Making Change Projects 'Stick'

One of the concerns that project/change managers have about projects that attempt to change the way people in organizations think or work is ‘will it actually happen’ and 'will it stick'? A lot of effort and money is wasted if everyone reverts to the old way of doing things and nothing really changes.

This is not about what I would call a straight forward project such as building a new store, installing a new computer system or working on a new marketing campaign. These projects usually have (or should have) a business case them but they are usually quite straightforward. I am addressing the type that spells out what the costs and benefits are. People may not agree with of projects that introduce a new way of thinking in the organization. It could be a new focus on quality, the introduction of a 'creativity and innovation' program or a management initiative to 'simplify' everything. These types of projects are much less tangible.

Many organizations have difficulty making the changes they want from these projects ‘stick’. They are usually the type of projects that are initiated through the organizations strategic planning process and are intended to change the ‘culture’ of the company. For the changes to take affect there has to be something more than sending out some emails and putting a few posters on the wall.

In order for strategic objectives and initiatives to 'stick' in an organization they must be cascaded down and personalized at every level in the organization. They must also be embedded in the appraisal system for every employee.

To make it work start with the company vision and the strategic objectives that will enable the company to reach the vision. These are cascaded down through ALL the levels in the organization. Depending upon the size of the organization this could be at country level, region, division, department and right down to the individual. That means communicating the vision and strategic objectives to every member of staff no matter what level they are and what they do. However, the key is to 'personalize' the vision and objectives at each level. There must be a logical link to the level above but they must also be interpreted in a way that makes sense to the individual.

For example, a company goal may be "Make it easy for our customers to work with us". At a business analyst level that could be personalized to read "Simplify all our processes", at a janitor or cleaner level it could be "All public areas must be clean, tidy and free of clutter at all times". The best test is when you ask anyone in the organization what they are working on and they reply in a language that demonstrates a clear link up through their department goals to the company goal. So, if you asked a programmer what they were working on they would not answer, "I'm working on program 123" but they should instead reply with something like, "I'm working on a program to provide a simpler user interface to the mortgage calculation function which is in line with our goal to simplify all our process resulting in an environment which will make it easier for our customers to work with us." Yes, it may seem a little long-winded but it does indicate that your staff know what they are doing and how it contributes to the overall goals of the company. When this happens it means that you can be sure that everyone in the organization is truly aligned.

In practical terms the personalized goals and measurements must be imbedded into the personal planning and appraisal process. This would happen at ALL levels in the organization for every employee.

We can take this concept a little further. If someone is working on something that is not traceable up through the cascaded vision and goals then we must ask “Why are they doing this?” Many times during workshops I have found that half the work being done in a department is not contributing to the current goals of the organization.

I would summarize the process of making changes in an organization ‘stick’ by doing the following: identify company vision and goals, cascade these down through all levels in the organization personalizing them at each level, cascade right down to the individual, embed the vision and goals in the personal planning and goal setting process.

Bob Bissett, Mentoric

Do you have any comments that you would like to make about this article? Please send them to resource @ mentoric.com.

More tools, tips and lists