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Articles

• February

  24
  2020
  

  “How to” integrate CM and Agile: adjusting the approach.

  Change Management and Agile are grounded in symmetrical principles and deliver added value where they intersect. But integrating CM seamlessly in an Agile environment comes with some challenges as well. Our last post hashed out the main obstacles … and highlighted the payoff. It is now time to address practical issues. How should you adapt? What should you do differently? How does Agile affect the Change Management approach and the dialog between CM and PM? Without further ado, here are some guidelines, ranging from the broad to the specific. Overall… …develop an iterative approach to Change Management. In other words, focus on the core methodology and key components, leaving room for adaptations. Make sure to execute on activities that deliver maximum value, and put responsiveness first. You might want to redefine success metrics as you go and test new approaches (more on this below). Of course, operating ...

  Written by
  Vincent PIEDBOEUF

• February

  10
  2020
  

  “How to” integrate CM and Agile: what you need to know before starting.

  In our first instalment, we reviewed the set of values and principles common to both Agile and Change Management. Because many Change Management assumptions and standards find an echo or are mirrored in Agile, both disciplines can work in synergy to deliver extra value. But how exactly should you integrate Change Management and iterative project development? And how different is the approach to managing the people side of change in an Agile environment with respect to one running on Waterfall methods? Here is everything you need to know before starting, from the impact of Agile on Change Management to key success factors and obstacles[1]. 1. How do iterative methods impact Change Management? The answer is pretty straightforward: Change Management must itself become iterative, aligned with sprints and releases. It is only logical that Change Management plans should be turned into, say, “provisional by design” documents. The hardest part ...

  Written by
  Vincent Piedboeuf

• February

  04
  2020
  

  Practicing the ADKAR® Model: Turning methodology into real-life success

  The ADKAR® model is the focal point of Prosci’s renown Change Management Methodology. If you have ever participated in any of Prosci’s courses, I could probably wake you up in the middle of the night able to cite ADKAR®. If you haven’t, then it is about time because this is a tool that real kick some a.. in achieving success with your changes. So, what can you use the ADKAR® model for? Developing a Change Management strategy Creating a successful action plan for personal and professional advancement during change Helping employees’ transition through a change process Identifying gaps in your Change Management process Diagnosing and addressing employee resistance to change What is the ADKAR® Model? The ADKAR® model is a 5-step framework that helps you deal with the people side of change. It was developed by Jeff Hiatt, CEO of Prosci Change Management, in 2003. ...

  Written by
  Nexum Group

• January

  28
  2020
  

  Change has a new name: Nexum Group

  Nexum and proacteur join forces to leverage strengths and support world leading brands in their change management capability across Europe and North Africa. Merger deal signed between Nexum and proacteur, both major Prosci affiliates in Continental Europe and in North Africa. Capital increase courtesy of a new equity partner, Profinpar. Newly formed Nexum Group now prepared to support Europe’s and North Africa largest and smallest clients. Combining international reach with local expertise in most Western European languages. Seamless transition guaranteed for existing Nexum and proacteur clients with same level of service and single point of contact. Merger to strengthen market impact according to Prosci, the company behind leading change management methodology, ADKAR. Brussels, 28 January 2020 – Nexum and proacteur, two of Europe’s largest and most experienced change management consultancies have today joined forces to become the leading player in Europe and North Africa: Nexum Group. ...

  Written by
  Nexum Group

• January

  14
  2020
  

  Change Management & Agile Series: 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 Change management 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 Change management, down to the nuts and bolts of how to ...

  Written by
  Vincent PIEDBOEUF

• January

  13
  2020
  

  Do you master the 5 key roles of managers during a change?

  Good leadership is the alpha omega during an organizational change. In a study from 2016, 575 change leaders pointed to Leadership Involvement as either “extremely important” or “very important” to the success of their projects. Figur 1: Prosci Best Practices in Change Management 2018 Edition But how can it be that a single group is so important to the success you experience with change? This is due their position as the closest link to employees. Employees go to their managers with questions, uncertainty or confusion during a change. The employees also often adjust their reaction to the change and form their own opinion based on the manager’s attitude.   The 5 key roles of a manager during a change This is precisely why it is important for managers and middle managers to be visible and active in any change process. To be that, they need to be prepared and ...

  Written by
  Stephani Montserrat

• December

  12
  2019
  

  Your digital transformation is also a cultural transformation

  Today, most organisations are working with some type of digital transformation. Some are trying to improve collaboration (ex. Office365), work more effectively with customer data (ex. Salesforce.com) or to digitalise the customer journey (ex. custom customer-centric solutions). What all the digital transformations have in common are that they will only succeed if you also work with your organisational culture. Studies supports this intuition Culture’s essential role in the success of digital transformations are not new. On the contrary, it is well-recognised. McKinsey have concluded that “[…] our clients tell us that the main bottleneck in digital transformations is the lack of a strong and common culture.” And not surprisingly, the question “Which are the most significant challenges to meeting digital priorities?” the answer with far the most responses were “Cultural and behavioural challenges”. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) have stated that “[…] like any major transformation, a digital transformation requires ...

  Written by
  Morten Kamp Andersen

• December

  10
  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

• November

  27
  2019
  

  You can measure the effectiveness of leadership & extraordinary leaders makes a big difference

  Is it possible to measure the effectiveness of leadership? Yes, it is, and it is also quite commonly done. A classical approach for finding a leader’s strength and weaknesses is to conduct a 360 Degree Leadership Assessment. This is an approach to evaluation of leaders where manager, coworkers, colleagues and other stakeholders evaluates skills, effectiveness and influence of a leader. So, the assessment gives a good general idea of how the individual leader is performing. How can you compare leaders? You can compare them on 19 differentiating competencies, such as: Drives for Results, Takes Initiative and Values Diversity. These competencies were found by Joe Folkman and Jack Zenger when they were looking into which competencies that differentiated the best performing leaders (scoring highest on the 360) from the worst performing leaders (scoring lowest on the 360). They compared data from evaluations of 20.000 leaders. The ...

  Written by
  Kasper Goth