First off, I am thrilled with the 2007 Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking report. This was by far the biggest research undertaking for us - both in terms of participants (426 from 59 countries) and content (40% larger than the 2005 report). I am very proud of the output and think you will find the insights and findings invaluable.
http://www.change-management.com/best-practices-report.htm
On the insights webinar, we started with the foundation of the report (5th study over the last 10 years, questions and content areas) and the profiles of those reporting (both about the participants and the projects they reported on). We then turned to six insights that I thought were particularly interesting:
1. Impact of effective change management - the data shows a direct correlation, so if we are serious about achieving our objectives we better start managing the people side of change
2. Greatest contributors to success - sponsorship comes out as #1 for the fifth time, list is similar to 2005 with the addition of dedicated resources
3. Resource allocation - about 25% of project FTE, some 'rules of thumb' relative to project size, still not enough resources
4. Sponsor role - most do not understand their role, three primary responsibilities that are predictors of the success or failure of the project
5. Change saturation - it is real, it has consequences, it has solutions - but the first step is building an appreciation of what change saturation is and what it means to the performance of the organization
6. Building support for CM - it is the change management specialists who must mobilize the people involved in managing change (senior leaders, project teams, managers, supervisors, etc), examples go a long way
What do you think? Are there any insights that surprised you? Which will you take forward in your organization? What jumped out at you as a change management specialist?
And, if you have the complete report, are there additional insights we did not cover on the webinar that you think are worth discussion?
Thanks!
TimC
Friday, November 9, 2007
Webinar - Defining CM - Nov 13 2007
This is an important foundation for any change management specialist in an organization. In order to show the value that change management delivers, people must undertand what we mean when we say "change management". On the webinar we use three buckets to provide context for change management - 1) "the change" - what will actually be different once we implement this initiative, 2) project management - the process and tools for managing the technical component of the initiative, and 3) change management - the process and tools for managing the people side of the initiative.
I think our first step is to get people thinking in terms of current state, transition state and future state. Once we begin seeing change in terms of these states, it begins to make sense that there are tools for making the shift happen. I like starting with examples of current and future states that fall outside of the workplace - an old rotary phone compared to a cell phone, a horse and buggy compared to a new car, a bank teller compared to an ATM. Then, once we get them thinking in terms of current and future states, we make the subtle shift to the current states and future states happening around them in the workplace.
Finally, the confusion about change management is the last place to investigate and understand. What do the people in your organization think of when you say the words "change management"? From a catch-all umbrella that encompasses any type of improvement approach to "that is just communication" - there is confusion that you will have to address. The power of context - whether it is the current, transition, future states approach or using the Prosci PCT Tool - is that change management begins to fit into a framework, and its role becomes clearer when I see how change management relates to the other realities I experience.
What do you think? What confusion have you faced? How have you created context for change management? Let the community know!
Thanks.
TimC
I think our first step is to get people thinking in terms of current state, transition state and future state. Once we begin seeing change in terms of these states, it begins to make sense that there are tools for making the shift happen. I like starting with examples of current and future states that fall outside of the workplace - an old rotary phone compared to a cell phone, a horse and buggy compared to a new car, a bank teller compared to an ATM. Then, once we get them thinking in terms of current and future states, we make the subtle shift to the current states and future states happening around them in the workplace.
Finally, the confusion about change management is the last place to investigate and understand. What do the people in your organization think of when you say the words "change management"? From a catch-all umbrella that encompasses any type of improvement approach to "that is just communication" - there is confusion that you will have to address. The power of context - whether it is the current, transition, future states approach or using the Prosci PCT Tool - is that change management begins to fit into a framework, and its role becomes clearer when I see how change management relates to the other realities I experience.
What do you think? What confusion have you faced? How have you created context for change management? Let the community know!
Thanks.
TimC
Monday, October 22, 2007
Webinar - Elevator speeches
* If you are looking for the Defining change management, project management and "the change" blog, click here: http://prosci-change-management.blogspot.com/2007/11/webinar-defining-cm-nov-13-2007.html
***
The Elevator speeches on change management was a new addition to the fall series. In the webinar, we focus on the 30 second conversations you will have about what change management is and why it is important. While one of the keys to effective elevator speeches is practice, the webinar looks to lay the foundation for the story you will tell.
Aileen Pincus provides a number of keys for crafting an effective elevator speech. A couple to keep in mind for the webinar include:
Know what you're trying to achieve
Know your target
It's not about you
Keep it real
Be specific
Solve a problem
You can see her whole list and read the article at:
http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/jun2007/ca20070618_134959.htm
The audience is key. As with any communication, you must take into consideration the "receiver's perspective". Before you end up on the elevator, be sure to understand what your cares about and how you can connect change management to their concerns. Be able to answer WIIFM (what's in it for me)! What keeps them up at night? What do they think of when you say the words "change management"? Are there misconceptions you must address? How do you create a desire to engage in change management?
Do you have an elevator speech about change management to share with the community? Use the "Post Comment" link to add your own speech or reflect on the webinar.
Enjoy!
