How to define and build a case for change

© The Change Source 2013 – All Rights Reserved

“There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.” Niccolo Machiavelli

Overview

A clear vision of the desired future state, or what the organisation will look like after the change, is an important foundation for any change effort. This includes:

• What services/products the organisation will deliver;• What technology will be used to support day to day

activities;• How it will operate;• How it will be structured;• How its stakeholders will interact.

Envisioning the future state helps the organisation to determine the extent of change required, the resources that will be required to implement the change and the vision that stakeholders will need to embrace.

Stakeholder Interaction

Org StructureOperationsTechnology

Services and

products

Purpose of a Case for Change

The purpose of a case for change is to introduce the change and explain the following:

What is the driver for your change?

What is the type of change?

Key questions to consider to build your case

• What are the drivers for change both internally and/or externally? E.g. merger, technology enhancements, cost cutting programmes, changing customer needs etc.

• What is the type of change? Developmental, Transitional or Transformational?

• What is the scope of the change?• Is the change aligned to the overall business strategy?• Which stakeholders will be impacted by this change?• Who is the sponsor for the change?• What benefits will this change bring to the organisation?• What are the timescales?• Which resources will support the change initiative? e.g. core project

team, business design team, change agents, change champions etc.• How will we communicate details about the change?• What are the risks of not changing?• What are the dependencies with other initiatives?• Will job roles be impacted?• What are the critical success factors?• How do we plan to elicit feedback?• How will we measure the success of the change?

Communicate the Case for Change

Communicating the case for change isn’t a “sales pitch” but rather a way for people to envision the future state for themselves. Storytelling methods is one way to provide a creative way of helping stakeholders or leaders visualize the desired future state and see themselves as a part of it.

For example, creating day in the life scenarios of the future organisation will enable stakeholders to visualize the future environment. In addition, this is an opportunity to set expectations for how leaders and stakeholders will be able to help design or test solutions to ensure they can develop a sense of ownership and accountability for the success of the change effort.

Gain support for the Case for Change

To gain support, it is important to engage stakeholders in a dialogue, listen to their concerns and then address their questions. During these conversations, employees will be closely watching to understand if leaders’ intentions and actions are authentic, building relationships and trust in the early stages of a change effort is critical.

For example a road show or an informal gathering is a great way to engage stakeholders in a two way dialogue and provide the opportunity to voice any concerns they may have in an open forum.

Additionally, this helps to identify areas of potential resistance. As a result, you and your change management team will be better able to mitigate issues and increase the likelihood of acceptance. In short, this initial communication is a critical process for aligning your team/department with the leaders and identifying the conditions that will ensure successful change.

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