5 ways to supercharge your transformation projects and keep people on your sideUndertaking a transformation project can be exhilarating and nerve wracking at the same time.

Whatever its scale there’s lots to do including calling the right people to action, creating project plans and prioritising actions. Many organisations spend a lot of time and effort setting up the programme, yet things can still feel somewhat out of control.

Despite the numerous emails you’ve circulated, people still don’t get why you’re undertaking a transformation project. There are still pockets of resistance, it’s getting harder to maintain momentum and to top things off your head is starting to spin with all the things that need to be done. It’s enough to make you want to go home, close the blinds and lay still and quiet for a long, long time!

Thankfully there is something that you can do to keep on top of it all. By following these five simple steps you can supercharge your transformation programme and ensure that you deliver it successfully.

CommunicateIf you’re trying to transform your organisation but few understand why, it is likely that the reasons for change and the how-to’s haven’t been communicated effectively enough. Ineffective communication is where many projects fall down.

Top Tip:As Kotter says ‘communicate, communicate and communicate some more!’ Consider formulating responses to these three questions;

n What is the current situation for your organisation? (from a quality, access and financial perspective – and why this needs to be improved)

n What is the vision of the future and the direction we are heading towards?

n What’s my role in the transformation? Be specific and concise

Clarity is key

With ambiguity comes slow progress and risk that key actions aren’t completed on time. Be precise and specific about ‘what’ needs to be done and ‘how’ the necessary changes need to be made. Note – telling someone is very different from training someone. If you give people the tools and implementation support change will start to happen at a quicker pace.

Top Tip:Sometimes inertia can be caused simply by lack of skills. Train to up-skill people first and then check for competency.

Identify resistance

Most projects will face a certain level of resistance and this is usually because of a fear of change. The important thing is that you expect it, identify it quickly and address the reasons for the resistance head-on. Effective listening is an essential skill here.

Top Tip:It can also help to bring key people involved in the resistance into the project itself so they can help steer change and feel ownership of its implementation and achievements.

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Open loop communication is not helpful

Communication is so important it’s appeared here for the second time. It is a two way process. When you communicate ‘out’ to the organisation there will undoubtedly be questions or queries that come back ‘in’. This is the opportunity to hear concerns and allay fears that people may have. Communicating into the ‘ether’ can create major obstacles to successfully delivering your project.

Top Tip:Continuously listen for questions, suggestions and concerns from internal and external stakeholders; only by doing so will you have a grasp of your organisational understanding. You cannot over communicate in this situation.

Have faith in the transformation processIt can be too easy to jump to solutions and go straight into fixes. ‘We know what needs to be done – so let’s get on with it!’. By using a process e.g. PDSA (plan, do study, act) it can give you a structured set of activities that will deliver the right solutions.

Top Tip:Use a framework that works for you. This helps with buy-in from your stakeholders and aids organisational understanding as to why you need to change. Ultimately, this leads to less resistance.

About the authorAbdul Ghani, principal consultant, Capita Health Advisory, is an innovative and inspirational leader with multi-sector Lean expertise. He has undertaken over 50 projects within 16 health and social care trusts across the country, facilitating workshops, mentoring and coaching staff and creating training programmes, as well as developing strategies and managing transformation programmes. Abdul understands that engaging people is the key to successful and sustainable change, and he achieves this through involving people in the change and visibly leading from the front.

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