Between Healthcare and Business Transformation, the amount of money currently being spent on organizational change is staggering. Unfortunately, as the amount of money being spent on transformation continues to rise so do the number of unsuccessful implementations. Recent studies confirm only 25-30% of all business changes achieve full benefit realization. Yes, you read that correctly.
One of the biggest frustrations Change Agents and Project Teams confront is lack of adoption of the change by the Targets. There is no doubt that the “status quo” is a powerful force, even when a change is positive or entirely rational. Very often, the reason why the change isn’t embraced is because the appropriate reinforcements are not in place. For some reason, we expect people to behave differently, but we reinforce them for staying the same!
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Many organizations believe they are “special and unique,” but organizations ultimately face very similar challenges when it comes to implementing business or clinical changes. Whether you are implementing new technology, a Shared Services model or a simple process change, there are certain bumps in the road that need to be avoided.
One of the challenges facing our change management consulting clients is the level of change fatigue across the organization. There is simply no rest from the constant barrage of changes that disrupt past habits, patterns and ways of working. It creates an unprecedented level of organization stress, especially when there are fewer resources than ever before. The change fatigue is further compounded when those Change Agents responsible for implementation confront a history of projects that are initiated, but not successfully implemented.
From ERP and Technology Implementations to Shared Services to Lean Six Sigma and other process improvement initiatives, change is everywhere. But in our experience, only 25-30% of all business changes achieve full benefit realization.
Your organization’s culture is arguably your greatest strategic asset. Your competitors can potentially match your product or service by creating a marketing strategy as equally as powerful as yours. But, no other organization has your culture. It’s what makes you successful in what you do. So, what happens when your culture and another organization’s culture are supposed to merge into one?
One of the greatest challenges of implementing large-scale, complex change is that very often you will be confronted with multiple Sponsors. They all bring their own visions, political agendas, and "Frames of Reference" to the change. Some are stronger than others. How many of these scenarios sound familiar?
Getting full value for your investment in new technology requires much more than getting the new hardware and software launched. In every technology change, there are behavioral changes needed for you to get the full intended value for your investment.
In conversations with potential change management consulting clients about a troubled project, or about the need for a change management methodology in their organization, they will invariably mention past projects that have failed but have not been forgotten. There is the ERP implementation that was quietly withdrawn, or the acquisition that has never been fully integrated. There is the shared services implementation that hasn't delivered the intended value.
Given that somewhere between 30-50% of the success of any transformational change program depends on maintaining visible, active Sponsorship throughout the duration of the program, it is no surprise that if your Sponsorship is not what it needs to be, your entire change may be at risk.
