Applying intelligent change readiness to achieve better change webinar Thursday 14 July 2022 APM Enabling Change Specific Interest Group Presented by panel members: Rebecca Collings, Mark Vincent, David Appleyard, Donna Unitt and Ian Pickard The link to the write up page and resources of this webinar: https://www.apm.org.uk/news/applying-intelligent-change-readiness-to-achieve-better-change-webinar/ Content description: An interactive session in which we explored change readiness – what it is and how can it be used more intelligently to enhance benefits and increase adoption of planned changes. How do we best convert plans for change into effective preparation for and adoption of change? We discussed the importance and benefits of change readiness. We explored what good change readiness looks like and when it should be done (spoiler alert – ideally more than once!). Change and project managers can develop their change readiness practices to better understand the commitment to and capacity for planned changes and to target support to smooth the transition for those impacted by or responsible for adopting these.

1. Applying intelligent change readiness to
achieve better change webinar
Rebecca Collings, Mark Vincent, David Appleyard,
Donna Unitt and Ian Pickard
14 July2022

2. INTELLIGENT CHANGE READINESS

3. ENABLING CHANGE SIG
Our mission is to:
The Enabling Change SIG aims to develop and
sustain individual practitioner, team and
organisational change capability by facilitating access
to and exploration of change methods, standards,
case studies and good practices
Improve the change capability of
organisations, teams and individuals
“ ”

4. AGENDA
1. Introductions
2. Problem statement
3. What is change readiness?
4. Why invest in change readiness?
5. What does good look like?
6. Questions

5. OUR PANEL

6. PROBLEM STATEMENT
1. Failure to establish change readiness accounts for around 50% of all
unsuccessful large-scale organisational changes.
2. Only 40% of frontline supervisors get the messages about the reasons
why major organisational change is happening.
3. Out of 56 studies into barriers to change,‘insufficient education and
training’ was cited as the most prevalent challenge.
1. Kotter JP: Leading change. 1996, Boston: Harvard Business Press 2. Willis Towers Watson: Change & Communications ROI Survey. 2013 3. Mosadeghrad, Ali & Ansarian, Maryam. (2014). Why do organisational change
programmes fail?. International Journal of Strategic Change Management. 5. 189. 10.1504/IJSCM.2014.064460.

7. KUBLER-ROSS CHANGE CURVE

8. WHAT IS A CHANGE READINESS
ASSESSMENT
A Change Readiness assessment captures the perspectives and
opinions of those involved in and affected by the change:
• It is a diagnostic tool, which provides data and insights on Capability,
Opportunity and Motivation
• It needs to be a representative sample of the people impacted by change
• The results can be used to tailor and adapt change management approach –
intelligent change readiness
• It should be a continual process undertaken over time to assess progress,
allowing course corrections and ongoing review of progress and issues

9. CRA EXAMPLES – VARYING COMPLEXITY
Two CRA examples – relatively simple and more
complex. Criteria can be tailored to suit each context

10. Susanto, Alfonsus. (2008). Organizational Readiness for Change: A Case Study on Change Readiness in a Manufacturing Company in Indonesia. 2.
CHANGE READINESS INSIGHTS
1. Insights taken from an organizational
readiness assessment for a export
oriented manufacturing company.
2. 185 randomly selected employees were
surveyed
3. The results of the assessment highlighted
significant issues with colleagues’
understanding of the vision of the change
4. Demographic information such as
department, length of service, job role
can be used to inform efforts to target
and address shortcomings.

11. WHY INVEST IN CHANGE READINESS
1.
Faster and more
effective/permanent
adoption of change
2.
Improved colleague
morale & wellbeing
3.
Improved engagement
and alignment with
outcome of the change
4.
More effective
identification of risks
5.
Intelligence to inform
change activity
6.
Resource maximisation
– targets effort to
address specific areas
7.
Senior stakeholder
buy-in to the change
8.
Reduced cost

12. WHY INVEST IN CHANGE READINESS
1. Effectively motivating and encouraging people
to change is critical to the success of projects
and change initiatives
2. The field of behavioral science provides
insights on how to achieve successful
behaviour change
3. The COM-B model cites Capability (C),
Opportunity (O) and Motivation (M) as three
factors essential to changing Behaviour (B)
4. What does capability, motivation and
opportunity mean for change initiatives?
Capability
Opportunity
Motivation Behaviour

13. WHY INVEST IN CHANGE READINESS
Capability – Ready?
▪ Understand what will
happen/when
▪ Consider needs of people,
including protected groups
▪ Risks of change
Motivation –Willing?
▪ Understand why
▪ Benefits of the change
▪ Success criteria
▪ 'What’s in it for me?'
Opportunity – Able?
▪ Time required to change
▪ Support available,
including training/upskilling
▪ Access to
new technology/systems
▪ SOPs
Intelligent change readiness assesses all of these criteria and more to ensure that people have the
capability, motivation and opportunity to change

14. WHAT DOES A GOOD READINESS ASSESSMENT LOOK LIKE
An effective change readiness assessment would typically be:
• Anonymous - to encourage honesty of response
• Easy to use - to maximise engagement
• Appropriate to the varied audiences involved (e.g. cultures, functional disciplines, level of experience
in change etc) and to the specific change
• Run frequently - to monitor changes in organisational readiness, which can go down as well as up!
• Easy to interpret and act upon (i.e. the insights)
Beyond the assessment, the real benefits come from:
• Using the insights to inform the change management approach and prioritisation
• Being transparent (with the people involved in the change) about the findings and what can be done
collectively to help make the change feel easier for everyone involved

15. SETTING UP THE ASSESSMENT FOR SUCCESS
From the leadership team
• Visible preparedness of the change team and leadership to accept what is identified with an open
mind and a sense of curiosity, then to act on it
• Being open and transparent with the findings and what to do next, including targeted interventions
where required
From the change delivery team
• Regular check-ins to see how the actions / interventions are working and to see if anything else has
changed
• Prepared to reflect and adapt the approach based on the environment and what’s happening in and
around the change
From the wider population
• A high level of engagement in the process and honest responses
To get the most out of a change readiness assessment, it’s important that the following
behaviours are adopted:

16. CONCLUSION
• Change readiness is an investment of time and energy, but will inform more
intelligent and therefore more effective change
• Making investment to complete change readiness frequently and act on the
insights will lead to better change outcomes
• Many organisations do not effectively act on the results of the assessment to
improve change