As I mentioned in my last post, my book, Practical Change Management for IT Projects, is now available! And for those of you in the U.S. and other Amazon countries, it's now available on Amazon, as well! Click here to go directly to the book on Amazon.
For anyone who does buy the book, I would love your feedback!
This will be my last promotional plug for the book on the blog. Next post is back to all Change, all the time.
Thanks to all of you for your support in making this blog and the book possible!
Sincerely,
Emily
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
If you enjoy the blog, you'll love the book!
Dear readers,
I'm extremely excited to announce that my book, Practical Change Management for IT Projects, will be published next week and is now available for pre-order. Just click here to order your copy now!
Like the blog, the book is focused on providing practical advice on implementing Change Management. It's full of templates and exercises that will help you create a Change Management plan. Based on the Five Pillars of Change, with chapters dedicated to Sponsorship, Stakeholder Management, Communication, Training, and a section on Organization Design, this book provides a comprehensive beginner's guide to Change.
And don't be fooled by the name. Practical Change Management for IT Projects will be relevant for anyone implementing Change Management on organization, culture, or process projects, as well.
Thank you to all of my loyal readers for making this book possible, and I hope you enjoy the book as much as you do the blog!
Happy reading,
Emily
I'm extremely excited to announce that my book, Practical Change Management for IT Projects, will be published next week and is now available for pre-order. Just click here to order your copy now!
Like the blog, the book is focused on providing practical advice on implementing Change Management. It's full of templates and exercises that will help you create a Change Management plan. Based on the Five Pillars of Change, with chapters dedicated to Sponsorship, Stakeholder Management, Communication, Training, and a section on Organization Design, this book provides a comprehensive beginner's guide to Change.
And don't be fooled by the name. Practical Change Management for IT Projects will be relevant for anyone implementing Change Management on organization, culture, or process projects, as well.
Thank you to all of my loyal readers for making this book possible, and I hope you enjoy the book as much as you do the blog!
Happy reading,
Emily
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Change Management and Human Resources: So Happy Together
I was recently invited to participate in an interview with the Change Management Institute about the growing intersection between Change Management and Human Resources. A transcript of the Q&A is below. You can also view the original article in the Global Change Management Institute Newsletter by clicking here.
What were your initial training, education and background? How did you come to be interested in Change Management?
I joined Accenture straight after graduating from Pennsylvania State University and worked on an SAP project doing Change Management and became hooked! From those first years in Accenture’s Human Performance practice, through my time in IBM’s Strategy and Change division, to my current work in Talent2’s HR Advisory team, I have had the opportunity to help thousands of people navigate through their change journey.
When do you think that Change Management began to be recognised as a management discipline?
Although Change Management was regularly included in large IT projects, up until around five years ago, it was hard for Change Managers to get a seat at the leadership table. However as more business leaders experience first-hand the benefits Change Management, practitioners now influence and collaborate with the Project Management Office across functional and technical teams, serving as an adviser to project Sponsors.
How Does Change Management support HR?
One of the main trends we are seeing in recruitment is evolution of HR departments becoming more strategic. Whether it’s building Executive Sponsorship for change in an organisation or empowering managers to shift some of their attention from their “day job” to their HR responsibilities; we are seeing HR take on more of a leadership role. And this leadership is often exercised by taking responsibility for communications to ensure that the staff understands the nature and reason for the change; by implementing intensive training program; providing managers with the skills to deal with employee relations issues; engage with all levels of the organisation to get people on-board and implement change. Change Management practice has supported HR departments achieve their vision of becoming a strategic voice at the C-level.
How has the rapid pace of change in organisations influenced HR in regards to how they select candidates?
The ability to drive change through an organisation has become a significant consideration for selecting and evaluating leaders. When we conduct leadership assessments for clients, one of the key capabilities we measure is “Leading Change.”
For front-line employees, if you read through job descriptions, you’ll often find that companies explicitly state that a candidate must be able to work in a “fast-paced environment” that is “constantly changing” with the ability to be “self-directed” and adapt to “changing priorities.” These all paint a picture of a candidate who is ready and able to change with the organisation. Whether it’s formal or informal, Change Management is starting to become an integral part of most positions across an organisation.
How does the role of Change Management differ across companies?
I have worked with large, multi-national companies that actually have entire Change Management teams with detailed methodologies, processes, and tools that are applied consistently to all changes across the organisation.
Other large organisations have one or two HR professionals that are dedicated to Change Management who work as internal consultants to provide guidance to large projects. Many large and mid-size companies will partner with a company like Talent2 whose specialist HR service offering provides for Change Management methodology and deep experience.
