Change Framework Phases
Purpose
In this initial phase you will be answering the question ‘why do we need to change?’ and providing a compelling vision of the future so that impacted staff and key stakeholders really understand the rationale for the change initiative and can see what will be different and why.
It is also important to define what won’t change as this can reassure people that it won’t all be new and different. This phase is often rushed as people are keen to get on to the ‘doing’ of change, but time spent clearly articulating the case for change and clarifying what the future will look like will pay off in later phases.
Activities:
- Appoint a sponsor and establish the change governance – who is accountable for the change and who are the key people who need to be involved in the decision-making?
- Document the drivers for change and what success will look (and feel) like when the change has been successfully implemented
- Detail the vision of the future – for the organisation and for key stakeholder or role groups … what will they be doing differently and how?
- Be clear about the benefits of the change initiative – how will the success of the initiative be measured?
- Identify the change leaders (line managers) who are going to be responsible for managing their teams through the change and assess their capability & capacity to determine what support they will need
- Begin to think about the stakeholders for the change initiative – who will support it, who will be sceptical, who could derail it?
Processes and Steps
| Processes and steps | Documents Gate 1 |
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1.1 Identify change imperatives |
Future State Definition and Roadmap Business Case: Strategic Outline Case |
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2.1 Understand existing governance |
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3.1 Define impact assessment approach |
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7.1 Define change leadership responsibilities |
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9.1 Identify & classify stakeholders |
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20.1 Identify benefits |
Purpose
In this phase you will be designing the detail of what needs to change to deliver the future state. This will involve agreeing the best way to achieve the change (through an Outline Business Case); understanding the impact and cost of the change; and building the team and change network that will help to deliver the change.
It is important in this phase to fully understand, document and baseline the ‘as is’ current state so that the changes can be measured and monitored. This phase should involve impacted staff and key stakeholders to build buy-in for the change and ensure that the design of the future state and new ways of working are robust.
If new structures, roles and jobs will be created as a result of the change initiative you should engage with your HR Business Partner during this phase to ensure the organisation design is carried out in accordance with HR best practice.
Activities:
- Clarify the change impacts and define the interventions required to ensure all stakeholders understand what the changes mean for them; develop a desire to participate in the change and are clear how they will be supported in delivering the new ways of working that will achieve the desired business benefits
- Begin to build a change network to help spread the messages and channel feedback
- Understand how the changes will impact on different stakeholder groups and consider the best way to engage with each stakeholder group
- Assess the skills required to deliver the new ways of working in the future state.
- Agree and document the future state operating model including new processes, roles and the behaviours that underpin them
Process and Steps
| Processes and steps | Documents Gate 2 |
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3.4 Review impact assessment & agree change interventions |
Skills Assessment |
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4. Develop the change strategy 4.1 Agree the change strategy |
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9.4 Develop stakeholder management plan |
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10.1 Assess change network requirements |
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12.1 Implement ADKAR model |
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13. Knowledge and Skills Management 13.1 Skills assessment |
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14. Target Operating Model 14.1 Agree design principles |
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16.1 Identify desired cultural attributes |
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17.1 Identify behaviour changes required |
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18.1 Define change measurement approach |
Purpose
This phase answers the question ‘how are we going to change?’ and involves the key planning activities to ensure that the organisation can move effectively from the current state (‘as is’) to the desired future state (‘to be’) keeping everyone on board and without damaging business as usual. Again, effort spent developing and validating the plans with key stakeholders will contribute to a more successful change delivery phase.
This is a time to think about potential risks and build mitigation plans to help address them. This is the last preparation stage before implementation and is an important one for validating your thinking with stakeholders and impacted staff so that everyone is clear about what is going to happen and when.
Activities:
- Confirm the change management plan
- Working with the change leaders and change network, develop the engagement approach for impacted staff and stakeholders to build understanding and ownership of the change to new ways of working
- Develop communication plans and material to raise the awareness and buy-in to the change
- Develop the knowledge and training plans so that people will be ready and able to deliver the new ways of working
- Confirm the approach to new structures and roles, if required, and help individuals to understand and prepare for the way they will be required to work in the future
- Understand how the cutover to the new ways of working will take place – big bang or incremental. If the change is over a long period of time, consider setting pause points where everyone can check progress and review the next steps, refining the approach if required
- Set benefits targets
Processes and Steps
| Prcoesses and steps | Documents Gate 3 |
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| 5.1 Define workstreams, tasks and timeline 5.2 Define assumptions and risks |
Communications Plan Competency Needs Analysis Development Plan Business Case: Full Business Case |
| 8.1 Develop change resistance plans 8.2 Support teams & stakeholders during change |
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| 13.2 Conduct competency needs analysis 13.3 Create development plan |
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| 20.2 Establish benefits measures, owners and targets
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Purpose
This is the ‘doing’ phase of the change initiative – putting in place the process, structure and/or technology changes that will deliver the desired change outcomes. The team involved in the change initiative will be supporting people through the transition, reviewing and refining plans if required and helping support the effective cutover to the new ways of working.
Activities:
- Implementing all the plans – change, communication, training and behaviour change – so that the transition takes place smoothly
- Implementing the organisational changes
- Change leaders will be working with individuals to develop their personal development plans and PDR objectives to embed the new competencies and behaviours
- Monitoring progress, managing risks, checking understanding
Processes and Steps
| Processes and steps | Documents Gate 4 |
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Purpose
This is the final step in our change process, after the implementation of the change initiative, to take stock, reflect on the success of the change – which we can measure because we are clear about the outcomes and benefits – and learn lessons which will improve our approach to change and increase our likelihood of success next time. We should also take time to communicate the outcomes and celebrate success – for our impacted teams and for wider stakeholders across the University. It is important to continue to reinforce and embed the new ways of working. A key change failure is that of ‘declaring success too soon’ and letting up with the change effort allowing old practices to slip back in.
Activities:
- Continue to monitor and measure benefits – these are often not delivered until after the change has embedded in the organisation. Financial benefits will be reflected in changes to team, departmental or college budgets but quantitative benefits may need longer to realise and will need sustained effort to ensure new ways of working really ‘stick’.
- Individuals will need to be supported, formally through the PDR process and informally by line managers and peers to ensure that new skills and knowledge is turned into ability to deliver new ways of working and that desired behaviours are recognised and rewarded and ‘old’ behaviours are challenged.
- We will communicate success to our stakeholders and seek feedback on the performance of the new approach – allowing us to refine processes and structures if required.
- Conduct a lessons learned review to identify what went well and what could have been improved. This will help future change initiatives be more effective and the University as a whole to mature in its change management capability
- Conduct a post-implementation review to evaluate the benefits realised and the costs incurred and compare them with the business case … did the change initiative do what we hoped and planned for? If not, what could we have done differently?
Processes and Steps
| Processes and steps | Documents Gate 5 |
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| 6.1 Conduct a lessons-learned 6.2 Conduct a post-implementation review |
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