Four success factors in transformational change projects

At the APM Women in Project Management Conference in September, three experts gave their advice on how to make transformation projects a success: Rachel Baldwin, Head of Programme and Project Delivery at the BBC; Rachel Watts, Programme Director for NHS South, Central and West; and Sachia Thompson, Deputy Director at HM Prison and Probation Service. Laura Ewen, a Director at KPMG, chaired the discussion.

All panellists work on complex transformation projects.

“Never before have we seen such a collision of factors that are driving change – economic, social, political, geopolitical, environmental, technological. There is a need for greater resilience and efficiency. All these factors are making change even more complex, so how we cut through that complexity – and how we set our transformation programmes and projects up for success – is so important,” said Ewen.
So, here are four of their top tips on making transformation projects successful.

1. Put stakeholders front and centre

“For me, it's not just about milestones; it's about delivering those lasting outcomes that matter to people,” said Thompson. “We have key strategic goals, and when we deliver them, we need to deliver them to the people who deliver the change with us, because they've got to live with that change as well. Key for me is always making sure that stakeholders are front and centre.”

Thompson worked on the probation reform programme, which reunited the probation service following renationalisation. She was in charge of the design of probation offices.

“So, whether you went into a probation office in Manchester or London, it all looked the same. And we did this by co-designing that space with probation officers, and people on probation with lived experience, so it needed to be fit for them – and that gives them ownership of the change. That’s really key to me.”

2. Create a strong purpose and vision

“There’s something called people-centred implementation, and I think it really underpins the key strategic factors in successful transformation,” Baldwin told the audience.

“Half of it is about the organisational setup for your change, and half of it is about the local or personal feeling about the change. The organisation needs a strong change purpose – a well-articulated vision that everyone can get behind and believe in. It needs a very visible change leader, a visible sponsor who's out there selling the change and saying why it's important. And it really needs powerful engagement with those who are affected.

“At a more local, personal level, you need really local sponsors for the change. People are eight times more likely to listen to their line manager than if you have senior management comms coming down with no support locally.”

3. Follow the energy

“In the world that my colleagues and I work in at the moment, we could be delivering a whole range of interventions to a whole range of different types of people across the health service,” explained Watts.

“A common theme that is important to me is following the energy. Some transformation programmes are very big. It’s more like a tanker ship and there’s a momentum behind it. Or you could be working on a project where there’s quite a small team and it’s quite a small intervention, but actually there’s a real opportunity there – you've got people who are engaged and really want to solve things and work together to do something.”

The principle of following that energy is critical to success, she argued.

“If there’s an energy and there’s a sticking point for something that isn’t working, then let’s have an improvement around it – let’s make that feel really good for people. That builds trust in the change.”

4. What legacy will you leave for your project team?

Watts finds that when people involved in a project start to feel empowered and trusting of the process of change management, because they’ve done a little bit themselves, it’s then that she likes to think about legacy.

“If our project is short term or for a short amount of time, what legacy have we left? I hope it's a really positive experience and that we can leave some tools in that person's toolbox, so that the next time they're at the bottom of their change curve, they can remember and think back and find something that can help them.

“We always try and think about our legacy for the teams we're working with that will help them on their next journey or on those bigger transformation programmes.”