Change is becoming a way of life across the industry. Even very traditional sectors can no longer afford to stay still. The stimuli are both internal and external. Regulatory changes such as Solvency II, industry wide initiatives such as the London Market Reforms, competitive pressures and individual organisation's own strategic agendas means almost every firm has a long list of changes to implement.

Clearly these changes have a significant effect on your organisation's structures and ways of doing things. However, and importantly, this in turn also impacts your people on a personal level. Often, this impact is underestimated and history is littered with examples where 'managed' change fails to deliver the promised benefits because people at the coal face have not been sufficiently engaged with the future vision.

Getting the people element right is critical to successfully delivering effective change, but how is this done in practice? We explore this tricky topic by looking at answers to four common change management questions.

1. The change is imposed from outside so how do we ensure that people still feel part of the decision and solution?

Just because the change is imposed does not mean people shouldn't be engaged with it. The more impacted stakeholders are involved and buy-in to the change the easier it will be to implement and achieve benefits.

Key recommendations

Make a compelling case for change. This is about communicating why the change needs to happen and making it 'real' for individuals. In this case it is vital to explain the consequences of not changing. Don't assume that everyone fully understands the implications.
Look for additional direct and indirect benefits of making a change. For example, it may be possible to link a regulatory change with other changes in the organisation. Bundling can introduce new synergies.
Make the communications personal. For example if one stakeholder group just needs to be aware of the change then explain it at a high level and link to more information if the audience wants it. Alternatively, if another group require more detailed information make sure they receive it.

2. The stakeholders are at different level of acceptance so how do we craft common communications?

Stakeholder management does not necessarily mean that every stakeholder should be fully engaged and positive towards the programme. 'Stakeholder mapping' is a great tool for helping to design your communications to best effect according to the needs of each group.

Key recommendations

Develop a common vision at a sufficient level for all stakeholders. The vision helps set priorities and describes what the organisation will look like once the change has been implemented. Crafting the vision should include representatives from all groups that have an investment in the outcome, increasing the chances of universal buy-in.
Understand where each stakeholder group currently is and where they need to be. In this situation, knowledge is definitely power. Once you gain a good understanding of your stakeholders (Are they an advocate, ambivalent or a detractor? Are they predictable or unpredictable) this will help to inform what you need to do and who you need to focus on. There are many tools to help you understand stakeholder groups, one of the most common being an 'impact/influence' matrix.

3. There is already a lot of change going on in the organisation so how do we prevent this becoming the 'straw that broke the camel's back'?

In almost all cases change is a must, but for those impacted, it can feel like one change too many. Be realistic about how much change parts of your organisation can cope with. The more positive benefits associated with the change, the more people will be willing to deal with.

Key recommendations

Look at all the changes happening within the organisation and prioritise against benefit and strategic importance. The two key limiting factors will be the capability of the organisation to manage change and the capacity of the organisation to make change.
Break down the changes required and integrate them into existing programmes. Altering the scope of existing programmes to get a mutually exclusive set of initiatives can help reduce the perceived volume of change.
Demonstrating immediate benefits of changes will encourage people to support more change. Rapid delivery of small but meaningful 'quick wins' early in the programme will send out powerful messages to the organisation.

4. I recognise change management is important but how do I build this into my existing programme structure?

Change management should be a key part of any programme structure. To help co-ordinate the change and communication effort, dedicated resources can be useful. However, the real value comes from when change management considerations are in-built in all programme management roles.

Key recommendations

Include all change and communication activities within the programme implementation plan. For example, when an implementation milestone is put in the programme plan, it should also include communication activities prior to the roll-out and change interventions during the roll-out to encourage uptake.
Use specialists in change and communications. This may not need to be external resources, utilise the expertise in HR and Internal Communications teams.
Your programme leadership team should have specific roles and responsibilities relating to change management which they are wholly committed to. For example, providing content for key messages and role modelling the desired behaviours.

This article highlights the importance of a deliberate focus on change management in delivering the promised benefits of change. Drawing on the extensive experience of Moorhouse practitioners it has suggested approaches to four typical change management questions.