However in smaller organisations, Change Management is often left to IT Managers and Project Managers to juggle with their “day job.” This is where I most often see companies struggle.
Would you advocate for more professional training and accreditation?
As the demand for Change Management increases, it has become increasingly difficult to identify and select a well-rounded Change Manager. I think it would be fantastic to have more professional training, as well as a consistent set of standards that people must meet to be accredited in Change Management. I think the Change Management profession is at a point where it is ready to follow a similar path to maturity that Project Management took, which culminated in professional standards and accreditation such as the Project Management Institute and Prince II, as well as the inclusion of Project Management in projects being considered a “must have,” rather than a “nice to have.”
What do you think are the future trends and forecasts for Change Management Practice?
I’ll go back to the connection between Change Management and HR. Traditional Change Management has focused on five key areas: Executive Sponsorship, Stakeholder Management, Communication, Training, and Organisation Design. I think more and more, we’re seeing that in order to really embed change in an organisation, Change Management needs to touch a large range of HR functions, as well.
This includes building changes into the performance management process so that people understand the new behaviours that are required and are subsequently measured on whether they demonstrate them.
What were your initial training, education and background? How did you come to be interested in Change Management?
I joined Accenture straight after graduating from Pennsylvania State University and worked on an SAP project doing Change Management and became hooked! From those first years in Accenture’s Human Performance practice, through my time in IBM’s Strategy and Change division, to my current work in Talent2’s HR Advisory team, I have had the opportunity to help thousands of people navigate through their change journey.
When do you think that Change Management began to be recognised as a management discipline?
Although Change Management was regularly included in large IT projects, up until around five years ago, it was hard for Change Managers to get a seat at the leadership table. However as more business leaders experience first-hand the benefits Change Management, practitioners now influence and collaborate with the Project Management Office across functional and technical teams, serving as an adviser to project Sponsors.
How Does Change Management support HR?
One of the main trends we are seeing in recruitment is evolution of HR departments becoming more strategic. Whether it’s building Executive Sponsorship for change in an organisation or empowering managers to shift some of their attention from their “day job” to their HR responsibilities; we are seeing HR take on more of a leadership role. And this leadership is often exercised by taking responsibility for communications to ensure that the staff understands the nature and reason for the change; by implementing intensive training program; providing managers with the skills to deal with employee relations issues; engage with all levels of the organisation to get people on-board and implement change. Change Management practice has supported HR departments achieve their vision of becoming a strategic voice at the C-level.
How has the rapid pace of change in organisations influenced HR in regards to how they select candidates?
The ability to drive change through an organisation has become a significant consideration for selecting and evaluating leaders. When we conduct leadership assessments for clients, one of the key capabilities we measure is “Leading Change.”
For front-line employees, if you read through job descriptions, you’ll often find that companies explicitly state that a candidate must be able to work in a “fast-paced environment” that is “constantly changing” with the ability to be “self-directed” and adapt to “changing priorities.” These all paint a picture of a candidate who is ready and able to change with the organisation. Whether it’s formal or informal, Change Management is starting to become an integral part of most positions across an organisation.
How does the role of Change Management differ across companies?
I have worked with large, multi-national companies that actually have entire Change Management teams with detailed methodologies, processes, and tools that are applied consistently to all changes across the organisation.
Other large organisations have one or two HR professionals that are dedicated to Change Management who work as internal consultants to provide guidance to large projects. Many large and mid-size companies will partner with a company like Talent2 whose specialist HR service offering provides for Change Management methodology and deep experience.
However in smaller organisations, Change Management is often left to IT Managers and Project Managers to juggle with their “day job.” This is where I most often see companies struggle.
Would you advocate for more professional training and accreditation?
As the demand for Change Management increases, it has become increasingly difficult to identify and select a well-rounded Change Manager. I think it would be fantastic to have more professional training, as well as a consistent set of standards that people must meet to be accredited in Change Management. I think the Change Management profession is at a point where it is ready to follow a similar path to maturity that Project Management took, which culminated in professional standards and accreditation such as the Project Management Institute and Prince II, as well as the inclusion of Project Management in projects being considered a “must have,” rather than a “nice to have.”
What do you think are the future trends and forecasts for Change Management Practice?
I’ll go back to the connection between Change Management and HR. Traditional Change Management has focused on five key areas: Executive Sponsorship, Stakeholder Management, Communication, Training, and Organisation Design. I think more and more, we’re seeing that in order to really embed change in an organisation, Change Management needs to touch a large range of HR functions, as well.
