critical to success. 

Adaptability doesn’t just apply to the animal kingdom. For today’s companies, the ability to proactively change to meet the requirements of the rapidly shifting business environment is critical to avoiding business extinction. Digital Business Transformation is an intimidating process, which is why so many organizations and their staff are often resistant to it. However, this transition can be eased through a wellexecuted user-adoption strategy. 

We have refined the key concepts of this strategy into the ADAPT formula that will help your organization take the reins and flourish through transition. 

Align with the Strategic Vision

Change in any organization begins with a purpose. It is critical that everyone in the upper echelons of the organization have a shared vision of transformation and understand the purpose for the change. That doesn’t just mean desire. In order to achieve the desired results, a comprehensive plan must be developed and agreed upon by all stakeholders. Here are some points to consider:

• Timeline – How long should this take and what milestones should be set?
• Investment – How much time and money should be invested in this? What are the limits?
• Implementation – How will the plan be executed? One department at a time? All at once? Who will facilitate the process?
• Desired Results – What do you expect this transformation to accomplish? What does success look like?

If you can create enthusiasm from the top down through a shared vision, you’ll set an example for the rest of your departments. 

Deploy a Command Center

Once you have achieved a shared vision, it’s time to create a system of accountability. Assign roles and responsibilities to your teams so that information never gets lost due to a communication breakdown. Your leadership will need to shine at this point in the process. It is important that part of your accountability plan includes communication between all levels and departments, not just between leaders and subordinates. Now is not the time for silos to spring up and derail progress. 

Speaking of progress, make sure you set measurable goals. This allows for frequent check-ins to see the progress that has been made — or to discover gaps. It also creates a record of your wins that you can share with your teams (more on that in a moment). 

Last, create a centralized database that holds all of the information pertaining to your goals. This eliminates the aforementioned silos and also keeps all parties on the same page. 

Ask the Nay-Sayers

Employees are the backbone of every organization, but they can also be one of the key resistors to transformation. As such, employee buy-in is usually a chief concern for senior executives embarking upon organizational transformation. The reasons for resistance can vary. Some individuals worry they don’t have the ability to adapt their skillset to meet new demands. Others suspect that change signals potential job insecurity, i.e., layoffs or salary changes. Still others just don’t like stepping out of their comfort zone — familiarity with their jobs allows them to feel safe and confident. 

Notice in the above scenarios that there is no malice on the part of the employees. People who struggle with adaptation are not doing so intentionally and it’s important to keep that in mind as you implement change. Savvy organizations understand that change management is as much about understanding the mindset of their people as it is about achieving business goals and often times the nay-sayers have the best insight; a viewpoint on the change others don’t share. Empower your nay-sayers and incorporate their feedback to ensure you are not missing anything. If you can get them on board, your plan is that much better for it.

 Here are some tips to enlist your nay-sayers in the process: 

• Ask your nay-sayers how they feel and work to relieve those pain points. The authentic desire to help them through the process builds trust and eases the challenges that will inevitably occur. 
• Find your change cheerleaders and bring them into the process right from the beginning. Encourage them to boost morale and reassure their fellow employees that this doesn’t have to be a negative event.
• Work with multiple departments to ensure the people in charge are prepared to address inevitable questions that arise. They need to be all-in and understand the value of the change, not just the impact.
• Be transparent about the process. Acknowledge small and large issues while proactively addressing them. One of the most frustrating things for employees innolved in a sweeping transformation is an organization that won’t admit their process isn’t perfect. Also remember that transparency is a two-way street. Your willingness to share and address issues encourages employees to provide the type of input that can have a real impact on overall success. 

Provide Quick Wins

Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. While managing to outcomes — focusing on the bigger picture — is important, it’s also necessary to provide people with quick wins that motivate them to continue pursuing the strategic vision. This is where setting measurable goals comes into play. By breaking the big picture into smaller pieces, you’ll have more opportunities to tout the positive accomplishments that are occurring. Sharing those positive results will give people a reason to persist through the rougher parts of the process.

Perseverance is a key attribute of change management success. 

Tell the Story

Will change make work easier? Will it increase sales? Increase stability? Why should everyone get on board with the process? The story that you craft should consistently communicate the overarching goals of the transformation. And remember, don’t just talk in terms of how it will benefit the organization – also share how it will benefit all the individual stakeholders.

5 Answers to Your Most Important Change Management Questions

In a recent webinar, titled The Adaptive PMO: Manage and maintain Change Management for Long Term Success, I teamed up with Audra Proctor, CEO of the agile change management company Changefirst, to discuss how to support a successful transition to an adaptive PMO. During the session, we tackled some tough — and common — questions from attendees about the change management process. Read on to learn what mattered most to attendees and our answers to these thought-provoking questions.

