For Change Managers and Change Leaders, the ability to sustain change initiatives and realise their benefits is a top priority. However it's probably the least planned-for part of the change. There are strategies you can use to ensure the sustainability of change initiatives and optimise benefits realisation. By starting as you mean to go on, focussing on the adoption of change, you enhance the likelihood of the realisation of tangible and non-tangible benefits laid out in the business case.
Sustainable Change Initiatives for Maximised Benefit
Sustainable change initiatives are those that focus on the long-term effort of embedding new processes, structures, or behaviours within an organisation; thereby maximising benefits realisation. Going beyond simple implementation, sustainable change focusses on maintaining the new ways of working and ensuring they become an integral part of the organisation's culture and operations. Sustainable change initiatives are vital for driving continuous improvement and innovation.
Key Steps for Sustaining Change
Establish a clear vision for the change initiative, outlining the goals, benefits, and expected outcomes. Communicate this vision effectively to all stakeholders, ensuring alignment and understanding across the organisation. Transparency and frequent communication are key to gaining buy-in and maintaining momentum.
Organisational leadership and your change sponsors play a crucial role in leading from the front and creating opportunities for employees to be involved in the change and motivated by it. Involve employees at all levels in the change process. Encourage participation, gather feedback, and empower employees to take ownership. When employees feel involved and valued, they are more likely to support and sustain the initiative over the long term.
Invest in building the capabilities and resilience of your teams to adapt to change. Provide training, resources, and support to help employees navigate uncertainty and complexity. Building a culture of learning and resilience will enable the organisation to sustain change initiatives effectively. Building a change-forward culture during capacity breaks is a great way to ensure that teams are not double-loaded with implementing change activity, and attending change training at the same time.
Regularly monitor the progress of the change initiative, tracking key performance indicators and milestones. Be prepared to adapt and make course corrections as needed. Flexibility and agility are essential for sustaining change in dynamic organisations or environments, such as software development.
Benefits Realisation: Maximising the Value of Change
Benefits realisation is the process of measuring and maximising the benefits derived from a change initiative. To ensure successful benefits realisation, organisations must:
Define clear metrics and objectives for the change initiative.
Continuously track and evaluate the progress towards these objectives.
Ensure that benefits are realised and communicated effectively to stakeholders.
Take a plan, do, check, act approach, and apply further efforts to act if change adoption is falling below goal.
What happens in practice
The sustainability of change can be easily overlooked, especially when organisations have a low understanding of the end to end change management process. Incorporating sustainability activities into change initiatives may imply a shift in mindset because it requires organisations and change leaders to have a commitment to long-term success. Many organisations and leaders are, however, time- and resource-poor. Equally, many organisations are attempting to do too much, thereby jamming the project funnel such that changes suffer from a lack of resourcing and can't get through smoothly.
If you're a Leader, you may recall many attempts from your Head of Change to get you and your team involved in change leadership training or other methodology courses. By embedding an understanding of change into the fabric of the organisation, leaders can drive lasting transformation and realise tangible benefits.
Sustaining change initiatives and maximising benefits realisation require a strategic and proactive approach. By following some of the steps outlined here, and prioritising sustainability, Change Managers and Change Leaders can drive meaningful change and create a culture of continuous improvement within their organisations.
For more insights on sustaining change and realising benefits, stay updated with our blog. For change governance support, book a free consultation with us.
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