Ideally we'd love to be in a position where we have change management metrics in place and we're managing proactively to a plan that makes perfect sense. But, often due to a restricted view of the change management contribution, we don't have the opportunity to have our ducks neatly lined up. For those times we rely on gut instinct coming in just ahead of the lag indicators.
When change projects are not going well, several observable signs and challenges may emerge. These indicators can vary depending on the nature and scope of the change initiative, and this post explores some common indications to look for when your gut is telling you that something isn't quite right.
1. Resistance and Opposition:
Stakeholders, including employees and leadership, may display resistance to the proposed changes. They may start discussing their views openly. Open opposition and more passive methods of resistance may not be intended to hinder the progress of the project, but they can certainly result in slowing things down depending on the level of influence of the stakeholders involved.
2. Communication Breakdown:
Ineffective communication can lead to misunderstandings, confusion, and misinformation. Lack of clear communication about the project's goals, benefits, and progress can contribute to skepticism and resistance. If there's a lot of "noise" around about the project - including gossip, rumour and misinformation, chances are the communications plan is struggling to hit the right notes or achieve alignment in the right places.
3. Unclear Objectives and Scope:
Ambiguity regarding the goals, scope, and expected outcomes of the change project has killed many a great initiative. Lack of clarity can create confusion and frustration among team members and stakeholders.
4. Budget Overruns and Resource Issues:
Exceeding the allocated budget and encountering resource shortages can be indicative of poor planning or difficulties in project management. Unforeseen costs may arise due to unexpected challenges or lack of attention to risks or lack of contingency planning.
5. Timeline Delays:
Projects may fall behind schedule, missing deadlines and milestones. This creates problems because delays are usually unpopular in governance forums, and without a proactive plan to address the delays, much rework is embarked upon, often exacerbating some of the original strain that caused the delays. Drawing out the timeline can then increase costs, erode morale, and diminish the perceived value of the project.
6. Inadequate Leadership and Sponsorship:
Changes in the management tier, governance layer or organisational structure can result in uncertain sponsorship. Lack of visible and committed leadership support can be felt in low direction and motivation for the team. Absence of a strong project sponsor may contribute to the inability to attract sufficient resources and a diminished sense of urgency in the project's purpose.
7. Employee Morale and Productivity Decline:
If employees feel disengaged or uncertain about their roles during the change, it can lead to decreased morale and productivity. A negative impact on the work culture may manifest as increased absenteeism and turnover.
8. Insufficient Training and Support:
In order to work to new processes, employees need to be told what they are. Yet so often investment in training is made reluctantly. There's no easy way to put it: inadequate training and support for employees adapting to new processes or technologies can hinder successful implementation. Employees may struggle to cope with the changes, leading to operational and performance issues. In order for your change to be a success, you may need to consider exactly how each employee will have the right knowledge to stop doing the old and start doing the new.
9. Lack of Measurable Progress:
This may be how we arrived at reliance on lag metrics in the first place. There may just simply be an absence of key performance indicators being tracked in the change program. If there are lead metrics available, a failure to effectively monitor them and fully communicate measurable progress may be contributing to a perception of stagnation. Consider starting with a metric that allows you to see the reach of your communications and other change activities. If available, you can also look at saturation by stakeholder group to see how well you're covering the impacted parties.
10. Inability to Adapt:
Successful projects both encourage and manage the amount of feedback coming in. Feedback may provide insight as to how best to adapt to challenges by reducing the surprise factor of unforeseen circumstances. Teams may need to adjust the project plan in response to achieve success. However, rigidity in the face of changing circumstances may result in a failure to address evolving stakeholder needs. Where teams are becoming unresponsive to direct calls for flexibility, this may be an indication of problems ahead.
Something doesn't feel right: the "gut indicator" is telling me the change program is just not going well.
You may no longer enjoy going to work in the morning, or you may have become used to that sinking feeling. When change professionals and business leaders just know that the people side of change isn't going well, they need to take early action.
Taking early action can be the difference between a change project steering towards recovery and one steering towards toxicity. Ask for some outside perspective on the observable signals and start to diagnose. Work with people you trust to review the indicators, or initiate new ones if necessary, and help make the problems visible, understand them better and plan remediation.
Recognising the signals early on allows organisations to take corrective action, reassess the change strategy, and implement measures to improve its chances of success. Regularly monitoring indicators and feedback mechanisms, and a proactive approach to addressing challenges are crucial for steering change projects away from not 'going well' and back to the right direction.
Agencia Change is here to help. We can help you recover your change program in one to one confidential coaching sessions where we provide an independent sounding board and expert advice so you have confidence you'll meet your goals.
Alternatively, we can provide hands-on help, working with the project team to assess a recovery effort and plan a change program designed to meet the challenges ahead.
For a more general discussion on how Agencia Change can help, book a free 15 minute introduction. We look forward to meeting you.