TimC
***
The Elevator speeches on change management was a new addition to the fall series. In the webinar, we focus on the 30 second conversations you will have about what change management is and why it is important. While one of the keys to effective elevator speeches is practice, the webinar looks to lay the foundation for the story you will tell.
Aileen Pincus provides a number of keys for crafting an effective elevator speech. A couple to keep in mind for the webinar include:
Know what you're trying to achieve
Know your target
It's not about you
Keep it real
Be specific
Solve a problem
You can see her whole list and read the article at:
http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/jun2007/ca20070618_134959.htm
The audience is key. As with any communication, you must take into consideration the "receiver's perspective". Before you end up on the elevator, be sure to understand what your cares about and how you can connect change management to their concerns. Be able to answer WIIFM (what's in it for me)! What keeps them up at night? What do they think of when you say the words "change management"? Are there misconceptions you must address? How do you create a desire to engage in change management?
Do you have an elevator speech about change management to share with the community? Use the "Post Comment" link to add your own speech or reflect on the webinar.
Enjoy!
TimC
Monday, October 15, 2007
Webinar - Applying ADKAR
ADKAR is Prosci's individual change model, developed by our president and founder Jeff Hiatt over 10 years ago. Jeff's engineering background caused him to ask the question "why are we doing that" whenever he was exposed to change management activities. The results is a model that explains how an individual goes through successful change, whether at the job or in a personal setting. ADKAR stands for:
Awareness - of the need for change
Desire - to participate and support the change
Knowledge - on how to change
Ability - to implement required skills and behaviors
Reinforcement - to sustain the change
There are several things that make ADKAR so powerful. First, it is focused on the individual. Successful organizational change is actually the culmination of all impacted individuals making their own successful personal transition. Are you implementing a new sales approach? It is only as successful as each sales person is at making the change to how they do their day-to-day work. Rolling out an ERP application? It will only succeed if each individual who provides data or extracts data makes a successful change to how they work.
Second, ADKAR is results-oriented. It focuses on what we are trying to achieve, and not just on the steps we take to get there. This gives a powerful new dimension to change management practitioners. It provides context and 'targets' for activities like communication, sponsorship and training. It helps narrow down discussions and problem solving efforts.
When people go through our 3-day certification program, time and time again they cite ADKAR as having the most impact on how they do their jobs, and how they live their lives. I use the phrase "put on your ADKAR glasses" numerous times on virtually every webinar. By describing the output of successful change, ADKAR provides an extraordinary context for the many large and small changes happening everyday at organizations around the world.
Do you have reflections on ADKAR? Or, have you used ADKAR on a project and have a story to share? Post a comment for the webinar community below.
Awareness - of the need for change
Desire - to participate and support the change
Knowledge - on how to change
Ability - to implement required skills and behaviors
Reinforcement - to sustain the change
There are several things that make ADKAR so powerful. First, it is focused on the individual. Successful organizational change is actually the culmination of all impacted individuals making their own successful personal transition. Are you implementing a new sales approach? It is only as successful as each sales person is at making the change to how they do their day-to-day work. Rolling out an ERP application? It will only succeed if each individual who provides data or extracts data makes a successful change to how they work.
Second, ADKAR is results-oriented. It focuses on what we are trying to achieve, and not just on the steps we take to get there. This gives a powerful new dimension to change management practitioners. It provides context and 'targets' for activities like communication, sponsorship and training. It helps narrow down discussions and problem solving efforts.
When people go through our 3-day certification program, time and time again they cite ADKAR as having the most impact on how they do their jobs, and how they live their lives. I use the phrase "put on your ADKAR glasses" numerous times on virtually every webinar. By describing the output of successful change, ADKAR provides an extraordinary context for the many large and small changes happening everyday at organizations around the world.
Do you have reflections on ADKAR? Or, have you used ADKAR on a project and have a story to share? Post a comment for the webinar community below.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Webinar - PCT Application
Well, I didn't do a post for the PCT webinar October 3rd that Jeff Hiatt taught, although I did call in and listen to some of it while en route to the Oregon coast. I thought Jeff did an admiral job filling in and made some great points about the PCT Tool and why Prosci, a firm dedicated to change management, would move up a level and address overall project performance.
Jeff's analogy of children playing baseball was fantastic! The PCT Tool helps provide the field and the ground rules upon which change management can be "played". His example here provided great clarity around how the assessments of Leadership/Sponsorship, Project Management and Change Management support project execution.
The session on October 10th is a new and advanced look at the PCT Tool. We will look at several advanced applications, including how we can use the tool:
1. With a group
2. Over time
3. Across the organization
These additional applications of the assessment really make it a powerful addition to any project leader's or change management specialist's toolbox. Of course, we will also put on ADKAR glasses and see how 'doing the PCT assessment' is a change that we can manage effectively, or ineffectively.
Any thoughts on how you would use the assessment with your teams? What other tactics might you use to get people engaged? Who would you use the assessment with on your project (give us roles, not actual names)?
And, if you have used it with a group, please tell us how it went!
Thanks.