1. How do you know it is time for a change?

Most organizations recognize a need for change when pain points become too difficult to ignore. This can be a challenge because it means that by the time a business decides to adapt, they are desperate for change and the punch list for success is incredibly lengthy. This can make resistance higher and onboarding take longer. Processes, methodologies and outcomes should be assessed regularly and realistically to identify problems while they are small and easier to conquer. Change should be expected and prepared for as an inevitable part of doing business, not as something to accept begrudgingly when all other options are exhausted.

2. When is the ideal time to begin training a team to decrease resistance to change and ensure longevity?

There is no specific timeline for training people in a new methodology. Every company is different, which means that timing of training can shift based on a variety of factors. And yes, you can begin training too soon. The best approach is to be proactive in addressing issues before training begins. Start by measuring your team’s readiness for the required changes. This will help you identify areas of resistance and confusion and address them ahead of time. For example, if a member of the PM team is concerned about shifting from physical spreadsheets to digital reporting, you can offer preemptive technical education and support before training on the platform itself.

In addition to smoothing over bumps in the transition, measuring readiness also spurs engagement. People are more willing to change when they are allowed to collaborate on the outcome. This helps people buy into change because they are part of the changes rather than having change inflicted upon them.

3. How do you overcome resistance to change and drive high adoption rates?

Even with proactive planning, you will still have people who are resistant to change. To combat this, it is critical not to underestimate the power of your local leadership. As Audra Proctor explains, “Often when we have to deal with groups of people resisting adoption, that’s where we have to start.”

People look to their immediate leadership for motivation and enthusiasm. If a leader is resistant, chances are that the team will also be resistant, since there is no one to reinforce the positive reasons for adoption. You need to investigate reasons for the resistance. Why are certain managers reluctant and what can be done to get their buy-in and then pass it along to their teams? You need to not only identify both the people who are going to be positive but also potential detractors, since they often yield more peer influence than you realize and they may have valid issues.

4. How important is stakeholder engagement to change management?

Stakeholder engagement is vital to facilitating change management. It is important that people don’t just know that change is coming, but also understand why it is necessary and feel they will be rewarded for being a part of a positive outcome. Stakeholders should be visible and accessible participants in the process. and the more personal you can make the connection, the better. The problem with relying solely on impersonal forms of communication is that people don’t have to listen. When you’re engaging with them in a room together, or at least over a video call, that is when you can break through.

5. How do you ensure a successful change with limited resources?

Of course, change management is easier to manage when resources are plentiful. However, the reality is that many organizations have a limited budget in comparison to what is needed to orchestrate the level of required change. Audra Proctor stresses the importance of technology in facilitating change because of its ability to improve collaboration whether participants are working from headquarters or a home office.

Projects, deliverables and plans can be shared with the click of a button. Meetings can be conducted via video platforms. Information can be communicated instantly, reducing the expense of implementation. If an organization doesn’t have the resources to implement change but desperately needs it to thrive, it’s important to reassess business priorities to see if there is room to shuffle resources for change management. Failure to do so could be more expensive in the long run, considering that an expense like a new project management tool or another technology platform becomes a waste of money if no one utilizes it to its full benefit.

In uncertain times, the ability to adapt is the key to business survival. For many companies, the Project Management Office (PMO) has become an essential partner in navigating the growth and obstacles that often occur when an organization makes the shift to become a more flexible and innovative company. An adaptive PMO is a powerful ally in the journey to success, but only if the company has the tools and knowledge they need to get the job done right. Visit Changefirst to learn more about how to make your change management process less painful and more effective.

Agile Maturity & Change Management: 3 Steps for Achieving Executive Buy-In

Large-scale change is difficult for any organization, and no less so when it involves growing Agile maturity in project and portfolio management. These days, businesses are taking an in-depth look at their PMO project management processes and their PMO maturity and finding that both are lagging behind. When it comes time to change the way things have always been done, however, the fear of the change management process can cause the most important decision-makers — CIOs, CFOs, —to balk. And this hesitancy can create problems in allowing a PMO to advance its Agile maturity.

Often, the most important investment in PMO adaption starts at the top with the executives who hold the power to elevate or eliminate a PMO’s goals. Change, no matter how difficult it might be, is absolutely necessary for an organization to thrive. The key to making the process easier is to start with enthusiastic buy-in from all stakeholders involved — to overcome their objections and their fears and create buy-in to the process. Here are three steps for encouraging risk-averse executives to support PMO maturity initiatives.

