Embed post implementation
As with many other articles here on X4MIS, this is about creating sustainable change. This includes providing materials to help businesses embrace and prosper with their change in the future. There are many processes to embed the new way of working post implementation, and different methods to initiate them. The following provides some options for you to consider.
Act on the post implementation review
After conducting a Post Implementation Review (PIR) and all the information has been collated and organised, the Change Management Team can utilise the knowledge to plan ongoing change and business-as-usual initiatives critical to long-term sustained change. The detailed post-implementation will include an assessment to identify whether the transition continues to be successful.
The PIR data and planned ongoing initiatives may be passed to the business in a final step in the change initiative. Many companies set up a Management Team to review the data and own the plan. They keep the leadership team updated on the ongoing progress and insights from the perspective of an outsider looking in.
The PIR will include lessons learned, improvement suggestions, successes to replicate, etc. This information is critical as it provides prior expertise and knowledge when planning the next initiative.
Don't stop
The Change Manager's activities dont stop post implementation. They continue to engage with the impacted areas individually or in meetings to check how the change is going, listen to the feedback and act on it accordingly. This is done to ensure the change is being accepted and reinforced. They will engage with managers in conversation and ask them, ‘how is it going?', not just in week one or two but over the coming weeks and months.
If the Change Manager has been assigned to another project, they coach the on-site managers to keep asking these questions and the signs to confirm progress or identify risks. Check-in to team meetings to ensure the manager has the appropriate competencies to measure progress.
This is invaluable when a member of the team who helped enact and adopt successful change can engage and propel all individuals into that next level of change management and develop even more Change Champions.
Keep the Momentum Going
Public acknowledgement of progress towards the change objectives needs to be strengthened. Management must publicly and personally recognise and acknowledge any bright spots, no matter how small. A snowball effect is produced when bright-spot behaviours are reinforced.
It gets more challenging for the Resistors to resist or challenge how they work, when they act differently and are publicly noticed for it. Momentum is the best tool to turn opposing forces into favouring forces. Many minor and continuous adjustments will grow into significant ones when reinforced.
Measure and share the data
Use the predefined metrics to gauge a pulse on adoption, engagement, and buy-in and to obtain an overall reaction to the change. The Change Manager, sponsor and management can collaborate to create communications with a particular cadence that disseminates both the quantitative and qualitative data being tracked.
