(Singing) Change Change Change….

Sounds like I’m paying homage to the late and great Aretha Franklin here. Maybe a tribute to The Commitments and the wonderful Alan Parker film? Either way, there is something of a message in the lyrics for organisations embarking on organisational change. Do you know that 8 out of 10 Change Programmes fail?  That’s not much a success rate is it?  80% Failure:20% Success.  Who would go on a difficult journey with that kind of risk?

The three main reasons for failure are:

1. Lack of Commitment

2. Lack of Commitment

3. Lack of Commitment

Yes, it’s a bit of a glib answer but it is oh so true.  It’s all about commitment or unfortunately in 80% of cases, a lack of commitment.

If you want something, more than anything else in the world …. then you’ll probably find a way of getting it. If you didn’t get it - then you probably didn’t want it enough.  All your best achievements were worth stretching for. It’s often said that anything worth having is worth fighting for.  Transformational Change & Cultural Transition is no different.

Change is not easy.  In fact, it’s bloody difficult to accomplish so if you and your organisation are lacking in commitment - then there’s a good chance your Change Programme will falter and trip into the 80% Failure Category.

Change will test you.  Change will unnerve you.  Change is emotional.  Change is uncertain.  Change is scary.  Change requires humility. Change needs tenacity. However, the rewards for successful change can be fantastic.  Go in with your eyes wide open.  Don’t under-estimate the work you will need to put in.  If you feel you have a Passion for Change, then go for it and the rewards should follow but remember that your commitment is critical.

So, have you got the tenuous link now?  Change Change Change and The Commitments!

Those involved and committed to change will have their personal commitment tested at every turn, bend and dip in the road. Whether your change programme is ‘radical’ or ‘evolutionary’ I can assure you that you will meet with lots of barriers and obstacles along the way.  That is why commitment is essential.  I cannot emphasise that enough.  You just must find new ways to get around the barriers placed in front of the Change Programme and remove the obstacles in your way.

Before starting your Change Programme take some time out and consider exactly what you are trying to achieve? How will you define your Criteria for Success?  Who will define your Criteria for Success? Will your employees further down your organisational pyramid define different success criteria?

What will success look like, feel like, sound like, smell like and taste like? How will success appear to others?  Success is very often more than a single objective. 

I was once involved in a major rescue plan for a large industrial plant on the UK’s Merseyside. Our Primary Aim was to avoid the closure of the plant.  However, in setting our success criteria we identified Secondary Aims around productivity, efficiencies, effectiveness, product quality, reliability, volumes, margins, HSE, L&D, material costs, material waste, career progression, trust & confidence, dignity at work, up-skilling, headcount levels, flexibility, behaviours, employee engagement, empowerment etc.

Our Primary Aim for Success was binary.  Could we save the plant? Yes or No?  Open or Close?  In our case it was a ‘yes’ and we achieved that with the plant remaining open and with output continuing to this day.

The Secondary Aims for Success – which were still critical to us and a means of achieving the Primary Aim - were multiple. They were covered by range of options, degrees, positions, levels, evaluations and points along the Success Scale. We identified these at the Diagnostic Stage and agreed SMART success measures with our workforce and their employee representatives and Elected Trade Union Representatives. 

By setting and gauging precise levels of success, it gives the organisation additional scope for continuous improvement.  Change is not like flicking a light switch on or off.  It is hardly a one-off.  It is a continuous process of improvement.  It’s no different from re-engineering a luxury car or fighter jet and breaking it down into different components.  You have the scope to strive for perfection in terms of product, service and human capital with change.

It’s said do often, that if you want to improve anything, then you must start measuring it.

Change of Fools

I’ve come across so many organisations that start-out with a somewhat vague and haphazard idea of change. They lacked commitment, were unprepared, myopic in their vision and unfortunately this slap-dash approach didn’t get them very far. So, in these types of situations, don’t be surprised to see Change Programmes getting stuck in the mud. 

