Why change management is vital to the success of projects

Project management is thankfully evolving. We now think more holistically about benefits, sustainability and, most importantly, the realisation of value. So, if our remit as project professionals is widening and we need to keep bridging the gap between strategy and execution, we then need more allies armed with strategic execution tools on our side.

Enter the change manager.

What is change management?

As project professionals, we have our golden set of tools – from project plans, actions and logs to risk registers – that enable us to coordinate evolving workstreams and effectively manage risks, benefits and issues. Change managers are no different. Whether we are dealing with transformations at an organisational or a project level, we have tools like change impact assessments that enable us to assess the impact change can have when processes, systems and ways of working change.

This then enables us to create ‘change heatmaps’ to identify areas of the organisation that may be experiencing large amounts of change. Support mechanisms like learning and development plans or feedback workshops, for example, can be initiated to help those who are impacted to better understand and get familiar with the new ways of working.

Lessening the pain of change

Experience has shown me that, when change isn’t managed, pain results – from demoralised employees growing resentful of the chaos they have to navigate, to procedural errors in implementation due to employees not fully understanding new ways of working. Undergoing prolonged periods of constant change can also ultimately lead to change fatigue and projects failing, so being able to design strategies to avoid this is where change management really starts to deliver value to projects.

Change managers and the people side of projects

Change managers are masters of stakeholder engagement, as so much of what we do is focused on people and the cultures in which they work and live. Therefore, working with the project manager to ‘classify’ stakeholders based on how the changes will impact them is an important contribution we make.

This allows us to create targeted communication strategies to ensure the right people get the right messages, at the right time and in the right tone and format. For example, a member of the senior leadership team may want to understand the effects of change at a different level to, say, a warehouse operative.

Getting comms right

A cadence of communication can then be built into the project plan to take the fear out of change by increasing the transparency of upcoming changes. Most importantly, key messages about what is not changing can also be shared. This creates comfort; employees see that their world is not going to change overnight and that some things will remain the same.

Also, knowing when upcoming changes come into effect gives people a chance to mentally prepare to work differently. It also gives managers time to put in place support mechanisms before and after the new changes hit, ensuring changes take place in manageable, foreseeable tranches.

For project and change professionals, there is an opportunity to create ongoing dialogue and transparency by demonstrating how changes will lead to benefits realisation and a light at the end of the (sometimes very long) tunnel.

Feeling part of change

If people feel they are part of the change journey, and that change is being co-created with them (rather than being done to them), this creates psychological safety. This will ultimately lead to less resistance, higher adoption and better benefits realisation rates.
Managing large transformations and programmes can be beyond taxing for project professionals, especially when these transcend borders and bring uncertainty about what the new future state will be like.

However, as Marie Curie once said, “Nothing is to be feared; it is only to be understood.” Working closely with change professionals is the perfect way to help minimise the pain of change by helping those involved understand the benefits that the changes will bring, and to make these digestible and understandable.

Change professionals can support project professionals by designing adoption and communication strategies so that everyone feels energised and empowered to adopt change.

Top tips for successful transformations

1. People are at the heart of any transformation, and keeping your transformations people-centric by regularly engaging and onboarding stakeholders contributes greatly to transformational programme success.
2. Engage your change manager as early as possible. Make them part of your core project delivery team so they can work with you to map upcoming pinch points and design strategies to increase adoption and decrease resistance.
3. Communicate early and regularly. This builds momentum and engagement by increasing transparency and ensuring people don’t create their own ‘facts’ and cause undue panic.
4. Project and programme changes must be managed and planned with a core focus on engaging stakeholders before, throughout and post-implementation to ensure sustainability of solutions and benefits realisation. 
5. Don’t impose change on people; include them on the journey.

Read more: Change management and project management – what is the difference?

 

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• What is change management and organisational change?
• Visit our bookshop: Introduction to Managing Change
• Using change management tools for your own success