TimC
Jeff's analogy of children playing baseball was fantastic! The PCT Tool helps provide the field and the ground rules upon which change management can be "played". His example here provided great clarity around how the assessments of Leadership/Sponsorship, Project Management and Change Management support project execution.
The session on October 10th is a new and advanced look at the PCT Tool. We will look at several advanced applications, including how we can use the tool:
1. With a group
2. Over time
3. Across the organization
These additional applications of the assessment really make it a powerful addition to any project leader's or change management specialist's toolbox. Of course, we will also put on ADKAR glasses and see how 'doing the PCT assessment' is a change that we can manage effectively, or ineffectively.
Any thoughts on how you would use the assessment with your teams? What other tactics might you use to get people engaged? Who would you use the assessment with on your project (give us roles, not actual names)?
And, if you have used it with a group, please tell us how it went!
Thanks.
TimC
Monday, September 24, 2007
Webinar - Defining CM
The initial step for introducing change management into an organization is to ensure that people have the same notion of what change management is. Prosci defines change management as a structured approach to managing the people side of change - it is the process, tools and skills for ensuring project success by managing the changes that individual contributors have to make to their jobs.
There is confusion in organizations about what is meant by "change management". Some of the confusion that we mention on the webinar include: in the IT world change management relates to version control; in the project management world change management an sometimes mean the steps we take when we change scope or other project characteristics; sometimes the term change management is used as an umbrella for any and all approaches to creating change; some still see change management as just communication or just training; a fifth to add to the blog that was not in the webinar slides is that change management is seen as a purely reactive tool for addressing resistance once it happens.
The webinar provides a context for helping see where change management fits in, relative to "the change" and to project management. The three bucket framework helps to separate out the actual nuts and bolts of what is changing ("the change"), the technical side of implementing the project (project management), and the people side of the change (change management). Regardless of what "the change" actually is - Six Sigma, new performance review, ERP, 360 evaluations, Balanced Scorecard, etc - it needs a structured approach for both the technical and the people sides of the project.
How would you use this new framework - "the change", project management and change management? Who do you expect to use the framework with?
Enjoy!
Tim Creasey
Prosci
Director of Research and Development
There is confusion in organizations about what is meant by "change management". Some of the confusion that we mention on the webinar include: in the IT world change management relates to version control; in the project management world change management an sometimes mean the steps we take when we change scope or other project characteristics; sometimes the term change management is used as an umbrella for any and all approaches to creating change; some still see change management as just communication or just training; a fifth to add to the blog that was not in the webinar slides is that change management is seen as a purely reactive tool for addressing resistance once it happens.
The webinar provides a context for helping see where change management fits in, relative to "the change" and to project management. The three bucket framework helps to separate out the actual nuts and bolts of what is changing ("the change"), the technical side of implementing the project (project management), and the people side of the change (change management). Regardless of what "the change" actually is - Six Sigma, new performance review, ERP, 360 evaluations, Balanced Scorecard, etc - it needs a structured approach for both the technical and the people sides of the project.
How would you use this new framework - "the change", project management and change management? Who do you expect to use the framework with?
Enjoy!
Tim Creasey
Prosci
Director of Research and Development
Friday, September 14, 2007
Webinar - ROI of CM
The ROI of change management is one of the most often asked questions we hear. The model presented in the webinar looks at three realities of any project that define or constrain the value the project will return:
- Speed of adoption
- Ultimate utilization
- Proficiency
To even get to the discussion, people must make the connection between the project they are implementing, the specific changes to how work is done and the people whose day-to-day activities will be different (this happens to be the focus of a recent tutorial available at http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-connecting-cm-business-results.htm).
The connecting of ADKAR to the three factors is very important. This goes back to the idea that the measure the effectiveness of change management, we must first understand the goal of any change management activity. For me, the goal of any change management activity is to help an individual through their own personal transition (also read through ADKAR). This is how we link the specific behavior change required by the project to ADKAR to the three ROI factors and ultimately to the value the project delivers.
One of the biggest requests about the ROI model is for examples. Do you have a project where you can describe speed of adoption, ultimate utilization and proficiency? What did they mean for the project and how did you measure them? This blog might be a good way to share your examples of the ROI model applied to a real-life project you are working on.
Enjoy! And share your thoughts and examples...
TimC
- Speed of adoption
- Ultimate utilization
- Proficiency
To even get to the discussion, people must make the connection between the project they are implementing, the specific changes to how work is done and the people whose day-to-day activities will be different (this happens to be the focus of a recent tutorial available at http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-connecting-cm-business-results.htm).
The connecting of ADKAR to the three factors is very important. This goes back to the idea that the measure the effectiveness of change management, we must first understand the goal of any change management activity. For me, the goal of any change management activity is to help an individual through their own personal transition (also read through ADKAR). This is how we link the specific behavior change required by the project to ADKAR to the three ROI factors and ultimately to the value the project delivers.
One of the biggest requests about the ROI model is for examples. Do you have a project where you can describe speed of adoption, ultimate utilization and proficiency? What did they mean for the project and how did you measure them? This blog might be a good way to share your examples of the ROI model applied to a real-life project you are working on.
Enjoy! And share your thoughts and examples...
TimC
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