At DNASTREAM we work with organisations to help them deliver technology-based improvements and it’s often the case that our customers are very focused on the technology, infrastructure, data, processes etc. Yet one question we encourage customers to think about when preparing for a technology-based project is “what would the expected benefits of a project be if there was zero employee adoption and usage?”
Introducing our Head of Change & Business Readiness
Noel Conroy is an experienced organisational change management professional having worked for over 21 years in business transformation, change management, and business process re-engineering roles across a range of industry sectors including Financial Services, Retail, Insurance, Public Sector, Transportation, FMCG, Energy (Oil & Gas) and Aerospace.
Noel is a Prosci certified change management practitioner and has applied the ADKAR change management methodology for clients in both the UK and in New Zealand, including William Grant & Sons, Close Brothers Merchant Bank, The Very Group, Network Rail and ASB Bank.
Here Noel discusses the key issues with organisational change management.
People don’t resist change, they resist being changed
In my experience, if there is a ‘material’ dependency on employees doing things differently through change adoption and using new ways of working in order to achieve project benefits, then it’s no longer a technology project. Instead it’s an organisational change project, with technology being a key enabler for change. This shift in understanding cannot be recognised after a project is already up and running, it needs to be baked in at the earliest stage in a project’s planning phase.
Delivering the people side of change requires an approach that is very different to delivering the technical side of change, and both aspects require an equal amount of planning and preparation if benefits are to be achieved in a sustainable way.
When do I need to think about organisational change management?
Recognising the people side of change early enough will allow a project to be planned, resourced, budgeted and delivered with your people at the centre of the change. By putting the hard yards in at the front of a project to set up the required change support correctly, everyone will benefit in the long term.
Everyone’s journey is different
Everyone goes through change in different ways and they need help as they move through their own change journey, even on a technology-led project. In my experience if organisations short change their people through limited engagement, support and collaboration, then it will come back to bite them.
I will use this space to post some thoughts to guide you through the key factors which will help you succeed in your change journey.
If you want to discuss the organisation changes in your business then please feel free to contact me.