Organizational Change Management

Manage Resistance and Realize Project Goals

Have you ever had a project that took longer, cost more, or didn't deliver on its goals? Has an angry mob of stakeholders descended upon you at launch?  An agile, authentic organizational change management program combined with upfront project analysis and planning ensures that you have the right sponsorship and engagement to realize success.

Let's say you're a finance director at a higher ed institution with a board of directors looking for an all-funds Statement of Changes in Net Assets budget and quarterly forecasts, but your budget office and divisional finance leads are overwhelmed with managing the current incremental operating budget. 

Yes, you will need a budget tool to help, but will the implementation be the catalyst that engages the entire university in strategic financial planning with accountability for the shifts and trade-offs needed for long-term sustainability?  If so, you're looking at a huge culture change and significant stakeholder resistance.

I led a project just like this at UC Berkeley, and have built numerous plans for my clients at Huron and TruEd.  I can tell you from experience that a tool implementation in that context without culture change through strong executive sponsorship, deep stakeholder engagement, financial literacy training, and common expectations for divisional finance roles will take longer, cost more, and generate more disruption than you may imagine.

How I can help:

I use the following org change READY framework and deliverables to guide my work:
Relevant and Relatable Story of the Change, including:
- Future State Vision and Project Branding High-Level As-is” and “to be” Process Maps,
- Stakeholder and Change Impact Assessment
- High-Level Training and Communication Needs
- Relevant Items for Risk Register

Engage Leaders to Actively Promote the Change
- Change Management Strategy

Advance Communication and Advocating for Stakeholders and End-Users
Project Plan for Change Management tasks integrated into the master project plan. Incorporate change plan performance monitoring into project metrics.

Develop and Support (Execute the Change Management Plan)
Coaching and support during the execution phase of the project. Assessing and monitoring org change metrics.

The WHY of the Change
- