8 Minute IT Leadership Guides: Benefits Driven Change 8 Minute Guides For IT Leaders To Improve Skills, Productivity and Get Results Benefits Driven Change Produced by Ken Martin, Third i Consulting h"p://www.change- your- future- now.com
Preface Welcome to the 8 Minute Guides for IT Leadership Success These 8 minute guides provide management best practices for a range of key topics that impacts and challenges new and experienced IT leaders from effective communications, change management to global teamwork. The aim of the guides are to save you valuable time in finding this information that is usually contained in 300 page books. Benefits Driven Change It is a well known statistic that 80% of corporate change programmes fail to achieve their expected outcomes. Apart from the obvious factors of why change programmes often fail such as lack of senior sponsorship, poor communication and lack of engagement, the one factor and opportunity that many organisation leave out is a focus on benefits driven change. Adopting a benefits driven approach to every stage of a change programme, will help to maintain motivation and support of stakeholders and lead to a successful outcome.
THE 8 MINUTE IT LEADERSHIP GUIDE Benefits Driven Change By Ken Mar9n Third i Consul9ng h"p://www.change- your- future- now.com Copyright 2011 by Ken Martin All rights reserved. This book may be distributed in its present form with the copyright intact and the work attributed, without permission in writing from the author.
Table of Contents 1 Define the Problem!... 2 2 Benefits Driven Change Approach!... 3 3 The Benefits Change Model!... 4 4 Principles for Benefits Realisation!... 5 5 Advantages of a Benefits Approach!... 6 6 Mapping Stakeholder Benefits!... 7 7 Benefits Planning!... 8 8 Summary!... 9 About the Author!... 10! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 1
1 Define the Problem Only 20% of corporate change programs succeed because of some of the following factors: Lack of clear outcomes and priorities and attempting to do too much in one programme leads to a lack of focus and fuzzy objectives and no clear benefits A lack of senior management sponsorship and effective engagement Lack of clear reasons why the change programme is being implemented and little time spend on defining the actual problems and issues that are impacting the organisation A lack of a rigorous process for the change programme coupled often with a poor communications and engagement strategy! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 2
2 Benefits Driven Change Approach A benefits approach to change can be used to deliver sustainable service transformation and change more quickly.. A benefits approach applies to every stage of a change programme and will help to maintain motivation and support of stakeholders At the change programme planning stage, stakeholders should be engaged in the process of identifying shared benefits as well as potential individual benefits or dis-benefits During the implementation stage, to keep stakeholders and staff engaged and focussed, when reporting progress remind people of the benefits sought by the use easy-to-understand measures and presentation metaphors During delivery and achievement, focus on the benefits to to stakeholders If the lessons learned stage, if the change programme is a success then publicise it terms of benefits as a means to support future change programmes! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 3
3 The Benefits Change Model Using a simple Benefits Change Model can develop a climate where realistic, positive change can occur, instead of setting the change programme up for failure and disappointment...! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 4
4 Principles for Benefits Realisation Develop a benefits realisation framework covering project and programme levels Use a Benefits Dependency Network to identify all of the existing projects and all of their expected outcomes and the proposed benefits they will contribute to the change programme Ensure stakeholders agrees the aims and benefits; keep number of projects small rolled into a change programme with an overall governance structure Perform an assessment for readiness to change using the benefits identified Decide a clear mechanism for reporting, which shows how the benefits are being delivered report achievements regularly keep people motivated and involved Create a profile for each benefit and dis-benefits. Examine what contribution each benefit would make, and what is needed to be in place to achieve this benefit Remind stakeholders what the AS IS situation was, what the objectives of the change programme were and its approach and summarise the benefits achieved! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 5
5 Advantages of a Benefits Approach A key advantage of a benefits approach is that it engages different stakeholders within an organisation, and enable the change programme to establish baselines and quantify improvements... For stakeholders, it will answer the question What is in for me? It will help to identify the Quick Win benefits that will keep stakeholders motivated and engaged with the change programme It will highlight what are the short-term benefits and long term benefits of the change programme For the organisation, it will answer in terms of benefits, What the organisation will look like at the end of this transformational change programme?! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 6
6 Mapping Stakeholder Benefits As part of determining benefits, it is a good practice to map them for key stakeholders... Priority objectives are the key objectives of the change programme Benefits may be stakeholderspecific or shared, and are the motivating force O u t c o m e s represent the future state of the c h a n g e programme, what it has to be like to deliver the benefits Projects are what you do to achieve the outcomes! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 7
7 Benefits Planning Decide what you want, and what s important about that... Measure what s important, not just what s easy Make sure each project or output delivers the benefits that you set out to achieve, and contributes to the change management objectives! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 8
8 Summary Effective change management using a benefits driven approach is a process, companies can use to successfully make changes to company operations by increasing employee communication, involvement and buy-in...! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 9
The 8 Minute IT Leadership Guides: ABCDE Communications Model About the Author Ken Martin Programme Manager Third i Consulting Ken has over 30 years experience in the IT industry including over 12 years experience in financial services (payment services, insurance). Ken has had many different roles including technical specialist, development leader, VP Service Management, consultant and programme manager with employers such as HP, Digital, Apple, Microsoft, PWC, Gemini Consulting and American Express. Ken has experience of business-aligned IT architecture, strategy definition, technology roadmaps, workshops, risk management IT governance, BPR, change management At American Express where Ken was VP of technology based in New York, his team was awarded the ʻChairmanʼs Award for Qualityʼ. Ken is a currently a contract Programme Manager working in London and the Far East. Please see website for details. Email: kmarti55@gmail.com Tel: UK: (+44) 77 94 57 57 67 Programme Management: http://www.third-i-consulting.co.uk Communications Consultancy: http://third-i-consultancy.co.uk 8 Minute Leadership Guides: http://www.change-your-future-now.com! Copyright 2011 Third i Consulting! 10