MAKING THE BUSINESS CASE FOR CHANGE

MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

SPEAKER:

Beth Banks Cohn• Founder and President of ADRA Change Architects• 20+ years of change management and coaching experience• MA in Human Resources Education, MA in Organization

Development, PhD in Human and Organizational Systems• Clients include Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk, Shire,

Fougera• @bethbankscohn

MODERATOR:

Sarah Welstead• Communications strategist• @sarahwelstead

OVERVIEW

The problem

The reality

The big question

How do you get to the ROI of Change?

5 tactics to get buy-in from almost everyone

THE PROBLEM:No one wants to pay for change management

• “A project manager and some software will do it all, right?”

• ‘Change goals’ are often confused with ‘change strategy’

• Change has become just another workstream

• Leaders don’t always equate successful change with a better bottom line

THE REALITY:

‘Change’ without ‘change management’ means less money on the bottom line

• Unmanaged change means• Lost productivity• Lost top talent• Lost clients• Lost revenue

• Companies who practice change management typically see 15-35% more revenue on the bottom line than those that don’t

THE BIG QUESTION:

Why doesn’t everyone know this?

• Change management is still seen as a touchy-feely HR function – and a cost centre

• “Business moves at the speed of change – employees are used to it by now.”

• When change fails, no one takes a holistic look at ‘why?’

• Start with a business case – don’t ‘build’ a business case

• Focus on the bottom line• Communicate in business

terms – and don’t be vague• Keep it simple

CHANGE AS A STRATEGIC BUSINESS FUNCTION:

How do you get to the ROI of Change?

But how do you convince the eye-rollers who think you’re just another cost centre?

Start talking in terms your audience will understand:Dollars and cents.

5 tactics to help you get buy-in from almost everyone

• Badly managed change can drive your ‘A’ players and critical employees out the door

• Using the Drake staffing calculator, losing 5 senior managers with an average salary of $110,000 each represents a cost of $5.7 million

TACTIC #1:

Quantify the cost of losing key employees

• This doesn’t have to be some vague, possible outcome

• You can quantify it - and the numbers start to add up:

• 2000 employees• Each spends 30 minutes a week for 3 months

overcoming change challenges (lost productivity, lack of engagement)

• That’s 12,000 hours of lost time• At a blended cost of $150/hour, that just cost the

company $1.8 million

TACTIC #2:

Quantify the loss of productivity

• “Company X seems to be in some sort of transition period and I’m not sure where they’re going. So instead I’ll…

• …take my business elsewhere.”• …take my A-list employability elsewhere.”• …take my investment dollars elsewhere.”

TACTIC #3:

Cost of the loss of market confidence

TACTIC #4:

Demonstrate how it will meet business goals- and what this means for revenue

• Look beyond the 3- or 6-month change timeline: • A successful change will lead to $X million

increased sales in Year 1• …which will lead to $X million increased sales in

Year 2• Today’s change investment will deliver ROI for

several years to come• Focusing on change management makes your project:

• More efficient• Run smoother, faster• Able to hit milestones effectively

• When communication around change isn’t handled skillfully, negative leaks can cost money, reputation and PR fees

• Change communication can’t be managed with an Excel spreadsheet or MSProject Plan from the PMO

• Change communication is also not typical PR. It is a specialized type of communication.

TACTIC #5:

Cost of potential PR disasters

• “What’s in it for me?”• Spend less time talking about concepts like ‘the

employees’ or ‘the shareholders’ and more time demonstrating how the people in the room will personally benefit from well-managed change

BONUS TACTIC:

The WIIFM approach

THE BOTTOM LINE

• Effective change management directly affects success and the bottom line. The ‘bottom line’ never goes out of style.

• It’s easier than you think to quantify the ROI of good change management

• Change handled badly is never over – and never stops costing money. Change handled well delivers an immediate, measurable and sustained ROI

DON’T LOSE HOPE

• Good change management is about increasing a company’s bottom line. Period.

• Change management isn’t dying – it’s changing

• It’s easier to get what you need when you make the business case – not the emotional one

DISCUSSION

END

Want to talk more? Email Beth at

beth@adrachangearchitects.com to set up an appointment.