hr professionals guide to business transformation white paper

HR Professionals Guide to Business Transformation Author Melanie Franklin Chief Executive Maven Training

Overview ................................................................................................................................ 3 Skills and Challenges .............................................................................................................. 5 Defining the skills for business transformation ..................................................................... 6 Developing your skills in change management and business transformation ...................... 9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 11 Maven Company Overview .................................................................................................. 12

Contents

Copyright © Maven Training Ltd 2011 of 14 www.maventraining.co.uk І 020 7089 6161

Change management and specifically large‐scale organisational change or business transformation initiatives are dominating the activities of many organisations. In the most recent Trends in Business Transformation1 survey 84% of European managers viewed transformation as the norm and were involved in a new business transformation programme on average every 6 months. All UK Local authorities and NHS trusts have some form of transformation programme underway, driven by budget cuts and the need to maintain service levels in an environment of smaller resources. In the private sector, 25% of firms surveyed were re‐organising to reduce the pressure on resources and 25% were improving the flow of information across the organisation to move away from ‘silo’ based thinking2. A quick review of a single recruitment site produced a list of over 500 transformational change jobs in the private sector across all industry sectors. There is high demand for transformation consultants to lead outsourcing initiatives, the implementation of SAP and other ERP systems, redesigning marketing functions to focus on digital media and the desire to re‐engineer processes in procurement, finance, logistics and order management. Many of these changes are transformational purely because of the inter‐dependence of so many of our business functions. For example, the need to make changes in the finance function drives new processes and new organisation structures in procurement, sales and business development. It is this interconnectivity that has led to the popularity of the term business transformation as we can no longer implement change within a single business unit or functional area. Each change that is conceived must be reviewed for its impact on part of the organisation, recognising that sometimes this impact is an unintended consequence and may have a negative effect in one area that must be balanced by the benefits gained by another. The structure and skills needed for business transformation is derived from effective Organisational Development. OD builds the strategic capability that generates sustainable change. This paper examines the context, skills and challenges associated with building a capacity for business transformation.

1 Cap Gemini Trends in Business Transformation 2009 2 Maven Training survey 2011

Overview


Transformational change is driven by the strategic objectives of the organisation which are in turn impacted by developments in the market place that the organisation serves and its internal capabilities. HR professionals have a great deal to contribute in explaining the current capabilities and identifying what the organisation can realistically expect to develop in the short to medium term.

The portfolio of initiatives that an organisation is managing must be balanced between the desire

to change and the need to run the existing business. It is the current business structure that is

often generating the revenue that will be used to fund the changes. HR are naturally active in

supporting the business as usual environment but demand for this support will increase during

transformation as we ask staff to cope with their existing workload whilst learning new ways of

working relevant to the transformation.

HR need to be involved in the very early stages of transformational change, when options are being explored and decisions are being taken about the scope of the changes and the future vision for the organisation. HR can represent the culture and values of the organisation which are easily overlooked when senior executives are driving transformation from the perspective of efficiency improvements and cost savings. However, too often HR are not involved in a transformation only at the point when the scope, objectives and overall vision of the transformed organisation has been completed by the senior management team. Effectively the change is passed to the HR function for implementation through the re‐structuring of the roles, re‐drafting of responsibilities and communication of the reasons for and impact of the change. In a recent survey Managing Change 2010: the role of HR3, 64% of HR managers stated that they wanted to become involved in change earlier in the cycle so that they can shape the transformation to include their knowledge of the existing organisational capability for change.

3 Author: CharlotteWoolff, XpertHR


The continuing increase in the number of change initiatives being undertaken is mirrored by the demand for change management skills. The Interim Management Association report growth in the demand for these skills in their latest survey:

• Change or transition management required in 18% of roles (in 2010 this was 14%) • Business improvement experience required in 21% of roles (in 2010 this was 17%)

Anecdotal evidence suggests that whilst organisations have the capacity to plan a business transformation too few have the ability to motivate and inspire their employees to participate and turn the plans into reality. This is supported by the results in the Cap Gemini survey which identifies three skills that managers feel their organisations need to improve:

Ability to ensure that staff understand and accept the transformation

Communicating the objectives of the transformation

Avoiding slippage in the implementation of the transformation These skills are in high demand because achieving successful change is a significant leadership challenge. Numerous surveys indicate that failure is as likely as success, with structural and people driven reasons for this failure:

Skills and Challenges


The contribution that HR professionals can make to successful business transformation is

recognised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (www.cipd.co.uk) in their HR

competency framework, called the HR Profession Map:

The map is divided into ten professions including Organisational Design and Organisational Development, both of which explicitly state the need for change management skills. For example, in Organisational Design there is a requirement for HR professionals to:

know how to utilise champions, shift fence‐sitters and remove blockers when designing and implementing structural change

In Organisational Development there are further requirements:

Know the critical role that managers have to play in the success of change initiatives and is able to engage managers in the change plan

Know the key stages in change management

Know how to implement OD interventions for complex organisation‐wide transformation programmes

Learning about the theory and practice of change management and business transformation supports your career goals by enabling you to develop the behaviours necessary for effective HR management. The CIPD HR Profession Map identifies eight behaviours, four of which I think are particularly relevant to change management: Collaborative Works effectively and inclusively with colleagues, clients, stakeholders customers, teams and individuals both within and outside the organisation. This behaviour makes explicit reference to the need to work effectively with all those whose active participation and support is needed to implement and embed organisational change.

