Explanation of what Small Planet Works includes as part of "Org Change and Communications" for a large, complex IT project. Also an explanation of why these "people issues" are a critical success factor for IT projects.
Although you may already be very familiar with change management and communication processes, I will walk you through the way Small Planet Works does this to show you our approach. You probably won’t see anything radically different from other consultant organizations’ approaches. That’s why I will then tell you why Small Planet Works is the best choice for this assignment.
Change Sponsor or Sponsors are the Executives who have a business reason to want the change. Change Agents are the PMO, BAs/Project Managers and Consultants whose job is to plan, implement and report on the change. Change Targets are the managers, individual contributors, customers and suppliers whose job is to adapt to the change and continue performing their function in the new environment. Some people may be both Change Targets and Change Agents – for example middle managers may be a Target, but may also be asked to lead change for his or her people and is therefore a Change Agent. As you can see communications needs to happen at all levels and in BOTH directions. Communication is not one-way broadcasting, but a dialogue that helps all parties adjust their actions
Stakeholder analysis – this is identification of all people – both inside and outside of the company – who are impacted by the change. It assesses: degree of commitment of each stakeholder (for, neutral, against), their level of influence (H, M, L) the degree to which they are impacted (H, M, L) Perceived Impact – Loss/Threat, Benefit/Gain Desired commitment level Key Actions to gain commitment Key Messages Metrics – How do we know when we are done? How do we know if the change efforts and communications have been effective? For that matter how do we judge whether the project/change has been successful? Communications and training must be monitored, evaluated and adjusted throughout the project Communications – to whom, what are key messages, what medium (in person or via teleconf? PowerPoint, conference room mtg with talking points, town hall, video etc.) who delivers the message? Training – teaching people how to do their current job in the new environment; may require initial training, booster just before cutover, post- implementation training, advanced user training. Possible intro training should be via video so it can be reused for orientation and training of new employees. Feedback and adjustment to training as with communications.
The reason these are in passive voice is that different people or groups perform these tasks in different projects. For example I say “stakeholder expectations must be accurately set” but who sets them? Usually it’s the change agents – PMO, Project Managers, Consultants, but sometimes it is the Sponsor or a middle manager;; sometimes it may be peers – that is fellow-targets. It all depends on what you think will work and who has influence in the Target community.
While these stages look (and are) sequential, different parts of the organization and even certain individuals may be at different stages. You want to make people aware, get them engaged, secure their commitment and set them in motion to implement the change. However, people can slip back from one stage to a previous one if they run up against opposition or discover problems or barriers. Let’s talk about each of these stages and what is involved.
Who needs to be aware of this change? Everyone – even those who are nominally not impacted – needs to understand what is happening, who will be involved and what the expected outcome is. They need to know because even if their area is not changing, change in other parts of the organization will have a ‘ripple effect’ on everyone. Understanding what is NOT changing can provide comfort and reassurance, especially to those who must endure the most intense change. It is critical that people know from the beginning where they can get current, accurate information – whether they have to ask someone or go to a website or to a SharePoint library, they need to know the info is up to date and correct, always.
People who are engaged care about the project, understand why it’s important to the company and want it to succeed. If the people who are supposed to perform the tasks on the Project Plan are not engaged, you will find that your project is at the bottom of their To-do list --- or possibly not on their list at all. If you can’t persuade team members that their effort and actions are required, that the change is required, that the organization and their job will not survive without the change, then your project will not be on-time, on-budget or successful. Engagement is CRUCIAL.
What is Commitment? Well, sometimes it’s a “leap of faith.” Commitment means that when you hit a brick wall, you get up immediately and start figuring out if you are going over, under or around it; or if none of those work, which 20 friends can help you tear the wall down. Commitment means you don’t quit. Ever. You are in the race and you will finish despite any detours or barriers. Commitment can only come from workers who are willing to give you ‘above and beyond’ effort. Just showing up for 8 hours each day is NOT commitment. Commitment-- or lack of it – determines behavior AFTER cutover as well. EXAMPLE: Demonstrate a help desk discussion with a non-committed user and a committed user. One seeks to place blame, the other is trying to collaboratively find a solution to the problem. Same on IT side.
As in all stages LISTENING is as important as SENDING MESSAGES. And especially in the Action stage making sure everyone knows what problems exist, who is working on them and when they are expected to be resolved is important --- there are so many interdependencies that a problem which seems small may bring the whole project to a stand-still if Project Managers don’t know they need to re-schedule tasks to work around the issue.
Even though I’ve said it many times today, organizations and even I sometimes forget in the heat of the moment that communication is two-way. We get so busy talking that we forget to listen. Team members are more likely to give their commitment if they know that those running the project are listening, are reasonable and are trying to do what is best for everyone involved. Not all resistance to change is bad. Again listening and understanding what is happening are required to cope correctly with resistance. Crushing resistance is usually not the right answer.
If internal processes change, that may mean interaction with the customer or with suppliers– and what information you ask them for may change. You need to make them aware of coming changes. Managing change is done by everyone on the team – as is communication. Project Managers, SMEs and executives all need to be fully prepared to answer questions, solve problems and listen to input on the project.
Mention work for Corps of Engineers and Shelby County – mention Janice’s MBA, work at FedEx and Baldridge examiner background Implementation – 15 years at IBM as a Systems Engineer and 10 years of alternating between large IT projects and training IT people Tech writing – X years at FedEx as tech writer and many years teaching business writing and doing instructional design (certified in Inst Des) Pass out staff bios for Jimmy, Jana and Janice; also handout the 2 or 3 slides indicating SPW as woman/minority owned. (No emphasis on this as it is not a formal consideration in hiring us. “Tie to Memphis community” should be enough focus on this aspect.) Academic – Masters in organizational psychology which IBM paid for as it was directly tied to my work as a systems engineer
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