Change Management FAQs

Q. What are the most important things to do to get my managers and supervisors supporting change management?

A. The first step is to realize that to be a good coach of their direct reports, managers and supervisors must first be on board with the change themselves. We need to first build support and buy-in for the change with managers and supervisor, and then ask them to fulfill their role in managing the change with their direct reports.

Best practice research shows several change management roles of managers and supervisors. First, they are preferred senders of communication messages, specifically on the personal impact of a change. Project teams and change management leaders need to provide managers and supervisors with the information they need to communicate effectively with employees. Managers and supervisors are key in the group coaching and individual coaching sessions that build support and buy-in throughout the organization. They fill an important role in identifying and managing resistance to change.

Q. What is the ROI of change management?

A. ROI of change management is an interesting question, because there is no 'control group' to compare what happened with or without change management. When we apply change management, we alter the path the organization takes for any given change or project, so we do not have a "what if we didn't use change management" scenario to compare against. A similar problem arises with project management - what is the ROI of using project management? We cannot be sure because on a particular project, we either use project management or we don't. Below are some different approaches used to build a compelling case for the return created by applying change management.

Show a correlation - while it is very difficult to make a definitive statement about the dollars and cents related to change management, analysis can be done on the correlation of effective change management with the ability to meet project objectives. McKinsey has a study that shows a very strong correlation.  So, the statement shifts from "change management returns X dollars" to "change management increases the probability of meeting objectives by Y percent".

Validate value with experience - there are many qualitative reasons for using change management, symptoms that we may not be able to quantify but can feel within the organization.  Another approach to validating value is to use anecdotes from people within the organization who have experience with projects that were both successful using change management and unsuccessful due to ignoring change management. These people can share their personal accounts and examples to bolster the value of change management.

ROI of change management model – One ROI of change management model describes the three human factors that contribute to or constrain a project's ability to meet its objectives. When a project changes how people do their jobs, the value the project delivers is tied to the: 1) speed of adoption (how quickly people adopt the change); 2) ultimate utilization (how many people make the change); and 3) proficiency (how much improvement is each person realizing).

Q. We have had limited success with written forms of communication for building awareness.  Why are these communication channels not working?

A. We believe that face-to-face discussions that are honest and straightforward, and that offer details of the change on a personal level, are the most effective form of communication. Face-to-face interactions are more effective than written communications for a number of reasons:

Not everyone reads every email or newsletter article.

What the author of an email or document meant as compared with what the reader understood are not always the same. One-way communications do not have the ability to correct these misunderstandings.

Often emails or articles are not authored by a “preferred sender” – the person that an employee would respect or trust to convey the awareness message.

The most effective communications include not only content, but also tone and body language. Written information cannot convey these other forms of communication. Often employees will respond based on the reactions of others around them. Getting those “nods of agreement” in face-to-face interactions can be half the battle.

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