What Does Change Success Look Like?

Ask yourself a few questions.

• How successful have your change initiatives been?
• Have you delivered all that was intended by the change?
• How supportive were staff and impacted stakeholders?
• How much push-back did you get?
• Did you deliver to time and budget?

If you apply all the appropriate processes and techniques, then success will look like the following:

• Your project, new system, new business initiative, strategy, or whatever the change outcome was will be implemented effectively and successfully.
• Your project, new system, new business initiative, strategy, or whatever the change outcome was will be implemented on time and on budget.
• Your people will feel they know why the change was required.
• The change will integrate effectively and efficiently with all parts of the organization and stakeholder environments that it’s meant to.
• All of your people will feel comfortable they were involved in the change journey and had plenty of opportunity to contribute and make any comments they felt were warranted. There is a feeling of a shared common purpose and desire for the change to happen.
• During the change program, everyone will know what they were meant to do.
• Everybody will be skilled and trained in using the new processes, as well as all the systems that were underpinning your change initiative.
• Consequently, people will feel supported, capable, and comfortable in accepting the new processes and systems, as well as any other components of the change initiative. They will feel part of it, as opposed to feeling like they are standing outside looking in.
• There will be ample and adequate documentation and induction processes for new people who join your organization. This will include information explaining what the change was all about and the benefits those changes delivered. Access to training material on the organization’s intranet (where available and practical) will be made easy, and its use will also be easy and effective (and monitored).
• People will be experiencing a more effective way of doing their work: a better way, a more efficient way, a more meaningful way—with more accurate information available to them.
• Risks will be managed well.
• There will be no rogue issues, or when they occur, they will be managed in a manner that would not impact the project’s objectives, budget, or time frames.
• Information about the change will be readily available and accessible by all who needed it.
• As a result of the change journey, your people will feel they contributed value. This will enhance their self-esteem, enhance their motivation, and will engender a more “respectful culture” within the organization.

If you have or suspect negative responses to these questions, then your organisation’s change methods are not as clear as they need to be – and management is harder because of it – and your organisation’s results are probably compromised.

Actions
1. Review past projects.
2. Identify those that were classed as successful.
3. For each successful project, identify which have demonstrated each of the success attributes.
4. Determine whether, according to these criteria, those successful projects should still be considered as successful.
5. Contemplate the implications of this assessment.

If you have or suspect negative responses to these issues, then your leadership or the leadership of others may be compromised.
Do you want to know more? Then call us at [email protected]

We’re proud to advise that the authors of this piece are Advisory & Mentoring directors.