When I talk to leaders and managers about the work I do, it can be tricky to explain why they should invest in really thinking about all the elements involved in the people aspects of organisational change and the impact these can have – even if they have a project or change management team in place.
I’ve learned that sharing (real) stories of where organisational change creates chaos in its wake, can help to create ‘aha’ moments that show why careful planning way before you start any change is so important.
So, here’s a very recent, very personal example that illustrates this perfectly...
Image: Andrea Piacquadio, pixabay
I’d like you to imagine that you are a pensioner (you’re over 70 years old) and are entitled to several government and local authority benefits. One of these benefits includes the rent for your housing being paid by your local authority. The rent has always been paid directly to your landlord by your local authority without you really getting involved. It’s all worked smoothly. Until now.
Letters start arriving through the post from your landlord, telling you that your rent is two months in arrears (that’s hundreds of pounds). You call the landlord. They confirm this is correct. They tell you (as the tenant), that you’ll need to contact the authority that pays your rent.
Here’s what you learn as you go back and forth between the two organisations (recruiting a family member to help you keep track of progress). Over the last couple of months, the local authority has rolled-out a new computer system and it seems there was a big ‘switch on’ when it all went live.
Things are not working the way they used to and probably should do. From your conversations with both organisations, the problem seems to boil down to the fact that the system doesn’t seem to be working correctly and/or the communication between the two organisations isn’t working either to put the customer (you) at the heart of this and get it sorted out. Both customer service teams are very apologetic.
At the same time, as the level of debt you’re accruing for your rental payments is increasing, it’s triggering more letters (in another system) to be automatically sent out, telling you your payments are behind. These letters keep coming and they can’t be switched off.
You can’t do anything except write emails to both organisations and call them, asking them to sort this out and then escalate the issue to the ‘higher-ups’.
People first - not systems or process
This is a very typical story of an organisation change that has put process and systems before people, for whatever reason. Just from this short tale, you can see the huge amount of time, resources and money being spent in the to-ing and fro-ing that you, the customer, are doing between two organisations, huge amounts of time being spent by folk trying to keep themselves and you, the customer updated on what’s going on, and a huge cost being incurred in letters being sent out unnecessarily. You won’t be the only one this is happening to.
There’s also going to be a cost of reconciling all this, once things are (hopefully) sorted out.
And of course, there’s no tangible measure for the amount of worry that this is all causing you, the pensioner, on the receiving end of all this. And this is why people’s wellbeing plays such a critical part in organisational change by the way.
This isn’t unusual. I regularly hear tales like this from a host of different sectors and honestly, it makes me want to cry.
What can go wrong and how to address it
Systems or new processes introduced without the details being shared with front-line teams or proper training being carried out. Training carried out too early or too late so it’s either forgotten or there’s not enough time to work through it all. Systems introduced without new processes being worked through properly and any impacts on key groups (in this case you, the pensioner, and the landlords) being really thought about. Little or no communication that takes account of all the groups who might be affected and explains what’s happening. No updated questions and answers so everyone knows what’s happening. No reporting or escalation process for issues that might arise, so people don’t know where or who to go to. The list goes on.
I know you hear this from me all the time, but putting people first – not systems, not processes or profit – can stop so much of this. Think about the groups of people who are going to be impacted by the change you’re contemplating. What might happen? What could go wrong? How could you mitigate any issues? How do you reduce any potential negative impacts and get these resolved quickly? As a leader, how do you juggle this along with all the other stuff on your plate?
I know that budgets are being tightly squeezed but sometimes, slowing down can often help you speed things up and use your resources in the most effective way. And, using the 80/20 rule means you probably won’t think of everything, but you’ll likely take care of the big stuff that will have the most significant impacts.
As a result, you’re more likely to avoid giving a pensioner sleepless nights worrying that she might have to open the door to bailiffs at some point.
Next time you or your team are thinking of introducing something different in your organisation, even if you have a project or change team in place, give me a call.