Defining the skills for business transformation


Personally credible Builds a track record of reliable and valued delivery using relevant technical expertise and experience and does so with integrity and in an objective manner. Successful change management and business transformation draw on a wide range of technical skills underpinned by the need to really understand the organisational context of the change. It is important to understand the theories and models associated with change management in order to make an informed choice about the approach that the organisation needs and to be able to hold your own in the company of trained change professionals. Skilled influencer Demonstrates the ability to influence across a complex environment, to gain the necessary commitment, consensus and support from a wide range of diverse stakeholders in pursuit of organisation benefit. Our organisations are becomingly increasing complex. Formal understanding of how to identify, analyse the needs and plan for the needs of a diverse range of stakeholders is a critical skill but one that can be learnt. Courage to challenge Shows courage and confidence to speak up challenge others even when confronted with resistance or unfamiliar circumstances The confidence to challenge is derived from the confidence you have in your skills and knowledge. Ensuring that you are educated in the theories and models of change management is not a ‘nice to have’ but a business essential for those who wish to fully participate in the management and direction setting of their organisation


In addition to the contribution of the CIPD in this area, there are two other bodies who are positioning themselves as the professional body for change management practitioners:

Change Management Institute (CMI) ‐ an independent not‐for‐profit organisation set up to promote and develop the practice of change management internationally

Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) ‐ provides networking and collaboration for change management professionals who lead the people‐side of change. ACMP is focused on developing industry standards and a professional certification program to ensure a globally recognized standard for the change management discipline.

There is growing demand for qualifications in change management, recognising the business value that this skill set offers. The APM Group, a UK based accreditation and certification organisation offers the Change Management Practitioner qualification which is examined at Foundation and Practitioner level and includes modules covering:

Definition of change and its impact on individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole

Assessing the impact of change on individual and team productivity

Analysis of how organisations with different cultures and values are affected by change

Consideration of different models of organisational change and their applicability to different organisational structures and cultures

The Change Management Institute offers an assessment against a change management competency model, successful completion of which results in the aware of Accredited Change Manager (ACM) status.

Qualifications and assessments


HR professionals undertake a number of roles in managing change. To support organisation wide change they facilitate the communication and engagement with the change, and guide those operational managers who are making changes to processes, systems and organisation structures. Where change is directly impacting the HR function of an organisation HR managers will be expected to adopt the role of leader, manager or change agent. The knowledge and skills required to undertake these roles include: 1. Understanding the approach to business transformation To effectively support change it is imperative that those helping others to engage are themselves very clear about how the transformation will be delivered. Understanding the process of business transformation enables you to remain focused on the necessary steps and help those involved to navigate their way through the uncertainty and chaos that is often associated with transformational change.

It breaks down the many moving parts of the change into clearly defined pieces of work, reducing the paralysis that arises when staff and managers feel the work is so complex that they don’t know where to start

It produces a roadmap of changes and new capabilities that are expected as a result of all the different projects which enables people to identify how they will be affected and how they can become involved

Developing your skills in change management and business transformation


2. Developing the business change lifecycle Many organisations struggle to implement change successfully because they do not have a pre‐agreed approach to managing change that is understood and can be applied by all those involved in a consistent way. An organisation needs a business change lifecycle that sets out how a change is planned, implemented and embedded, taking into account the culture of the organisation and scale of the changes being undertaken. It should explain in detail each step of the change management process from initial idea to successful embedding of the change as the new business as usual. 3. Building confidence to successfully implement and embed change Business transformation requires the participation of everyone in the organisation as it is only at this individual level that specific changes to working practices will take place. We need to build an environment of trust where individuals believe in the fairness of how changes that affect them are reached and empower individuals to make these changes. This empowerment comes from understanding the psychological impact of change and how influencing, motivating and persuading are essential skills in making change happen. Identify activities that celebrate completion of the change and reward new behaviours and attitudes that align with the new business model.


Understanding what is involved in business transformation and developing a detailed knowledge of the theories and models of change management and how to practically apply them are an essential HR skill set. The importance of this skill set is recognised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel as fundamental to your progression in your HR career. Development of these skills offers HR professionals the chance to significantly contribute to the strategic direction of the organisation and the form that this journey will take. Position yourself as a strategic thinker who can also contribute from the perspective of human resources rather than an expert in human resources who is only called upon when there is a perceived HR impact to a strategic decision.

Conclusion


Maven has a strong foundation in change, programme and project management expertise. We have synthesised this wealth of skills and knowledge in these three areas to provide our clients with a systematic approach to business transformation.

We will work with you to:

define what your organisation needs to achieve and the structures and roles required to do so

ensure that the change leaders can provide inspiration, motivation and drive for the change

enable managers to implement the change

ensure that those impacted by the change to their working environment know why it is happening and support it

Maven can provide you with the skills and techniques to avoid becoming yet another case of business transformation gone wrong. We are not management consultants – we will not do it for you – but we will enable you to do it.

Maven Company Overview


Melanie has an impressive track record in the successful realisation of business change programmes across private and public sector organisations. She is the founder and Chief Executive of Maven Training and is highly experienced in the delivery of board level guidance and mentoring. She takes a very practical approach to change, programme and project management with priority on the realisation of planned benefits, working closely with her client base to ensure that the desire to implement best practice does not result in bureaucracy for its own sake. Each solution that Melanie proposes to clients is based on sound practical advice and experience with guidance on how it is likely to be received by staff, how resistance to change can be overcome and how stakeholders can be engaged from the outset. Melanie is a talented communicator and has a reputation for delivering complex information with humour and passion. She draws on her wealth of practical experience to illustrate concepts and to engage her audience in lively debates on advantages and disadvantages of each approach that she outlines.

Melanie is the author of a number of books and whitepapers about project and change management including the recently launched Managing Business Transformation: A Practical Guide

Biography – Melanie Franklin

For further information about Maven Trainingplease contact: Melanie Franklin Telephone: 020 7403 7100 e‐mail: [email protected] website: www.maventraining.co.uk Follow us on:

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