One of the common strategic changes we see in our change management consulting is the attempt to implement EPMOs (Enterprise Program Management Offices.) Why the interest in EPMOs? What problem is the EPMO trying to solve? For many organizations, the establishment of an EPMO is an attempt to drive greater collaboration across the enterprise and overcome the traditional silos. This is an admirable objective, but what does it take from a change management consulting perspective?
If you are serving in an internal change management consulting role, there is great value in having a set of core principles guide your way. We tell our clients that the AIM change management methodology principles are like an electronic dashboard in your car; if your windshield wiper fluid is low, you react one way. If your Check Engine light appears, that is an entirely different matter!
How closely does your change management methodology link to real project work? If it is divorced from what is viewed as the "real work" of the organization, that's a problem! If project managers view the change management methodology as a responsibility of HR and not part of their own accountability for the project-- yes, you guess it! That's a problem.
One of the ironies of implementing a change management methodology across the enterprise is--it requires change management! Even if you see the obvious benefits of applying structure on the people-side of projects, the fact is that you are introducing a new way of operating, and it brings with it all the challenges of implementing any other kind of enterprise-wide change: the need for Sponsorship, reinforcement, readiness, and a sound communication plan. It’s why we say you actually need to use “AIM on AIM.”
Creating a Cultural Fit is an important element of the AIM change management methodology. Your organization’s culture is arguably your greatest strategic asset. Your competition can potentially match your product or service. Competition can create a marketing strategy that’s equally powerful. But no competition will have your culture.
"So tell me what makes the AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology) change management methodology different from (fill in the blank)?" That's a question we get all the time.
One of the major differences is the importance that AIM places on reinforcement. Reinforcement is the control switch for getting sustained adoption for your change. Reinforcement is more important than just about any other element of a change management methodology, except possibily for sponsorship.
One of the benefits of the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) is that it operationalizes many of the theoretical prescriptions you will find in other change management methodologies.
What's the level of impact your change management methodology is having on the organization? How can you assess how deeply embedded the methodology is across the enterprise?
The second critical element of a best practice change management methodology is to build the capacity of your agents of change. While this may sound obvious, and simple, the fact is that many organizations don't take a systematic approach to building capacity. This is largely because there isn't a system-wide view of where the change agents are needed!
