What is change management reviews the change management process, addresses the importance of people issues, clears up the misunderstanding surrounding project management and shares how to move your change initiatives from the 70% that fail into the 30% that achieve success.

1. What is Change Management?
August 2013

2. What is Change Management?
As change management consultants, we are
often asked by HR representatives, line
managers and other business professionals to
provide them with a simplified change
management definition.
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3. Considering all the ingredients which must
come together for a successful change
initiative, defining change management in a
single sentence is no simple task.
But, we’ll give it a shot.
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4. Organisational change management is a process
which seeks to recognise and understand the
‘people’ issues that may arise during business
change.
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5. So, there is your simple definition of change
management. This definition, however, usually
leads to us being asked a second question
“Why the people issues?”
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6. Simply put...the people issues - if not planned
for - often impact business change adversely
and reduce its chances of success.
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7. And when your organisation experiences
failure with a change initiative in the present,
it often harms its ability to initiate effective
change in the future.
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8. So, now you have a simple definition of change
management and a brief look at the role people
issues play in the success of your business
change.
Now, we’d like a moment to clear up a universal
misunderstanding.
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9. There is often a confusion - one which causes
competition for resources or validation of
importance - between project management and
change management.
This confusion is detrimental to the success of
your change initiative.
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10. Project Management vs. Change Management
(A formula for failure)
should instead be...
Project Management AND Change Management
(A formula for success)
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11. Project management methodologies focus on the
technical aspects of a project – deliverables such
as getting the system in on time and on budget.
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12. Change management focuses on the people
aspects of the project – deliverables such as
user engagement and user adoption of new
systems.
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13. So you could say that change management is
about implementing the system on time and on
budget while also empowering people to use the
new system the way that is intended.
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14. We’re not talking rocket science here. In fact, we
often say that change management contains all
the activities we’d do if only we had time.
We’re talking activities like...
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15.  Having conversations.
 Convincing leadership to get behind a project.
 Understanding the impact the project will have on
people. And, in turn, ensuring we have activities to
help them understand these changes.
 Communicating expectations – new behaviours
that we need from our people in order to succeed.
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16. So, now let’s address the question that
upper-level executives and CEOs really
want answered.
Why is change management important?
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17. Well, when organisations are working hard to
meet project deadlines, it is the common sense
activities - the activities that affect your people which often are forgotten.
So much so, that we’ve still got a project failure
rate of up to 70%.
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18. Simply put, the difference between changes that
are adopted and ones that are not comes down
to the people who are impacted by change.
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19. And, the most significant challenge to overcome
with the people impacted by change is by far
changing the mindsets and attitudes of these
people.
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20. In other words, you must be asking your team
and stakeholders questions such as:
• Do they understand what we’re talking about?
• Do they like the idea?
• Are they ready to make the necessary
changes to their routines because it is a good
idea?
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21. We liken it to convincing you that you need to
incorporate change management concepts into
your everyday working life.
What is it going to take for us to convince you
that you need to change the way that you are
currently leading people through change?
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22. Remember, changing mindsets and attitudes
takes time. But, it is time well spent.
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23. Projects must plan for activities which facilitate
conversations, debate, involvement, education,
reinforcement and follow-up to help people
accept new ideas and ways of working.
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24. Addressing the people issues and investing in
change management will move your change
initiatives out of the 70% which end in failure
and into those 30% that achieve success.
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25. So clearly, the reason why change management
is important is because it is the proven path to
project success!
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26. Questions? Contact WiserChange™
If you have questions about developing your
leadership voice or change management,
please contact the WiserChange™ team.
info@wiserchange.com
P: +61 2 99551212
www.wiserchange.com
Facebook.com/WiserChangeConsulting
Linkedin.com/company/wiserchange
@Wiserchange
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