Framework | Aspects covered |
Kübler-Ross Curve | Prepare for resistance. |
ADKAR | Evaluate your organization on the five elements. |
Kotter | Define the strategic vision for what you want to accomplish. Understand the vision to transport it. |
McKinsey | Strategy, Structure, Systems, Skills, Staff, Style, Shared values. |
The conception phase is probably the most intensive phase, so good preparation is paramount. Here, it’s important to define the goals in more detail and specify appropriate measures.
What is my role in this once I’m part of the task force?
Since you have joined the task force, you are now involved in planning, communication, and implementation right from the beginning. In addition to being a manager, you are a change agent.
Assessing your organization’s current state using the ADKAR model identifies awareness as a barrier that needs to be addressed first. This will be considered throughout planning.
Here’s how you have described the future state:
Within 18 months, everybody will be working with Office 365 in the cloud and collaborating via SharePoint.
Files and folders will no longer be saved locally, which will improve collaboration.
Microsoft Teams will be used for online meetings, so all employees can participate, whether in the office, at home, or on-site with a customer. Individual office phones will be gradually phased out.
The new cloud CRM tool will be the only place for managing customer contacts. Old systems will completely retire as well.
During the planning phase, the task force suggests forming subteams for certain topics and realizes that there’ll need to be a lot of coordination with other departments, like human resources and IT. This, in turn, could lead to some challenges in time management and communication.
You’re part of a subteam that is responsible for defining the roadmap for the complete implementation of the project and advise setting clear measurement criteria. The introduction of Office 365 should happen in several waves. Actually, your department is the first one to migrate! Other teams will follow according to a set schedule.
So what does this mean for my direct team?
For your own quality management team, this means moving out of their comfort zone first. This is not always easy; you may want to remind them that they’ll be considered as pioneers and have a chance to lead the company in innovation. You’re curious about how your team’s taking the news. Maybe someone else would also like to become a part of the task force?
Knowing that Hana is always open to new projects, you plan to talk to her soon and win her over as a change agent. She might be interested in supporting the training plan. Like Hana, some interested employees from other teams also join the task force to represent different groups of workers.
Training, resources, and activities need to be identified to make colleagues fit for the cloud and other new tools. External service providers might have to be consulted. Training plans should be in place early to avoid delays.
Since resistance is expected, it’s worth spending a good deal of time preparing for it. You need to assess potential challenges and identify possible obstacles and barriers that could come up throughout the process. The entire task force is kept up to date in regular meetings.
A significant component of preparation is the communication plan. The communication subteam needs to plan for constant communication and define a communication strategy:
In addition to direct meetings, further email communication and a poster campaign are planned. Particular attention is also paid to how Yussef can increase acceptance with an updated presentation covering roadmap, roles, and activities.
After a minor delay, the task force is finally ready and plans a kickoff to communicate the change vision and benefits. Everybody gets briefed on how to convey the change vision. During the kickoff meeting, Yussef will explain why we need to change and what’s in it for everybody (WIIFM).
What’s in it for my own reports, Hana, Niklas, and Peter?
As we know, Hana is someone who thrives on change and already sees this as an opportunity to grow in her career.
As for Niklas, he joined the company quite recently, so you can show him how accepting change at this point can help him speed up his onboarding and not waste time getting used to working with outdated processes.
For Peter, this situation could be a chance to overcome the anxiety he feels around new technology. There’s a chance he already realizes that he has to move past it in order to get on in his career.
Let’s Recap!
Preparing a concept involves analyzing the situation or current status quo, describing the result or future state, and defining the steps required to get there.
What results from the concept phase is precise instructions on how we can achieve our goals and how they can be measured.
Communication is at the heart of a change project and its importance cannot be overstated, so it should be well-prepared.
Our short scenario alone was able to show you how complex and important preparation is. Good preparation saves you time and money in the long run. You probably identified even more areas that could go wrong that therefore need planning for the project to go smoothly.
The next phases in the project will show us how good the planning was or whether adjustments need to be made. So, let’s dive into mobilization in the next chapter.
