Introduction
Change is now the only constant.
There was a time where large transformation projects were a novelty; notable events that impacted business functions once in a blue moon. They were important milestones, of course, but if you made a mess of one then you at least had time to catch up before the next came along.
Now, they are endless. No sooner has one transformation project come to completion that the next creeps over the horizon. Therefore our ability to handle this ongoing flux has become one of the key strategic advantages in business. Companies with thousands of staff are attempting to adopt a start-up mentality of constant iteration and testing, without compromising the large scale systems and structure that keeps the overall organisation in order.
It’s a tough balance.
This white paper will explore some of the key traits that unify the brands most successfully navigating this challenge. From people and process to culture and technology, we’ll unpack the habits of high performance organisations that have turned change management into a competitive advantage.
Step 1 – Questions to ask before the project is signed off
Is this really necessary?
Whilst change has become an integral part of the modern business landscape, we shouldn’t underestimate the costs and challenges involved. This is particularly true for large organisations.
So the very first thing we need to do is create a serious business case – one that’s realistic about the inevitable obstacles. This is not some powerpoint formality designed to reassure the board. It should be a robust interrogation into why this change is needed, and both the short and long term consequences of either driving it through or failing to do so.
We suggest starting this process sooner rather than later. If considerable time and emotion has already been invested, companies are likely to become susceptible to “sunk cost fallacy”, and find a way of rationalising the project even if the likely costs outweigh the expected gains.
Have we learnt from past mistakes?
Future transformation may not sound like a time to be looking backwards, but that’s exactly what you should be doing.
Anyone who has spent any time in a large organisation has had their fingers burnt in a poorly executed change project. Rather than pretending your organisation has never made any mistakes, it’s far more constructive to reflect on why they happened and what can be learnt. This is going to be really important later on when you engage the naysayers, as they will instinctively assume the same old errors will be made. You must demonstrate that lessons have been learnt, and while this next project will encounter challenges, it will not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Have we learnt from others?
As much as this change may be new to you, it’s unlikely that it’s an entirely original innovation. Whether the change is being driven by technology, people or process, there will almost certainly be organisations out there that are doing precisely the thing you intend. Probably in your industry!
Rather than reinvent the wheel, an enormous amount can be achieved by analysing the work of others. For instance, if you’re a TV production company seeking to implement a new financial system, there are probably other TV production companies out there that have undergone the same transformation. And you’d be amazed how happy most people are to help – even when they’re seemingly in direct competition!
It was for this reason that we launched our Spotlight board series within TV and film – a small quarterly event where FDs share their challenges relating to change and transformation, and offer strategic and commercial guidance to one another. If one FD has experienced all the challenges of a particular transition already, they are always very keen to help their peers navigate that journey smoothly.
While these board groups are specifically for TV and film, the principle is sector agnostic. There is always someone in your industry or with your job title in a different industry, that has encountered all the challenges you are now facing. If you can find this person and build some rapport, you might be amazed at how much they’re willing to help.
Step 2 – Building your team
As with most things in business and life, the outcomes of a transformation project will be determined principally by the people involved.
Do not rush this stage – get it right and everything else will follow.
Project lead
This is the star of the show. Finding the right project lead should be your absolute #1 priority.
Some of the traits shared by all world class project leads include:
- Extreme accountability – this is not someone who will pass the buck or make excuses. They will find a way to get things done and take absolute ownership should a mistake be made, be it by them or someone else on the project team.
- High degrees of empathy – you cannot win the battle of hearts and minds without genuinely caring about those affected. This person will be an active listener and ask all the right questions. They will build trust in stakeholders at all levels and people throughout the organisation (yes, even the naysayers!) will want them to ultimately succeed in their task.
- Superb organisational skills – this person will be responsible for the rapidly evolving schedules and workflows of countless people around them. They must manage both upward and downward, and be able to react to events whilst still keeping the overall project on course.
- Authority – soft skills will only take a person so far. They need the title and authority to push through difficult decisions in moments of pressure or deadlock.
- Commercial acumen – this project will be both entered into and reflected back on through a commercial lens. The project lead must understand the business implications of success or failure and be able to articulate those at board level during all the key milestones.
This individual may appear bordering on unicorn status, but we promise you – they do exist. They may not have Project Manager in their job title or all the formal qualifications, but there is someone in your team with all the right underlying skills. Your ability to identify this person then convince them this is an opportunity they should seize, is perhaps the single most important variable of the entire project journey.
Executive sponsor
No matter how gifted your project lead, you will also need someone directly on the board championing the cause. This role doesn’t always carry formal status, but rather a close professional relationship may exist between the sponsor and the project lead, and the latter leverages the former at moments of importance or difficulty.
For instance, if the project lead were to find the schedule was under threat due to competing projects draining attention and resources, and the project lead felt they had exhausted their own political capital within the organisation, they may lean on the executive sponsor. The sponsor could then either raise the issue with other project leaders or directly with the board, in order to ensure the necessary resources found their way to the project in question.
Without an executive sponsor, the project lead’s role will become an uphill struggle as they feel alienated from the board and in endless battle with competing projects.
