How to deliver a successful transformation program
Nearly every project today is called a transformation. Most companies are changing, evolving and putting in programs to change the way things are done and these call these programs – ‘transformation project’s. It doesn’t matter what the programs are called, what matters is the that it achieves the outcome you are expecting.
The statistics are terrible, however on average 20% of transformation programs achieve the required outcomes, this is a terrible statistic. Many companies put money, focus and effort into delivering the outcome however they are unable to deliver the required outcome.
Why?
There are four main reasons that transformation programs are not successful:
Success for the project has not been defined and is not well understood. Being very clear on what the project is trying to achieve, what is success and how the results are going to be measured is critical.
No Executive sponsorship – the Executive team do not sponsor the project and help show how important it is.
No accountability for the outcomes. The roles & responsibilities are not clear and the people running the program are not being held accountable and this flows down.
The organisation doesn’t want the change/they haven’t bought in and they make it so hard that the organisation gives up. It’s all too hard.
Once one or all of the 4 above happen the transformation program will likely not be successful, will not deliver the required outcome and next time people try they will say we tried this and it doesn’t work in our company.
No one sets out for it not be successful so how to do maximise the chance of success for your transformation program. There are four main things that will help maximise success:
Be very clear on what success is – define success, work out how to measure success & ensure you communicate this change to people impacted and key stakeholders
Ensure you have an Executive Sponsor that will support and drive the project and help clear blockages that are in the way
Build a change champion network in the organisation – key people that can champion change and support the program
Demonstrate progress and the ‘what is in it for me’ mentality to show people why change can be great
The success of transformation will be driven from the ability of the lead:
To set up the program for success
To get buy in
To not listen to naysayers
To focus on delivering outcomes and communicating
To build out the what is in it for me
The lead for the transformation needs to be very strong leaders, someone who is not worried or concerned about driving change and showing resilience.
From experience, I have seen many transformations go really well. I am someone who doesn’t like to give up and I like to be on the winning team – everyone makes mistakes and from these comes learnings and experience that helps you when you do your next program/project/transformation.
At Whiteark we love helping our clients with transformation; focused on ensuring that we can use our experience to help ensure their transformations are successful. If you are interested in having a conversation about how we can help you, reach out.
Need support in your transformation project? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Article by Jo Hands, Co-Founder Whiteark
