An organization wanting to implement change will have a vision of what they want their improved business to look like. The vision should be aligned with the strategic goals and business case, with all stakeholders on the same page.

Developing a strategy starts with defining where the business wants to be (the Target Operating Model), where it is today, and understanding how you can bridge the gap.

To understand the current state of your business, map out the people, processes and systems that support the delivery of your product or service to customers. Use this to help you identify your vision for the future.

Appointing leaders to provide oversight and support for the transformation program is key. 

A Program Director is appointed to take overall responsibility for ensuring the transformation is delivered smoothly, on-time, and within budget. The Program Director will need to have the right experience and capability to deliver a successful transformation.

It’s important to have buy-in from the senior leadership team, and the sponsor of the transformation should be the CEO, CFO, or another member of the board.

In fact, Brunello Guild research has revealed the CEO is the most likely program sponsor, taking the lead role in 41% of successful business transformations. The CFO is the next likely candidate, acting as the sponsor in 1 in 5 transformations (21%). This is not surprising given cost reduction is one of the key drivers of transformation. And it is the CFO, alongside the Transformation Director, who tends to be most involved when it comes to setting up the actual transformation program.

A clear strategy will inform the development of a detailed transformation roadmap to help you achieve your vision for the company.

The implementation plan determines the changes that need to be made and when and outlines all the sub-projects that make up the transformation program. Each sub-project should have clear objectives, milestones, scope, timeframes, and budget. It is also important to identify all the workstreams, functional areas, people, processes and systems that will be affected or involved in the transformation.

Managing and prioritizing the program scope of work to demonstrate early success will be important for generating change momentum. Planning appropriately for the ‘people side’ of the transformation is also key. Unless you’re an organization that undertakes a lot of change projects this can be really hard. People don’t change their attributes and their way of understanding the world just because you have a change project on the horizon.

Then there’s external communication to think about. How and when will you communicate changes to customers and suppliers? All this needs to be planned for carefully.

By setting up a Program Management Office (PMO), the Program Director can establish program governance, manage all parties involved in delivery, and adapt and flex the transformation roadmap where necessary to keep the program on track. The PMO monitors progress, providing regular updates to the transformation sponsor and the board.

Leaders should also be appointed in each individual workstream, for example in IT, HR, and Finance, to manage the transformation. It’s important that they are aligned with the transformation’s goals, and have the capacity, data, and the right skills to inspire teams and make change happen.

To achieve changes successfully, you need the appropriate executive capability at each stage of your business transformation project. It’s about having the right people, in the right roles, at the right time.

However, in a disruptive environment, expecting that these requirements will be met by your current executive team alone is generally unrealistic. Even the most accomplished business leaders do not necessarily have the experience and knowledge to handle every eventuality without some outside help. Only 42% of business leaders say they currently have the internal capability to deliver business transformation, according to Brunello Guild research.

As a result, business leaders often choose to look for outside help. Executives in demand have strong sector knowledge, enabling them to understand the market, accurately assess business performance, and build a high performing leadership team that will drive the transformation forward.

The best approach is to create blended teams of internal and external talent to manage each sub-project of the transformation, to get you to the end vision, or Target Operating Model.

Business transformation is a journey that can last months or even years – it’s only once you take the first step that the journey really begins. Staff engagement will be key, as will the ability to flex and adapt as you encounter new challenges along the journey.

The Program Management Office (PMO) will need to reassess and re-evaluate the implementation plan regularly to ensure it’s still appropriate and adapt it as necessary.

The business transformation program doesn’t end once the change has been implemented. Embedding and integrating new ways of working or new systems into the business takes time and can be complex. If you’ve moved to a new HR system, for example, it will need to be integrated with other systems in your business, such as payroll, data analysis and financial control systems. In this example, the new system affects everyone in the business too, so your workforce will need training on how to use it.

At Brunello we find it very important to celebrate success. Celebrating success gives tribute to all who worked hard to make the transformation happen, but even more important, it will motivate others to contribute to new transformations in the future. 

One thing is for sure, change is the one and only constant in a company, so better motivate all to make new transformations successful.