Business analyst
Another common role required for successful change management is that of the business analyst. In simple terms, this is the person who bridges the gap between technology and the business. They must be extremely confident with data and familiar with both the legacy and replacement technologies. They are often also the person responsible for regulatory compliance and ensuring there are close ties with both the legal and finance functions.
This person is an operational wizard, numerical genius and (ideally!) the project lead’s best friend. They will feed the quantifiable data back to the project lead to ensure the abstract vision of the initiative is being translated into hard facts, ready for reporting to the board, whilst keeping the project in budget and aligned with regulation.
Step 3 – Planning and Executing Your Change Programme
Paint A Compelling Long Term Picture
Like most thought terminating cliches in business, this one exists for good reason. Your ability to communicate your vision in terms that pull people in emotionally is probably the trait that will determine success more than any other.
You need to help them feel the promise of this future gain, whilst reminding them of the pain they face today. Only when they experience both on a visceral level will they use all the detail of the project to rationalise that emotion.
What they can’t feel, isn’t real.
Engage the naysayers
No matter how compelling the vision, there are going to be people who resist. It’s not because the project isn’t worthwhile or hasn’t been well planned. It’s simply because they don’t like change. And if they’ve worked in business for any period of time, they’ve probably been burnt before.
Accepting this frustrating universal truth is step one. Step two is resisting the urge to argue, and instead engage – positively and proactively. Ask them why they are concerned about the initiative. See if they have any suggestions for how it could be improved or the risks mitigated. Find out what it is they like about the old system and reassure them that, where possible, you’ll try to maintain that functionality.
Finally though, you must come to terms with the fact that no matter what you say or do, this project is going to be uncomfortable for them. They will find lots to complain about and enjoy every moment of airing their grievances. That’s just the reality of any large-scale transformation.
Demonstrate with the early adopters
Depending on the nature of the transformation, you may be able to break it down into multiple components or applications. This can be a fantastic way to limit risk and disruption.
For example, let’s imagine there is a team that contains a disproportionate number of early adopters, enthusiastic for change. If you can trial the transformation (or certain high-stakes components of it) with this team, you are far more likely to see it successfully adopted, albeit at small scale. Not only does this serve as a useful business case for senior management, but when the benefits emerge you’ll soon find other teams get in line, eager to experience the improvements.
Plan vigorously, but know that it’s still going to be wrong
Mike Tyson once famously said “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Well guess what, managing a significant change programme is a bit like stepping foot in the ring with Iron Mike, only with fewer people cheering you on.
Planning is an absolutely pivotal stage in the transformation process. Without it you will walk head first into a long list of pitfalls, many of them avoidable.
However, no plan ever survives contact with the real world, hence the growing popularity of an agility-first mentality. Agility has become such a big word in project management, and not without good reason. However, the downside is that it can lead people to believe they no longer require the traditional methods of planning.
The truth is we need both – we need to plan extensively and consider every possible variable in advance. Task lists need to be drawn up, schedules mapped out and detailed work flows agreed. Yet simultaneously, the project lead needs to understand that by day 2 things will have moved on, and her job is to react quickly to this ever evolving landscape.
Step 4 – Beyond This Project
Whilst the immediate focus is on the project in question, each transformation initiative is an opportunity to embed deeper change. That way, your next project won’t feel like you’re starting over, but rather building upon the great work already achieved.
This is how you accrue deep, compound value in your team.
Building A Culture Of Change
Innovation-led organisations build this attitude into their very DNA. Their values talk explicitly about the need for embracing change. They encourage team members at all levels and in all functions to be constantly on the lookout for incremental improvements. And perhaps most importantly, they are always willing to take risks (albeit carefully calculated and diligently executed ones!) in their day to day roles.
By making these small changes the norm, bigger changes become both less resisted and less necessary, as the organisation is always hot on the heels of industry innovation.
Needless to say, this kind of culture can only be set at the top. The executive leadership team must demonstrate their own appetite for innovation, and be seen to publicly accept mistakes from the people around them.
Build Mechanisms For Constant Customer Feedback
Ironically, the stakeholder group that is usually engaged with the least about the company’s vision for future transformation, is the one that matters the most – your customer.
To be clear, we are not talking about ad hoc surveys designed to justify specific projects. We are talking about designing intensive ongoing lines of communication with your audience.
What is it that they love about the current customer experience? What is it that they hate? What is it that they love about other brands inside or even outside your market?
Brands should ensure there are specific mechanisms in place to ensure this information is constantly flowing into the organisation. This data can then be used to fundamentally shape future change, rather than merely rubber stamp that which has already been decided.
Getting A Grip Of The Data
Nowadays, so much innovation is intrinsically tied to data, and its poor organisation makes large scale transformation projects significantly harder than it needs to be.
Rather than approach this project in isolation, it should be viewed as a catalyst to get to grips with your information. Legacy data that’s incomplete, poorly organised, non-GDPR compliant or inaccessible should be confronted head on, and the temptation to find half solutions and quick fixes should be resisted.
Few companies (particularly those at any scale) ever truly get to grips with their legacy data issues, which is why innovation is so often delayed or outsourced to some peripheral entity of the organisation. If you can set the bar in your market, even if it takes months and years of painful re-organisation, you’ll be able to embrace change like a start-up whilst enjoying the many economies of scale – the intersectional zenith for any brand.
