Change is the common denominator in modern business practice. Most businesses use IT in some form or another to handle their information and communications needs, but often too little thought is invested in change programmes: many IT projects are delivered too late or incomplete, or fall below original expectations, and the entire change process suffers.
Probably over 80% of change programmes return insufficient value to the customer, according to Terry Ward, change specialist at management consultancy Cap Gemini. He believes we all too often use an over-simplistic approach to address complex challenges.
The change journey
Says Ward, The change programme can be visualised as a rollercoaster ride which is basically the same for all companies. Some will be on the upward curve, starting to formulate expect-ations for their planned investment in new technology. Other companies might have started or just finished - a project and be on the downward curve: they can see that their expectations were unrealistic or that the project is not so easy, or they do not have the energy or resources to complete the job properly.
Some of the common reasons for such disappointing results are:
- Expectations exaggerated by IT providers, consultants or internal staff;
- Urgency to beat the clock, for example, year 2000 compliance;
- Unexpectedly high cost of maintaining inherited systems;
- Eagerness to jump on the bandwagon.
What we find, Ward continues, is that some companies, despite having implemented the IT backbone satisfactorily, often struggle to optimise the new solutions because they find it difficult to align the organisation with the new solution, or to align business processes with company strategy.
Ward avers that such situations are not abnormal. All companies undergo this change journey. The trick is not to try to avoid it - it is inevitable - but to try to reduce the time it takes to get through the curve, and, of course, the height of the expectations crest and the depth of the anticlimax trough.
He admits that this is not always as easy as it might seem, and maintains that there are six specific, inter-related issues that companies must orchestrate to achieve positive results.
1. Improving business processes
Business processes determine how the company operates, how the staff spends its time and how customers and suppliers relate to the company. All too often, these processes, instead of becoming faster and simpler, become fragmented and complex. Addressing them across the IT systems is an important first stage for success. At the simplest level, there are issues around the system itself, where parameters and interfaces can be adjusted and streamlined to provide a better process. A more difficult issue is to get the new solutions to work seamlessly across old functional procedures.
2. People and training
Training is commonly given a low status, bundled in with technical activities. This results in a missed opportunity to show individuals their place in the organisations new systems and business processes, and to change their attitudes and behaviour to address the new way of dealing with customers, suppliers and colleagues.
3. The business case
The entire change programme should be based on sound business issues. Too often we find there is no clear, realistic business case which has been validated and endorsed by top management. The lack of focus we see on achieving quick wins merely underlines this, and can often result in a total lack of urgency and consequent failure.
4. Performance measurement
The new solutions must be monitored against the original expectations. If you cant measure it, you cant manage it. For example, you need a mileometer to tell if you are getting better petrol consumption from your new car. We find that companies stick to their old lag indicators, looking to the past, rather than lead indicators which can tell them daily what is going right or wrong, and where to focus management attention.
5. Strategy deployment
It is crucial to understand how the company can streamline and simplify business processes and IT solutions to better deploy its strategy - for example to achieve better customer loyalty. Management must also ask itself how to differentiate products, staff and business processes from those of competitors.
6. Change management
When undergoing change programmes, it is important that the company properly avoids or addresses potential barriers to success. All too often, projects are designed, managed and delivered as technical exercises: but it is vital to really get the staff involved and convince them that they can affect the change process. And have fun doing so, says Ward.
By staff Ward means all levels in the company, because acceptance of change is crucial. A company needs leaders that are willing and able to synchronise all elements of the change equation, and to take decisions quickly. Top management must understand this, be seen to be involved and demonstrate their commitment. Otherwise they will not be doing their job properly and will never achieve maximum benefits.