Time for change?

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

The Egremont Group's Natalie Gordon argues the need for organisations to transform the way work is delivered in order to achieve significant and sustainable benefits

It is probably safe to say if you are not already in the midst of a change programme, you are about to embark on one. Most change management literature refers to the need for a burning platform for change before you can begin to galvanise your organisation into action. With the public spending deficit forecast at £175bn by the end of 2009-2010, the launch of the operational efficiency programme (OEP) in July 2008, and the upcoming general election, the need for action is all too clear. Whether you call it 'cost cutting', or as Greg Hands called it at the Lean Government conference, "doing more with less", the way you currently get work done will need to change.

The trouble is most organisations are not very good at implementing change that yields long-term benefits.

In fact, some short-term benefits are also pretty hard to come by. A recent survey of senior HR professionals revealed only one-third of respondents considered their recent cost cutting programmes to have improved efficiency, and almost two-thirds said they still couldn't see how their actions had any impact on their organisation's performance. Clearly, in these change programmes, the focus has been on driving short-term cost gains, rather than addressing fundamental operating practices which have the potential to bring about a deep transformation in performance and generate far bigger efficiency savings in both the short and long term.

Managing and leading change is hard. Some people will already have done research and identified the change model that is felt to be the most appropriate and relevant for their organisation. While a common project structure is advisable, the overall approach to change needs to be tailored to the specific needs of a particular organisation. That approach needs to be guided by an initial diagnosis of how work gets done, supported by alignment from the senior leadership team on the key components of the programme structure. To help develop a unique approach, the following list of questions are not exhaustive, but should point in the right direction:
• Are we confident that we have identified the real problem we need to solve, ie. not just the need to take out costs, but what drives costs in our organisation?
• Is the senior leadership team aligned behind a compelling picture of the future that everyone can relate to and believe in?
• Do we have the qualitative and quantitative data that tells the story of what needs to change and challenges the desire to keep the status quo?
• Have we identified all the stakeholders and their individual needs?
• Are we supporting our people through new skills training and on the job coaching?
• Are we able to visibly track and communicate performance against outcomes?
• Have we allocated dedicated, inspirational and respected project resources?
• Are we working with front line teams and senior leaders?
• Is this viewed as a programme of work or a fundamental change in the way we operate?
• What is really stopping us from letting go of the status quo?

As an HR professional, primary accountability has to be the delivery of the organisation's strategy through its people and its structure. Too often, HR is pigeon-holed in a change programme as the capability workstream lead. Your role should really be much broader than that – challenging peers to devise and implement a change programme that has the potential to transform the way work is delivered to achieve significant, sustainable benefits.