Ensuring a Successful Process Change Implementation

Instituting change in an organization is not an easy task. Generally speaking, the larger the organization, the harder it is to manage change and ensure its success. However, in my experience I have seen small organizations struggle with change.

Change Management is a whole other topic in its self that has its own intricate processes. In this blog we will look at a larger issue of successful implementations of changes versus those that fail; why do they fail, and how to avoid from failing.

Successful process change implementation is dependant on the following two criteria:

1. Communication
2. Speed to delivery

Let us examine each one individually. However, let me first set the context of process improvement. In this blog, by process improvement we are talking about taking an existing process within an organization and improving upon it whereby changes are make to the process flow resulting in the process being optimized.

1. Communication:
Typically when any process that requires improvement has been identified it is because the stakeholders have determined a need. When the process (needing improvement) has been identified, there is usually a discussion among the stakeholders about what is wrong and how to improve it. This communication usually decreases with time as the process improvement begins; resulting in the process improvement being dragged on beyond its scheduled completion date.

The cause of this type of behavior of the change process is due to the lack of communication among the stakeholders. Slow or negligent communication causes people to forget and/or lose focus of the main driving factor for the change in process.

The solution is to establish a communication plan that routinely informs the stakeholder about why the process is being improved, how it is being improved, where in the process doe the change implementation stands, etc., In other words keeping the discussion and awareness of the process change alive.

2. Speed To Delivery:
The second factor in failed process improvement initiatives is unnecessary extensions of the time line for implementation. Speed to delivery is defined as the amount of time required from the inception of change to implementation of the enhanced process.

Common causes to slow down the speed to delivery is improper or non-action by stakeholders, poor communication, and lack of enthusiasm/urgency.

Improper action means to conduct activities that are not related to the process improvement initiative. Poor communication has been mentioned above. -And lack of urgency means that the stakeholders do not give the process that is being changed the attention it truly deserves.

To correct this issue and to instill the sense of urgency, stakeholder communication should be optimized. The communication should remind the stakeholders of the significance and reasoning for the change.

In summation, successful process change can be implemented by keeping the motivation/energy high. This is done by continuously communication and encouraging a sense of urgency by reminding everyone the reason for the process improvement efforts.

Question:
Do you agree with this blog? If you Dis-agree, please state why?

Till next time....

Sal
http://www.skkservices.com/