#1 Show the Existing Pain Points

The growing pains that come with large change management projects are often a deterrent to getting your upper management to co-sign the initiative. This is often true because everyone has grown used to the existing pain points — like the old story about the frog in boiling water, they’ve adapted to the problems so they don’t realize the danger. To risk-averse stakeholders, abrupt change is mistakenly viewed as tossing the frog into the already boiling pot — they want to avoid any potential pain and they see change as potentially impeding success. What they often fail to realize is that the water they’ve been sitting in has also been getting mighty warm… Point out where the existing challenges are far worse than the brief discomfort of shifting direction.

Here are some common pain points in a PMO that is lagging in Agile maturity:

• Failure to live up to expectations
• Unable to keep the pace with rapid changes
• Lack of clarity
• Effectiveness inhibited by time-consuming, manual functions
• Focus on deliverables, not customer satisfaction
• Fragmented organizational structures or unbreachable silos
• Skill and resource shortages
• Inaccurate forecasting

When you lay out a clear picture of how problems are hindering growth and development, you begin to build the business case for PMO maturity and provide a proven path to create buy-in.

#2 Illustrate the Benefits of Organizational Change Management

In the iconic 90s movie Jerry Maguire, there’s the memorable scene in which one of the main characters shouts, “Show me the money!” It’s a phrase that has endured in pop culture for more than two decades because it resonates with people: “Show me how what you’re selling me is going to benefit me.”

When creating buy-in for PMO maturity initiatives, you need to show decision-makers how change will benefit them and the organization. The best place to get started? It just so happens to be that handy list of pain points you created. Show how your initiative will systematically reverse the challenges you have listed and drive real benefits such as: 

• Reduced costs
• Increased productivity
• Proactive project and resource management
• Faster delivery times
• Innovation, growth and advancement
• Better forecasting
• Measurable data
• Enhanced communication
• Fulfillment on commitments — promises made are promises kept
• Improved customer satisfaction

#3 Provide a Plan

Too often a great idea dies on the drafting table because of poor execution. When working to achieve buy-in for growing your PMO’s Agile maturity, it is important to bring a plan to the table that overcomes objections you know your decision-maker will have. The more answers you have available, the more competent and trustworthy you will appear in taking on the tasks at hand. Questions you might encounter include:

• Timeline – How long should this take? What milestones should be set?
• Investment – How much time and money should be invested in this? What are the limits?
• Implementation – How will the plan be executed? One department at a time? All at once? Who will facilitate the process?
• Desired Results – What do you expect this transformation to accomplish? What does success look like? 

Achieving PMO maturity is an endeavor that requires buy-in from the top down and the bottom up. Like any large-scale initiative, it is imperative to start with the executives who can make or break the initiative before implementation begins. Following the three steps discussed above will help create a strong foundation for gaining enthusiastic buy-in and pave the way for great success going forward.

Leveraging Technology to Conquer Change Challenges

How can you be sure your change management plan is working as intended? By centralizing the information and tracking against key milestones set forth in the beginning. Monitoring your progress can significantly reduce the execution risk of complex change programs by providing consistent real-time data on progress, resources and challenges. Whether technology is your change or you are using it to help manage and mitigate the impact, a strong Project Portfolio Management (PPM) foundation is key because it will drive best practices and coordination throughout the organization.

If you already have a PPM tool, it is important to ask the following questions before using it as your change management software.

• Can your existing PPM technology solution deliver the change management that your business demands? 
• Can it handle both Agile and traditional projects?
• Can it balance and prioritize features such as skills databases, resource management, and capacity management, along with project methodologies to meet your organizational needs?
• Is insight and measurement functionality up to the challenge?
• Can it forecast and manage deliverables against industry best practices and governance metrics to manage the transformation?
• Does it use predictive analytics and intake templates to make measurement easy?

If your current tool cannot accomplish the capabilities listed above, you may need to consider seeking out one that does. Business transformations and large-scale change programs are complex. Your organization will benefit from a PPM tool that provides accurate, comprehensive visibility of benefits, costs, activities, milestones and resource deployment. This will encourage the effective management of costs and resources, as well as provide a robust and connected planning process with no unnecessary surprises.

Summary

The modern business environment requires organizations to embrace change if they want to outperform their competition. 

Transform your organization into a business that is agile, adaptable and flexible by implementing a strong change management strategy enhanced by the ADAPT formula and powered by a comprehensive PPM solution.

Back to Driving Business Transformation.