 A homeowner would be foolish to make structural changes to his/her home without having a specific plan, drawings, charts, illustrations, taking precise measurements.  If he/she failed to take professional advice from structural engineers, time-served builders and architects then expect failure to result.  Such a slap-dash approach to change would be very foolish indeed …. as in Change of Fools. (yes, a play on Chain of Fools written by Don Covay: Performed Aretha Franklin!)

 Some organisations try to change their success criteria part way through a Change Programme because they’ve got lost and it’s getting too hard for them to continue.  So much for their commitment! That’s like trying to change the rules of the game part way through a sporting match because you’re facing a defeat.  Change Programmes must always Start With The End In Mind.   You must have a collective understanding and a company-wide agreement on what your organisation is trying to achieve.  It will be expressed in your Criteria for Success.

So, to clarify, any effective change programme must identify, right at the outset, the Success Criteria with the SMART Measures.  Just remember the risk of the 80% Failure Rate.

Catalyst for Change

The next burning question is around who initiates the Change Programme?

Normally, it’s the CEO/MD/General Manager and often, it’s a newly appointed person into that Leadership role.  He/she often wants to make a clean sweep of the business and freshen-up the organisation for a range of different reasons:   

• Loss-making industrial plants, sites, locations, products and Business Units (BU’s)

• Increased competition and falling market share

• Failures to adapt to modern technology and failures to accept modern working practices.

• Failures to adapt to changes in customer trends, preferences and patterns

• Failures in product quality, product development and sadly lacking in product innovation.

• Poor employee relations, poor industrial relations, lack of public confidence and reputational damage

• Poor customer service (material and personal)

• Stagnation of the business, management complacency and a general failure of the company to maximise their competitive advantage

• Changes to the law and new regularity requirements

• Poor Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) standards with prohibition and improvement notices.

• Poor productivity, over-manning and restrictive practices

• The need to move into new product markets

 There will always be a ‘significant something’ or a ‘momentous event’ within an organisation to ignite the need for change.  This is what I refer to as the Catalyst for Change and is at the core of any Transformational Change & Cultural Transition programme. It is the spark, the ignition switch and the force of nature behind the change programme.  It is the imperative for change. Do you know what your Catalyst for Change might be?

The Catalyst for Change is your tipping point and without one it will be difficult to get your colleagues and your wider workforce to be fully geared-up, accepting and embracing change.  The reason(s) for change must be identified, communicated and understood.  There must be critical reasons with dire consequences for failure but with golden opportunities for when success finally arrives.  The Catalyst for Change should capture what needs to be done, why and the consequence of failure.

It becomes the High Noon of the organisation.  No running away and escaping.  No crouching and hiding.  The clock is ticking.  The bell is tolling. It means standing your ground and fighting the good fight.  You stand up and show your courage because you, your colleagues, your organisation, your community and the ones you love are very much dependent on the success of the Change Programme for your and their survival.  In addition to identifying the Criteria for Success the organisation needs to define the Consequences of Failure.  This is part of your High Noon drama.

Change or the attempts to bring about change, must always out-weigh the risks and consequences of failure.  There must always be hope otherwise people might as well surrender now.  The prospect of Failure and the desire for Success can be very powerful motivators for your stakeholders.  That should give you the ability to pull together and use the combined intelligence and effort of the entire organisation to pull through.

This article is reproduced with the gracious authorisation of its author - Steve Redgrave

Steve has held HRD roles in FTSE 100 Companies and a Global American Corporation. He has been involved in over 35 major change programmes to date, leading HR Workstreams, facilitating meetings, shaping and influencing the content and direction of programmes etc. Steve is comfortable mapping programmes, facilitating meetings, and engaging with people at all levels inclusive of consulting with employee groups, Elected Trade Union Representatives, TU Full Time Officials, and Senior Executives.  If you wish to know more about Transformational Change and Cultural Transition programmes and how Steve might be able to help in his capacity as ab HR and Change Director/Consultant, you can contact him via www.hrrescue.co.uk or e-mail steve@hrrescue.co.uk