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Articles
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April23
2018
Getting started with Change Management: Prosci’s Five Tenets
Status quo is a dangerous place to be. In our fast moving world, organisations are pushed in the back to adapt and transform. But dealing with change takes intention and structured actions. Rushing headlong from one activity to another can only make things worse. That is where Change Management comes into play. As a context-specific approach, it requires a sound understanding of the reasons driving change and of its impact on the people. Only then can Change Management plans be properly rolled out. Here are Prosci’s Five Tenets of Change Management to help you get off to a great start. 1 - We change for a reason. There are three states in the change process: for simplicity the « current state », the « transition » and the « future state ». Whatever the words, change is always driven by a reasonable expectation that the future will be better than the present. Triggers ...
Written by
Vincent Piedboeuf -
February27
2018
"How to": Integrating Change Management and Project Management
When it comes to implementing a project or a set of projects, Change Management (CM) can make a big and lasting difference. Unless you have extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, you have to make sure everyone is on board. The simple truth is that the highest-quality technical solution may be a crash if not fully embraced and adopted by the people. Integrating CM and Project Management (PM) is all about bridging the gap between instalment and proficient, broad-based usage. PROSCI calls « unified value proposition » this combined effort to achieve sustainable change and improve the overall performance of the organisation. On a more general note, binding CM and PM may further advance the agenda of a discipline too often seen as peripheral or fuzzy. Project leaders have a knack for structures and processes, but so do CM practitioners. For CM teams, a unified value proposition means entering ...
Written by
Vincent Piedboeuf -
February08
2018
Change Management in an Agile framework
New project using AGILE? You now operate in an environment promoting iterative methods and quick wins. To keep up with the new pace and deliver on its promise, CM has to mirror the rationale of AGILE. They certainly have many commonalities, such as a strong emphasis on individuals and interactions, responsiveness to new contingencies and overall organizational fluidity. Regardless of the crossovers at a meta-level, CM is impacted in multiple ways when it comes to adjusting its practice in a project using AGILE. Differences, key factors to success, common pitfalls along the journey … using major insights derived from a recent benchmarking study led by our partner PROSCI[1], we help you to get the basics right. What it changes for Change Management. Think of it this way: under the AGILE umbrella, projects are sliced into iterative pieces. This is akin to a “just-in-time” delivery method involving quick moves. ...
Written by
Valérie Hospied -
January22
2018
Carving a path to "Agile" through CM
Endless meetings, too many shifts of responsibility and overall slow decision-making are lethal for any organization operating in a fast-paced environment. Most frequently cited reasons for revamping working routines include a better alignment with client’s needs, optimized efficiency and increased speed of delivery and flexibility (Creasy T. & Prosci 2017). That is where AGILE values and principles come into play. Of course, transitioning to AGILE is easier said than done. When it comes to introducing AGILE as a standard approach, a clear structure and strong purpose are essential. Even though there is no ready-made receipt that can be applied in all circumstances, there are a number of success factors that can get you on the right track, faster[1]. The journey towards success starts with managing the people side of the “Agile Transformation”. Keys to success. AGILE is a culture in itself (a manifesto that outlines 12 ...
Written by
Valérie Hospied -
December06
2017
Team leaders: Dare change your style to stay in business
Being a team leader in a context of uncertainty is an issue of our times. More and more changes are taking place at a dizzying pace. They range from global market volatility to high employee turnover rates to digital challenges … the list goes on. How do you prepare for these roller-coaster rides while striking a balance between the well-being of people and performances? Team-based employee empowerment is a key part of the answer. Scandinavian countries are often referred to as exemplary models of managerial cultures that grant organizational latitude to teams. Belgium and France are not quite there yet, albeit for different reasons. Empowering autonomous teams in the face of both internal and external clients takes a gradual shift at the management level from a broad focus on operational functioning to managing social dynamics. Transforming managerial cultures may seem a daunting task, but a rigorous and systematic approach ...
Written by
Vincent Halluent -
November14
2017
Outperform competition with Enterprise Change Management (ECM)
Gone are the days when Change Management was conceived of as an emergency kit « addressing the soft and fluffy side of change » [1]. Even though CM has established itself as a discipline with dedicated practitioners, too many organizations are still lagging behind. Integrating Change Management with Project Management is not enough. To deliver the best results, CM has to be streamlined across the organization. Think of it as a strategic lens through which changes of all sorts can be anticipated, handled and sustained across time and space. Here is why and how you turn Change Management into an overarching organizational framework. Set yourself for success by injecting CM across the organization and outperform your competitors in a fast-changing world! Because change is the new norm. As changes multiply, overlap and grow bigger, instability becomes the norm. Change saturation has turned into an issue of our time and translates into ...
Written by
Pieter Demeester and Caroline Morckjensen -
July25
2017
Your team has just designed a robust strategy fitting in with the shape and size of the transformation initially envisioned. It is now time to dive into the nuts and bolts of Change Management (CM) and to enter the second phase of the PROSCI process, managing the change. Here are five plans you need to customize in order to reach the finish line on time and on budget... and exceed expectations! 5 activities, 5 ways to boost the transition. Just as if Change Management were some sort of tightly woven net, each activity plan is designed to bolster the others. In fact, more than activities, communication, sponsorship, coaching, training plans and resistance management are the CM organizational levers. At the end of the day, CM is not about delivering certificates of completion but to effectively drive the speed of adoption of the solution and make sure it ...
Written by
Vincent Halluent -
June22
2017
Embrace change management, build agility
Agility: buzzword or survival skill? In a world where change is the “expectation rather than the exception”, agility stands out as a critical core competency. For many modern organizations, agility is a basic survival skill. So much so that the notion has quickly morphed into a buzzword. It has gained considerable ground in everyday conservations. Everybody talks about agility. But just as happens with seemingly self-evident notions, everyone has a different definition in mind. And just as happens with any buzzword, no one dares to ask what it means. When reality sets in, though, people get caught up in overlapping projects. And the bigger the pressure and workload, the harder the transitioning process proves to manage. There is no receipt that can be applied across the board to “fix” flexibility and resilience issues. But there are some common features agile organizations appear to be sharing. In ...
Written by
Vincent Halluent -
June08
2017
Who's who in Change Management
When it comes to change management (CM), specialists will only take the organization so far. The same holds true for dashboards, organigrams and kick off meetings. It takes more than planning and consultants to make the change happen. The core assumption is that even the “best solution” may fail or even backfire if not adopted and proficiently used by the people impacted by the change. CM is thus a holistic and collective endeavor. It engages the whole organization and should never be conceived of as a set of emergency measures. For any social entity to thrive and adapt in a fast-changing world, CM tenets and skills have to be infused into the whole structure, from top to bottom. “Who should be doing what” is a burning issue. Clearly charting the roles beforehand is crucial to ensuring that transformational efforts are not built on a dialogue of the deaf. ...
Written by
Antoine Wouters