[2022-12-14] Advice for implementing a new initiative
Today, I chatted with a friend who is working on the implementation of a new initiative in her organization. I asked many questions in an attempt to understand what change was being put in place and, more importantly, what problem the organization was trying to solve. I provided feedback on what I thought my friend could do to increase the likelihood of a successful launch.
In my more than three decades in the federal Public Service, I witnessed the introduction of countless ventures, changes and programs. Some were successful; others limped along until they quietly disappeared. Clearly, the management of change is a challenging task.
It can be challenging to find concrete advice for implementing a new initiative. A quick search on the subject of change management is more likely to turn up articles about business changes necessitated by evolving markets or technology. But what do you do when you're implementing a new effort that is important but not mandatory. How do you get people excited about the change and willing to put in the effort to do something different from what they're doing now?
As I said to my friend today, I'm not a cynical person, but I am a realistic person. Often, employees have more work to do than hours in the day to do it. Sometimes, they're still getting used to last year's initiative when a new idea is sprung on them. Frequently, they're already overloaded with messages about other priorities. Within this context, project leaders have a tough challenge: communicating the new enterprise and why it's being implemented, explaining what's in it for employees, and cutting through all the noise that's already out there.
My advice to my friend went something like this:
- Be crystal clear on the problem you're trying to solve. I call this "the why." If you're not clear on what you're ultimately trying to achieve, employees will ask the question "why?" If the answer they get is not convincing, they may see the new initiative as just another flavour of the month. Here are examples of problems an organization might be trying to solve: an administrative system is failing and needs to be replaced; the organization is losing employees at high rates and needs to redouble its efforts to recruit and retain staff; the error rate for a process is unacceptably high and employees need to be better trained. Without a simple, clear statement of the problem (or, if applicable, the opportunity), it will be difficult to develop and roll out an effective communications strategy.
- Identify what success looks like. What will be different? If possible, develop indicators that show whether the objective is being met. For example, is the error rate for the target process decreasing? In some cases, it's difficult to identify outcome indicators and, if they can be identified, to attribute the results to one specific effort. When the problem being addressed is not entirely with the organization's control, you can develop proxies to measure uptake of the new process.
- Develop a strategy. It goes without saying that you need to identify actions to address the problem. What does bear noting is that, when communicating a new initiative, organizations sometimes focus more on the strategy (what change is sought and how it will be implemented) than on the problem (why the action is being undertaken). This can leave employees wondering why the change is being introduced, and can lessen the likelihood that they will buy into the change.
- Determine what's in it for employees and make sure you clearly communicate the benefits. If you're implementing, say, a new process, let employees know if they'll save time, if they'll be safer or if their participation will help them with career advancement. At a conference I attended years ago, the speaker talked about a system that was cumbersome and time-consuming to use, making employees reluctant to use it. The speaker pointed out that "no one had to convince people to use Google." In other words, if a new system works for users, they will adopt the technology. Be honest with employees if there will be an initial learning curve but an ultimate benefit to them down the road.
- Know who your target audience is. Is the initiative for all employees or for a subset of employees in certain occupations? If the change is voluntary, are there certain communities within your organization you want to focus on initially. I've always loved the expression "let's not try to boil the ocean." Is success getting 20% of employees on board in the first six months? Do you want to target early adopters and work out the kinks before launching the change for all employees, or before identifying success as 100% take-up? Do you have the resources to roll out the new program to every member of your team? Is the target audience homogeneous or is the new program suited to some employees but not others?
- Consider developing personas. Personas are descriptions of specific individuals who are representative of different populations in your organization. Maybe Sally is a tech-savvy administrative assistant who uses the failing system and can't wait to see it replaced. Maybe Jordan has taken all the required safety courses and has a perfect safety record and doesn't understand why he's being asked to repeat training he took in his last organization. The idea is to develop a clear picture of the people in your target audience so that you can create appropriate messages that will resonate with them.
- Communicate often, using multiple channels. Some people respond better to video than written communication. Others look to their immediate supervisor to understand the why, the what and the how of the change. Some welcome face-to-face communication, with an opportunity to ask questions. Others prefer to receive the details in an email.
- Give the initiative a name and look that people will remember. Organizations will sometimes spend months working on a new project before launching it to all employees; hence, the people involved in the change may forget what it's like to have no background. In a noisy environment, where many things are being communicated to employees every day, implementers of change have to come up with a program name or tag line or visual identifier (often all three) so that employees will be able to recognize the initiative whenever they see or hear about it.
I found many resources online to help with the implementation of change, but few resonated with me in a way that reflected my experience. So, I summarized some of the thoughts I had shared today.
It is said that free advice is usually worth exactly what you paid for it. Perhaps my ideas are worth a tiny bit more than that.
