In the previous post we explored some of the aspects of popular change models, but today in Part 2 we are going to take you through the questions you should ask BEFORE you start looking at your change model options. It could save you time, money and effort!

Unfortunately in many organisations, people jump to solutions too fast, attracted by the 'shiny,shiny' aspect rather than following a thought process where options are considered.

1) Are you clear on what problem you are trying to solve? 

This is one of my favourite questions by far. And I ask this often, when I am invited to meetings where a decision has been made yet there seems to be confusion about what the purpose of the new product, process or policy is. Be clear on what problem or problems you are looking to solve with the introduction of a change model. It could be increasing staff engagement, improving strategic decision making by better understanding impacts of changes being introduced, or achieving better outcomes from...

It is NAIDOC week and the theme this week is 'For our Elders'. For those who know us and work with us, we acknowledge and respect the First Nations people of Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who own this land that we walk on.

This year's theme is an important one, and a reminder about the wisdom of the Elders. The NAIDOC website has more information about this years theme.At myvirtualchangemanager we would like to celebrate NAIDOC week and acknowledge the Elders, past, present and emerging.

Check out some of the official events here.

The truth is that when it comes to change models, there is a lot to consider. The reason why a model or way of working through change is important, is because a consistent approach and common language will assist in being able to generate important strategic inputs into your organisation's strategy. Without consistent practices or a common approach across your organisation, however you will find it impossible to ever create an Enterprise view of change. But why does that matter? For medium to larger organisations this 'ask' comes to the fore often when there is a lot of transformational work underway and risks aren't being managed well across all of those areas. So better to set yourself up for success if you are in a medium to large enterprise.

Over the years, several change management models and methodologies have been developed to provide a structured approach to navigating organisational transitions. In this blog post, we will delve into four popular change management models, expl...

When a new project or program goes through it's go live process, the work just begins from a change perspective. But how you do you know your organisation or the teams or stakeholder groups impacted are ready for the Change? How do you give confidence to executive teams or Board directors that the risk that people may not be able to embrace the change has been addressed adequately? Well measuring 'Change readiness' is a way in which you can measure, report and enable risks associated with the 'people' side of change to be managed. It refers to the capacity and willingness of individuals, teams, and organisations to embrace and effectively adapt to change. To assess and monitor change readiness, a Change Readiness dashboard can be a valuable tool. We will explore the concept of change readiness and provide a step-by-step process for creating a comprehensive change readiness dashboard.

What is Change Readiness?

Change readiness involves assessing the individual and collective willingne...

It would be good to hear if there is any organisation that isn't currently undergoing some sort of change or transformation in the world. We are now in 2023 and I think it is fair to say that between 2020/21 and a little into 2022 there is a real sentiment that change has been forced on many organisations, with the need to respond to the pandemic demands especially in the digital space. Others have needed to revisit their core offerings and the pressures on the newly branded People and Culture teams continue as organisations need to address their changed people needs and talent attraction and retention strategies.

But what does the 'new normal' look like in organisations when everything seems uncertain?

So what does the landscape of continual change and transformation look like?

Like arriving in a different country and seeing it for the first time, many employees just aren't use to the concepts, language or processes that need to be created or improved upon for change adaptability t...

I enjoy the debate about whether Change fatigue is really a thing or whether it is simply a myth. Change is a constant in business, however if it is not led well or managed well, frustration sets in. Remember what it feels like when something is just 'dumped' on you or your team without notice? Where your leader's instructions were pretty much that you had to suck it up and get on with it even though it makes no sense to anyone? So my hypothesis is that people aren't fatigued by change, but they will be fatigued by poorly led and poorly managed change.

Just imagine in an organisation where that happens over and over. Last minute briefings, poor information shared where someone presents to your team about information that isn't relevant to them and then they can't answer the questions that are sensible to ask? 

Like groundhog day - no matter who you give feedback to, the people who are delivering change aren't listening and just keep releasing poorly developed fixes that continue to c...

In Part 1 we covered the areas to investigate when you have been engaged to 'fix' a change that has gone awry! 

So now let's see what actions to take, and who should take them if you have areas to 'fix' and fast.

Revisiting Scope: When it comes to reviewing scope the question to ask is was what was left out of the scope that should have been addressed? Many times the scope missed out on one of these elements which impacts the change. This sits with the Project or Program Manager.

Be sure the program scope covers the following:

Policy or procedure changes necessary

Process changes

People changes if needed

Technology change, as well as addressing possible migrations and transitions from old to new.

If there is a change strategy you need to be clear as to the Change scope. Does it include change and communications interventions and any Capability uplift deliverables.

If this is a large change it is worth comparing both the program and change plans to make sure all scope items are...

So you have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in a new IT system only to find that it 'doesn't work' for the business. The operations teams are beside themselves, having to implement workarounds and fast. The project is now in 'crisis management' mode. Heads are rolling as the Executive team are asking the usual questions and looking for someone to blame amongst an operating crisis. 'Where is the change plan?' 'How did we not know that there was a risk with this system?' 'What are we doing to resolve this?'

Now these are broad questions, however it isn't too unfamiliar. Take it from someone who has walked into scenarios like this with a need to 'revisit' urgently a system rollout. Sometimes it takes the 'guise of a system 'improvement'.  Over time as a change expert, but also a program expert, you become familiar with the common weaknesses and mis-steps of poor rollouts. So it becomes easier to identify areas to be changed or revisited and fast. Needless to say the best people...