change: measuring outcomes
TRANSCRIPT
Change: Measuring Outcomes
Contributed by Ron Leeman on December 10, 2015 in Organization, Change, & HR
My article called 70% of Change Management Initiatives Fail–REALLY? has now hit over
5950 views along with 66 Likes and 21 Comments on LinkedIn.
In the main, this failure rate stems from none other than McKinsey and Company who since
2006 have surveyed some 6,800 “CEO’s and senior executives” who had experienced a
significant performance transformation in the last 5 years.
Many have used this headline in a plethora of blogs, articles, and adverts, which have been
used as a way for individuals and companies to generate business/sell their wares, be it
consultancy services, seminars, workshops, etc.
In the article, I talk about how we measure success/failure in the context of change initiatives
e.g.:
The traditional way … measure success/failure against your original Business Plan in
which there should be clear and detailed Business Benefits.
Other ways…
1. Measuring the relative contribution that change management provides to a
project’s overall ROI, conducting an in-depth retrospective analysis of similar
cases with like objectives to identify common investment criteria and
parameters, measuring organizational readiness or agility for change.
2. On time, on budget, all technical objectives met, all business objectives met,
all human objectives met.
This has been the subject of many a previous debate here on LinkedIn, but, more importantly,
I believe this should be an area of great interest to us “change practitioners,” because, in the
face of the “70%” headline, we need to show how we add value and demonstrate we are
actually good at what we do.
Interestingly, I recently found a blog from Prosci called Measurement to Determine the
Return on Change Management, which kind of aligns to what I want to do. In it, their Chief
Development Officer Tim Creasey and Master Instructor Scott Rossis discuss Prosci’s
“Change Scorecard:”
So, what is it I want to do?
I want to see if there is enough interest in developing/participating in a survey to try and
understand how “outcomes” (I call them that rather than focus on “success” or “failure”) are
measured in the context of change initiatives.
Definition of an outcome:
Merriam Webster: something that happens as a result of an activity or process.
The Free Dictionary: something that follows from an action, dispute, situation, result,
consequence.
Business Dictionary: determination and evaluation of the results of an activity, plan,
process, or program and their comparison with the intended or projected results. THIS
ONE DOES IT FOR ME! Oxford Dictionaries: the way a thing turns out; a consequence.
The “doodle graphic” I have used at the top of this article is my initial attempt at some of the
areas/questions that I think could be used as the basis of the survey, e.g.:
The left-hand side (1) being measurement related activity
Project Plan.
Measures Used.
Implementation Outcomes.
The right-hand side (2) being supporting activity:
Team Structure.
Governance Structure.
Type of Project.
Undoubtedly, there will be many others that I haven’t thought of.
The IBM Making Change Work Study actually do something similar every 3-years with input
from some 1,500, what they call, “real life practitioners” such as:
Subject Matter Expert/Reviewer.
Project Team Member.
Change Manager.
Project Manager.
Initiator/Project Sponsor.
But, hey!, I am no McKinsey or IBM or Prosci and I would never ever deign to try and
compete with those venerable institutions. I am a mere mortal that thinks a survey of this kind
developed by practitioners with input from practitioners would be kind of cool to do. And, I
do like to do something that is maybe just a little bit different!
So, what exactly is it I am after?
In the first instance, I would like some “virtual” volunteers to help me to determine the focus
of the survey and its structure & content… between 5 and 10 should do it (I already have
two). I did something like this a couple of years ago with another survey and it worked well;
e.g., we exchanged information and ideas via e-mail and Skype and eventually reached a
consensus on the final survey. There are some caveats to this:
The survey should be at a relatively simple level and not be overcomplicated.
Volunteers should come from the “change practitioner” community and be actively
involved in delivering change on a day-to-day basis.
Anyone who volunteers should also take part in the survey.
My initial thoughts regarding the survey are:
How do we select survey participants e.g.:
o There will already be those that respond to this article so “a bird in the hand is
better than two in the bush” but potentially that will not attract enough people
to make the survey sample representative? So do we …
2. Put out a generic “do you want to participate” request in LinkedIn “change”
related Groups? And/or …
3. Message LinkedIn 1st “change” connections asking them if they would like to
participate?
How do we select on what basis we conduct the survey e.g.:
o Do we ask participants to select a specific Programme/Project?
o Do we ask people to suggest a number of Programmes/Projects in which they
have been involved without letting us know the outcomes and then select one,
some or all of them?
How do we survey?
o Survey Monkey (I only have a basic account which limits me to 10
questions)?
o Word?
o Excel?
o Other?
Length of survey e.g.:
o Should it be ongoing?
o Should there be a “please input before” date?
No doubt there will be many other considerations, but we can deal with these when the time
is right.
I am not sure whether I am “biting off more than I can chew” but hey you never know until
you try.
To volunteer, either contact me via LinkedIn (if you are a 1st connection), register your
interest by leaving an appropriate comment or directly email
to [email protected] and I will follow-up with you.
So over to you… either volunteer or make suggestions/comment, even if it is only to call me
plain crazy for attempting such an undertaking!
About Ron Leeman
Ron Leeman has been involved in “change and process” work for more years than he
cares to remember. He has worked extensively across the UK, Europe, and globally--
and has an enviable track-record of delivering organisational change and process
initiatives across a wide cross section of industry sectors. In 2012, Ron was bestowed
with a “Change Leader of Tomorrow” award by the World HRD Congress “in recognition of my
remarkable progress in initiating changes enough for others in the same industry to follow my
example”. Ron is firm believer in knowledge transfer and now wants to share his vast knowledge with
those who are considering getting into or at various stages of “change” and/or “process” work or those
working on specific Projects wanting to gain practical insights into “how to” type situations. You can
connect with Ron Leeman on LinkedIn here, where you can view his 85+ Recommendations and in
excess of 800 Endorsements from clients and co-workers alike to give you an indication of the quality
of service that he has provided and can offer. Ron is also a document author on Flevy. Browse his
frameworks on Change Management, Process Analysis, and Program Management here:
http://flevy.com/seller/highwayofchange.
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