This includes building changes into the performance management process so that people understand the new behaviours that are required and are subsequently measured on whether they demonstrate them.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
New Blog Feature: Introducing Polls!
Dear Readers,
I read a lot of articles on Change Management, and I talk to a lot of clients about their Change Management needs, but I've always wanted to gather more input about what people think about Change. So, I have added a new feature to this blog: polls!
Every couple weeks I will post a new poll question. It's to the right of this post. Go ahead, take a look.
Found it? Good. Now go ahead and select an answer.
After every few questions, I will post a summary of my findings. As with all research and surveys, the more responses, the better the data, so please share with your friends and colleagues so that we can get a good sample size for each poll.
Every time I put up a new poll, I'll post about it, so that those of you who subscribe to the blog will be automatically notified.
I look forward to seeing your thoughts about Change Management!
Kind regards,
Emily
I read a lot of articles on Change Management, and I talk to a lot of clients about their Change Management needs, but I've always wanted to gather more input about what people think about Change. So, I have added a new feature to this blog: polls!
Every couple weeks I will post a new poll question. It's to the right of this post. Go ahead, take a look.
Found it? Good. Now go ahead and select an answer.
After every few questions, I will post a summary of my findings. As with all research and surveys, the more responses, the better the data, so please share with your friends and colleagues so that we can get a good sample size for each poll.
Every time I put up a new poll, I'll post about it, so that those of you who subscribe to the blog will be automatically notified.
I look forward to seeing your thoughts about Change Management!
Kind regards,
Emily
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Change Management Checklists: Organization Design
Back when I was part of the Human Performance team at Accenture, getting an Org. Design role was the holy grail of Change Management projects. This was largely because they were rare. And they were rare because many companies simply don't want to tackle this messy topic while going through an already difficult change. I would argue, however, that Org. Design is part of ensuring that the change sticks.
Instead of detailing here a checklist of top 10 Org. Design activities, for the last Pillar of Change I'm going to list instead 10 questions you should ask yourself about Org. Design when your company is undergoing a change.
Instead of detailing here a checklist of top 10 Org. Design activities, for the last Pillar of Change I'm going to list instead 10 questions you should ask yourself about Org. Design when your company is undergoing a change.
Top Ten Organization Design Questions
- Do I have the right number of people to perform the work after the change is implemented?
- Do my people have the right skills to work in the new world?
- If not, can I upskill them?
- If they can't be upskilled, can I move them into a different role in the organization, or do they need to be moved out of the organization?
- Do the current job descriptions need to be revised based on new job and role responsibilities?
- Do we need to do a remuneration review to ensure compensation is still appropriate for new responsibilities?
- Does the overall organization structure still make sense?
- Do the new and/or existing teams need to change the way they interact?
- Does the reporting structure support the change?
- Have you reviewed the positions you are currently hiring for to ensure they are still required/appropriate in the new world?
Let me know: Does your organization address Org. Design as part of Change Management?
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Change Management Checklists: Training
Training is a huge topic. It encompasses training analysis, training development, training delivery, training evaluation, and infinite variations on those topics. Narrowing this down to 10 major activities is difficult, but I think I'm up to the challenge.
Training Activities
- Collaborate with the corporate Learning & Development department (if your organization has one)
- If you think something is self explanatory and doesn't require training, think again. Never assume that people will be able to "figure it out."
- Conduct a training needs analysis
- Remember that training comes in many shapes and forms. The best approach to training is often blended learning. Learn it, love it, use it.
- Create a training curriculum
- Training development takes a lot of time. A LOT. In the words of scuba divers everywhere, "Plan the dive. Dive the plan."
- Develop the training
- Deliver the training
- Create a sustainable training plan that will allow you to deliver training on an ongoing basis to people who may have missed the initial training (e.g., people on vacation or maternity leave, new hires) or who need an occasional reminder
- Evaluate the training...and improve it, as appropriate
Let me know: What are the main activities you consider when planning a training program?
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Change Management Checklists: Communication
You could write an entire blog dedicated to communication (in fact, I believe there may be one or two out there). I'm going to try to condense all of that information into my top 10 communication activities. Read on...
Communication Activities
- Collaborate with the Corporate Communications department (if your organization has one)
- Conduct a vehicle analysis
- Conduct an audience analysis
- Determine the review process for various types of communications and vehicles
- Create a detailed communication plan
- Write communications - keep them short, simple, and relevant
- Spell check, grammar check, and have someone else do a second review
- Develop and monitor feedback channels - remember...communication is a two-way activity!
- Update your communication plan based on feedback you receive
- When you think you've communicated enough, communicate more
Let me know: What is the most effective communication you have ever received at work?
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