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Articles
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January14
2020
Change Management & Agile Series (I): Exploring Common Values and Principles.
You are all familiar, at least to some extent, with “Agile”. Iterative development methods have been around for almost four decades. The Agile Manifesto itself was formalised at the turn of the millennium. Originally targeting software development, Agile has grown to become a discipline in its own right, based on a set of values and principles. But how does it articulate with Change Management, the discipline that seeks to maximise adoption and usage of change(s)? Agile clearly finds an echo in Change Management through common values and symmetrical principles. This certainly enables CM to be an effective method to move to Agile or navigate Agile projects. In fact, we could say that the two disciplines are coextensive, delivering increased value where they intersect. This series of 6 articles offers an in-depth exploration of the intersection between Agile and CM, down to the nuts and bolts of how to integrate Agile ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF -
December10
2019
Change saturation is increasingly common and here is what you can do about it.
With more and bigger changes happening at an accelerated pace, overlapping is pretty inevitable. So much so that 73% of respondents to the recent PROSCI’s Best Practices Report have declared that they were close to, or surpassed the point of saturation. Past this point, people are unable to absorb more changes, causing adoption and usage rates to plummet. As fatigue sets in, the effects on the workplace can be devastating. Change saturation can - and should - be addressed if only to mitigate its impact. Here are PROSCI’s 6 recommendations* to get the most of your transformational efforts, present and future! *This article is based on PROSCI’s 6 strategies for reducing change saturation[1]. Make sure to check in-text references to learn more about related issues. It all starts with an extensive inventory. With many projects underway and forthcoming, you need to establish priorities. Making an inventory ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF -
November25
2019
Change Management Trends: a conversation with Caroline Mørck Jensen
PROSCI’s Global Partners recently met to reflect on Change Management (CM) trends, uncovering challenges and opportunities worldwide. We are excited to bring you a timely and telling conversation with Denmark-based expert & Partner at NEXUM, Caroline Mørck Jensen. Because she plays a very active role in the Benelux, French and Swiss markets, Caroline has a thorough and unique understanding of Western European dynamics. Watch the video interview and read on to expand on key aspects of the discussion! An ever-increasing demand for Change Management. Partners have made very clear that there is a growing awareness and demand for CM globally (also see “Trends in CM” and “CM across Regions and Cultures” articles). Along with change saturation challenges, the need to reinvent the organization while maintaining “business as usual” for all customers is certainly a major issue driving demand for Change Management in Europe (De Jaeger ...
Written by
NEXUM with Caroline Mørck Jensen -
November12
2019
Change Facilitation Systems: Change Management (CM) as an integrated aptitude (III)
Accelerating and overlapping changes, multifaceted opportunities and problems … all of these challenges call for equally sophisticated solutions that combine processes and tools to create a future-proof organisation. Not for nothing do we observe an increasing number of business players choosing to deploy so-called “facilitation systems” through which they acquire new aptitudes to deal with change. In this third instalment dedicated to organisational agility, we explore most common Change Facilitation Systems (CFS) to gain insight into how most innovative organisations approach change-readiness. You will not be surprised to hear that Change Management is an essential contributor. But you might be interested in learning more about the way(s) it is being combined with other aptitudes. Read on to find out! What’s in a word ? On the surface, the term “Change Facilitation System” evokes sophistication, integration and embeddedness. Clearly, it covers multiple situations and setups. Strictly defined, a Change Facilitation ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF -
October29
2019
Most agile organisations share these 10 attributes. What about yours?
Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity: those are the characteristics that best describe the world we live in. To outlast the shocks and be successful in the long run, organisational agility is of paramount importance. PMI[1] is making a very clear equation between greater agility and performance, performance and advanced competitive advantage. But what exactly does agility – not the method (AGILE), but the buzzing adjective – mean? It is first and foremost a way of being, characterised by flexibility, durability, velocity and adaptability. It comes as no surprise that Change Management consistently ranks as an essential contributor. We have done the homework for you and put together a list of relevant definitions as a prelude to introducing PROSCI’s 10 attributes of agile organisations. Here are the key takeaways we have captured. “Being agile” across and beyond definitions. Hidden behind the sheer number of definitions of “agile” (as ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF -
October15
2019
Making a case for organisational agility (I)
You are obviously very familiar with the term agility, that winning combination of flexibility, durability, rapidity and adaptability. Develop it, and you will prosper. But how many times have you heard that there is no need for CM to build organisational agility, just a change platform and the right aptitude? Such an assertion is both false – like saying “you don’t need physical exercise, just stay healthy” – and fraught with serious consequences. To develop a real organisational aptitude, you have to get better at doing CM, grow more expertise and build new skills across the organisation. In this series, we help you make a case for agility, bringing CM into the equation. Start by reviewing triggers and drivers of change. Changes are growing bigger, multiplying at a faster pace than ever before, sometimes overlapping to the point of saturation. In other words, the time span of ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF -
September24
2019
Don't explain what you do, tell them what difference it makes.
No doubt you are all familiar with the following situation. Lots of efforts were devoted to a promising idea. Relying on a perfectly optimised process, the project was effectively carried out. But with a mediocre adoption rate, the initiative proved to be a failure. Meanwhile, fresh ideas emerged and people just moved on, kicking off a new production cycle. There is a palpable feeling of frustration attached to what is perceived as (and probably is) a tremendous waste of time, skills and money. You find yourself saying “why not bring in CM to the table next time?”, only to be faced with a barrage of critiques (“gadget”, “soft and fuzzy”) and doubts (“optional”, “if there is leftover money”). Best-case scenario: CM is last in, first out. You see, the key question is not whether CM should be used or not, but how to capture the people-dependent portion of ROI. ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF -
September09
2019
Best practices for integrating "training" programmes into CM plans.
Taking a structured approach to managing the people side of change can boost the rate of project success by a substantial amount. Adoption and usage make a critical difference between getting short-lived results or effective and long-lasting change. Needless to say, training plans play an essential role along the path of implementing reforms or new processes and tools. Our partner PROSCI[1] has identified the key elements to be combined for these plans to deliver the best results. To gauge the efficiency of your freshly implemented programs, this article also lists the most useful tracking and reporting tools[2]. Key contributors to the success of training plans. The exercise of stock-taking of all best practices leaves us with six major success factors. According to PROSCI, “planning and audience matching” is reported twice as often as the other contributors. Planning / design: “Standard” or generic content is the enemy. ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF -
June25
2019
Setting up a CMO is the best way to streamline CM across the organisation. Plus, this functional group does not have to be big to deliver great results. Our series discussed why CMOs are seen as a major trend for the coming years and what configuration is best suited for your needs. A recurring question is where the CMO should sit. Here again, there is no single answer. This last instalment identifies patterns based on existing research and most important variables to consider. Overview of CMOs and their main location. More than half of all CM functional groups are located in a single place[1]. By single location we mean that they are usually attached to a specific department or unit, such as the Project Management Office or Human Resources, for the most part. Higher levels of CM maturity tend to translate into more complex setups. Where CM has ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF