Change management: How you can make it your strength

Businesses undergo regular changes. Shifts in economic conditions, customers, regulations, competition, and technology force shifts in business strategy, processes, talent, and infrastructure. Every change or transition must be managed carefully, as failing to do so can cause business, budgets, and user expectations to go awry.

Generally, change management can be defined as “principles and practices that enable stakeholders to adopt the mindsets, behaviors, and capabilities required for that change to deliver full business value.” As technology providers to the public infrastructure industry, change management comes into play regularly when customers choose a solution from our cloud suite to replace an existing system. In several instances, the initial switch is only the start. However, in today’s business environment, change has become a continuous process that could last anywhere between 10 to 20 years over the usage of a software product. Good change management practices let organizations manage each transition painlessly. Research shows that it could likely be six times more effective in meeting project goals than poor change management, making it a superpower for the public infrastructure industry.

At Aurigo, our experience with various public projects shows that low transformation processes increase costs and project timelines by 20% to 60%. Studies show that 71% of organizations implementing change management techniques completed their projects on schedule, and 81% of the projects were covered on or under budget.

But this feat is challenging to achieve. 

Humans often resist change, and public agency staff are no exception. Some believe that technology will lower their value to the organization as it could make them redundant. It is not uncommon to see this fear manifest with both end users and power users during implementation. At Aurigo, we make it our business to go the extra mile in handholding and managing emotions to address such fears. What the employees do need to understand is that the software is only going to make their lives easier and not replace them. 

The challenge for us is dealing with the construction industry’s complexity. There are many stakeholders, from capital planning to right of way, construction management, finance, and procurement, each with rigid organizational structures, processes, and expectations. In addition, IT projects cut across all the divisions. As a result, we cannot afford to take a siloed approach to configure a solution. 

Change management must be a part of projects from the beginning. 

It should include everyone. Planning for change, coordination, and implementation should span internal organizations, external partners, and vendors affected by the transformation. Our job is to think this through, analyze the business problem we are solving, and understand the people we work with and the workflows that the organization is accustomed to, all in terms of the software and systems we are implementing. 

In my career, I recall an incident when a long-term engagement with a public agency for a construction management software solution found no takers once implemented. The users of the agency found the product to be catered to the needs of only one function. The loss in terms of cost, time, and effort was immense. And the reason for the disaster? Change management was not part of the project. 

The underlying problem is that of mistaken perception. Everyone thinks that software implementation is the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) of the IT team and believes that they should drive the project, even if the software impacts everyone. In most other industries, from retail to manufacturing, executives drive change within their teams. The public infrastructure industry must adopt the same practice. 

In one instance, a public agency overcame this challenge by hiring an external consultant to act as a change manager for the project’s duration, as everyone on the team was either not qualified, lacked essential skills, or had day jobs that required attention. Though the decision to outsource the change management led to increased project costs, the subsequent return on investment more than justified it.

For organizations keen on reaping the benefits of change management, a few best practices should be noted:

• Plan for change from the start of a project right to its end.
• Make sure stakeholder analysis determines the change. This requires focused stakeholder meetings.
• Give stakeholders time to understand change management. 
• Set goals for change in a transparent manner. 
• Get tools to manage the change control process. 
• Communicate the plan across the organization. 

During an implementation for one of Aurigo’s customers, we were told that the agency had its own change management processes and templates and wanted us to use those. We used 80% of their templates. In addition, they used a quarterly program newsletter that communicated program schedules and updates and highlighted team members and their achievements. When they began sharing how employees had contributed to the project’s success, the newsletter received many positive responses. So, we would add to the list of best practices: Tell human stories that motivate others.

Leaders in public agencies should understand that it is normal to feel afraid or uncertain when faced with change. By acknowledging the fear and embracing change as an opportunity rather than a challenge, they can position themselves for long-term success.