Change, change & more change – The only constant thing in life. In my experience, I have been involved in quite a few change programmes. In order to induce a change into a system, be it small or large organisation, you need to have a solid value proposition and this should be communicated using a powerful story. So, what are the ingredients of such story?
In this regard, I glean over to borrow a framework from Everett M. Rogers to explain my take on introducing change. There are six parameters in total.
1. Relative Advantage:
The degree to which a change brings a value-addition to the existing organisation. The relative advantage can include both hard – increased revenues/profits, market share etc. and soft factors – prestige, convenience, brand image.
Many of the smarter planet concepts of IBM creates, or at least wants to create, an appeal to citizens of the world by just showcasing how information can help us take better decisions.
2. Observability:
A change should not only make a visible change to the way organisation functions but also provide a clear picture of how tangible the benefits are and how long does it take to realise the benefits?
This is where lot of IT implementation has taken a hit in the two decades or so. Did they provide enough visible benefits or simply did live up to its hype? Probing question about the benefits realisation are a given. Therefore, it is essential that a change story should not only outline the benefits but also go the extra mile to explain how benefits will be measured.
3. Triability:
Can the change be introduced in a phased manner? Can we do a pilot of the change process to see the visible benefits that the “Observability” parameter promised? The answer to these questions partly lies on the business of the organisation.
If the organisation has similar Strategic Business Units (SBU), then the change can be trialled in one and based on the success, other SBUs can adopt this change.
4. Compatibility:
This ingredient runs very closely with Triability factor. Fundamentally issue to answer here is - Compatibility of change with the organisation’s culture, value and business model.
I was looking at a company, which recently launched a marketing campaign. The initial idea of the campaign was great however; it failed because the back office struggled to keep up. The marketing campaign was just like a swan gliding smoothly in a lake/pond but the back office was the function beneath the surface struggling to keep the float.
5. Complexity:
The story should be simple enough but at the same time convey enough for everyone to comprehend. Here is where I think there is a lot to learn and borrow from the movie industry.
For instance, the movie “Inception” takes the simple idea of stealing ideas and planting ideas but at the same provides enough information to keep the audience.
6. Perceived Risk:
We always here about resistance to risk and that is because people perceive a change to have a negative impact on them - Be it their influence, power, self-image or the loss of job itself.
I was doing some work on “The Vodafone Way” programme. It was a massive transformation programme taken to reposition the service offering. During the initial phases of the change planning, there was an increased anxiety about the job security for a certain division of the organisation. Vodafone faced a challenge because it has to refresh part of its labour force.
Therefore, it took two-step training scheme to cover people with obsolete skills.
• Identify and move employee to jobs created as part of this transformation programme.
• Develop a coaching plan to transition redundant workforce to jobs in the market.
Although the risk still existed, Vodafone mitigated the risk by having a transition-training program in its change implementation plan.
While formulating and packaging such a story, it is not necessary to have equal proportion of all these six parts. Adapt the story based on the business scenario and the target audience. Having said that, here is my recommendation:
Top-Management: Cover all six parts and give a very balanced story.
Middle-Management: Provide a story that is easy to comprehend – less complex and it should be compatible to their existing skills and to an extent should feed the ego.
Blue-collar worker: Perceived risk is of the key essence as the employees are scared about the job security.
Upcoming related article: Stakeholder Engagement and Management
In this regard, I glean over to borrow a framework from Everett M. Rogers to explain my take on introducing change. There are six parameters in total.
1. Relative Advantage: The degree to which a change brings a value-addition to the existing organisation. The relative advantage can include both hard – increased revenues/profits, market share etc. and soft factors – prestige, convenience, brand image.
Many of the smarter planet concepts of IBM creates, or at least wants to create, an appeal to citizens of the world by just showcasing how information can help us take better decisions.
2. Observability: A change should not only make a visible change to the way organisation functions but also provide a clear picture of how tangible the benefits are and how long does it take to realise the benefits?
This is where lot of IT implementation has taken a hit in the two decades or so. Did they provide enough visible benefits or simply did live up to its hype? Probing question about the benefits realisation are a given. Therefore, it is essential that a change story should not only outline the benefits but also go the extra mile to explain how benefits will be measured.
Can the change be introduced in a phased manner? Can we do a pilot of the change process to see the visible benefits that the “Observability” parameter promised? The answer to these questions partly lies on the business of the organisation.
If the organisation has similar Strategic Business Units (SBU), then the change can be trialled in one and based on the success, other SBUs can adopt this change.
4. Compatibility: This ingredient runs very closely with Triability factor. Fundamentally issue to answer here is - Compatibility of change with the organisation’s culture, value and business model.
I was looking at a company, which recently launched a marketing campaign. The initial idea of the campaign was great however; it failed because the back office struggled to keep up. The marketing campaign was just like a swan gliding smoothly in a lake/pond but the back office was the function beneath the surface struggling to keep the float.
The story should be simple enough but at the same time convey enough for everyone to comprehend. Here is where I think there is a lot to learn and borrow from the movie industry.
For instance, the movie “Inception” takes the simple idea of stealing ideas and planting ideas but at the same provides enough information to keep the audience.
6. Perceived Risk:
We always here about resistance to risk and that is because people perceive a change to have a negative impact on them - Be it their influence, power, self-image or the loss of job itself.
I was doing some work on “The Vodafone Way” programme. It was a massive transformation programme taken to reposition the service offering. During the initial phases of the change planning, there was an increased anxiety about the job security for a certain division of the organisation. Vodafone faced a challenge because it has to refresh part of its labour force.
Therefore, it took two-step training scheme to cover people with obsolete skills.
• Identify and move employee to jobs created as part of this transformation programme.
• Develop a coaching plan to transition redundant workforce to jobs in the market.
Although the risk still existed, Vodafone mitigated the risk by having a transition-training program in its change implementation plan.
While formulating and packaging such a story, it is not necessary to have equal proportion of all these six parts. Adapt the story based on the business scenario and the target audience. Having said that, here is my recommendation:
Top-Management: Cover all six parts and give a very balanced story.
Middle-Management: Provide a story that is easy to comprehend – less complex and it should be compatible to their existing skills and to an extent should feed the ego.
Blue-collar worker: Perceived risk is of the key essence as the employees are scared about the job security.
Upcoming related article: Stakeholder Engagement and Management
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