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The reason for embarking on a change initiative is to improve the business. Regardless of whether the changes are adaptive or structural, the objective is to embed the new ways of working to the benefit of the business. While some benefits will be ‘hard’ and easily countable, others can be viewed as ‘soft and are often less easily quantifiable. However, the key objective of the change leaders is to make sure that all the available benefits are realised and delivered.
To ensure that the benefits are realised, we need:
- a formal process to manage the activities
- a method for targeting, identifying, clarifying and assessing the value of the benefits
- a method for ensuring that the benefits are prioritised to match the strategic objectives
- a clear and detailed description of how the changes enable the benefits to be realised
- a common view and description of the targeted benefits that enables everyone to understand why they are required by the business
- a process for engaging the stakeholders to get agreement on the delivery of targeted benefits
- a timetable and dependency analysis and schedule for benefits realisation
- a set of verification measures for both the process and the targeted benefits
Getting value from change means taking an engineering approach to benefits.
Strategic & Operational Benefits
Not all benefits are equal in value. Nor is the the value of all the changes and associated benefits immediately apparent, especially at a local, operational level. It is imperative that the benefits are placed in a descriptive framework that ensures that everyone involved in the change understands the value that specific changes bring.
Many changes will be made to deliver strategic benefit - such as improved capability. The basis for other changes will be immediately obvious at the operational level. In some cases, the changes will appear to add work and complexity at the local level - as these changes are required to enable improvements in some other area or process. This needs to be explained to both the senior stakeholders and the local staff involved, if buy-in and agreement is to be achieved
Stakeholder Engagement, Agreement, Alignment & Management
Getting stakeholder engagement, agreement and commitment to the changes proposed can be a complex and time-consuming process. Keeping and maintaining that agreement as the change initiative progresses is critical for success. Conflicting priorities and requirements can make ongoing agreement to delivering the benefits difficult. In addition, changes in the detail of the who/how/when of the specific changes to be made can unravel previous agreement and alignment.
Managing the benefits profile and stakeholders in a dynamic, flexible yet accountable way - that still delivers the overall benefits sought - is the key challenge of the change leadership team.
Benefits Clarification & Target Agreements
The operational areas involved in business change can all too easily end up feeling ‘done to’, where the changes and associated benefits targets are applied regardless of the reality of getting the work done and today’s business delivered. To add insult to the experience, the senior operational team are often required to sign up to being responsible for the delivery of the targeted benefits - without being involved in the change design process. The result is a marked reluctance to sign up for the responsibility until the new state is established and working - i.e. after the event. This can lead to a lot of tension between the change team and the operational areas. There is a better way.
Getting your Benefit & Value Early..?
We’ve noticed that many executives and managers make an implicit assumption that benefits can only be realised near the end or after the completion of the programme or project, ‘when it’s all working’. In particular, a key assumption is that the ‘new technology’ is required for the benefits to be available. We believe in delivering value as soon as possible.
Potential Value & Benefit Opportunities - PVOs
Many potential benefits opportunities are typically uncovered, early in the change process, during the business analysis and design phase. In some cases, these consist of stopping doing some activity or tasks; in other cases, minor changes or radical simplification of current activities is possible, leading to significant cost and error reductions and blockage/backlog removal.
These opportunities are valuable in their own right and also as a indication of the scale of future improvements possible.
If you want to realise some benefit for a change...
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