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Welcome to the seventh edition
of our quarterly newsletter -
People-Centred Implementation
In this newsletter, we reveal some of the key
findings from our in-depth survey of senior IT
executives in 56 leading organisations. As a
firm which provides a step-by-step methodology for
implementing change, we wanted to examine the 'state of
play' regarding IT change in today's
organisations. The results will surprise
you.
Our lead article discusses the findings and provides
seven key tips to ensure a successful organisational
approach to IT change.
If you have any queries about this research - or if
you would like to find out how we can help you to manage
any kind of large-scale change in your organisation -
please contact me.
David Miller
Managing Director of
Changefirst
Tel: +44 (0)1444 450777
david.miller@changefirst.com
"Changefirst®, building a sustainable
change capability inside your
organisation"
A
chance to talk business
If you are attending either of the two events below,
please come and see us onboard the Oriana:
Human
Resources Forum
(10-13 May)
IT Directors Forum
(17-20
May)
Coming
soon...
Change Community of Practice -
We are
developing a unique resource on the web for our growing
community of Change Agent Certification and
PCI™ graduates that would provide the best
after-training care, continued support and
development.
iPod Nano
Winner:
Congratulations to Derek
Hood of Lloyds TSB - winner of our Change
Community of Practice survey prize draw.
We would like to take this
opportunity to thank all those graduates who took part
in this survey.
People-Centred Implementation
Methodology Transfer
What is PCI™?
People-Centred Implementation (PCI™) is a
change implementation application that combines a
disciplined process with a robust set of tools to
transform how people operate and behave in an
organisation.
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Think about the last time new hardware or software
was installed in your organisation - would you say the
implementation was successful?
According to a new Changefirst survey, 97% of senior
IT executives admit they are not always effective at
managing IT change. 15% claim they seldom or
never manage it well.
Are you
effective at managing IT change?
So why is it that multi-million pound IT projects do
not deliver the benefits that are always predicted at
the outset? The answer is
simple. All too often there is an
'organisational mindset' which is preoccupied with
getting the hardware/software installed. The
bigger need - to actually change the way people work -
gets ignored.
Organisations have to address this. Here
are seven points to help you improve the way you
implement change:
1.
Never overlook the people
implications
Incredible as it sounds, all across Europe and
beyond, well-intentioned IT projects are failing because
the needs of users are given such a low priority and not
enough thought is given to whether they can assimilate
the change.
Technical issues - and a focus on implementing on
time and to budget - are traditionally the dominant
drivers of an IT project . However, treating
employees as an afterthought not only jeopardises the
benefits of the technology, it also adversely affects
the credibility of IT projects to 'deliver the
goods'. Remember, your IT investment is not
just about hardware or software but also about
people.
2. Allocate a specific
'people budget'
Our research shows that 43% of organisations do not
budget specifically for managing the people aspects of
hardware or software installations. If all
funds are in a general pot, problems can arise if there
is a technical-build overspend because the people
allocation gets depleted. To rectify this,
every IT project should have a standalone
budget to cover the investment in people during the
change.
3.
Assign a specific employee to be responsible for the
people side of change
The research shows that a fifth of organisations do
not do this. In 59% of IT change projects,
the person responsible for change is the project
manager. Making a project manager responsible
for change management potentially creates a conflict of
interest because a project manager's goal - and
incentivised objective - is to get the IT solution
installed without disrupting the business. Do
not fall into this trap. Make sure you have a
champion for the people-related issues.
4. Provide training in
change management
The research suggests that organisations are failing
to provide specific training, in how to implement change
successfully, to project teams and line
managers. It should be an organisational
imperative to provide training and support, so that
skilled change practitioners can successfully lead these
projects.
5. Involve the
stakeholders
Change implementers should work with senior IT
executives to consider the true impact on users of major
IT projects and take those factors into account when
making 'Go/No Go' project decisions. They
must also support the business line managers in planning
and executing people-related change - and they
should develop change tracking and
accountability mechanisms, which can sit alongside
financial, technical and logistical actions.
6. Don't outsource
your change management
The research shows that 24% of organisations rely on
change management advice from large consulting
firms. A further 18% use these consultants in
some way on IT projects.
To succeed with change, you have to look inside, not
outside, your organisation. Change management
should be a core, internal leadership
activity. Developing and keeping this
expertise in-house is part of becoming a world-class
organisation. It creates the capability for
future change and it reduces your spend on external
consultants. Where organisations invest in
their own people, and build their own capability, we see
a higher level of employee commitment to change.
7.
Learn from your experience
Only a third (34%) of organsiations formally evaluate
the effectiveness of change management at the end of an
IT project. Only 39% address people issues
after the IT change has taken
place. Measuring benefits realisation is
often seen as a low priority so this may be a reason why
the same mistakes are repeated time and
again. However, many of the bear-traps of
change could easily be avoided if organisations would
only learn from their own experience.
Purchase a copy of
the reasearch report
To develop this research, Changefirst surveyed senior
IT executives in major UK, pan-European and global
corporates - such as Barclaycard, British Airways, BOC,
BT, Centrica, Deloitte Consulting, Ernst & Young,
Lloyds TSB, Lucent Technologies, Nokia, Scottish and
Southern Energy and Vodafone - as well as UK public
sector organisations.
A new report containing the full findings of the
research is now available. Called, The
Unplayed Piano: Maximising the Value of IT
Post-Installation, it is priced at £35 +
p&p.
If you would like to order a copy, please call +44
(0)1444 450777 or e-mail: tina.neadley@changefirst.com
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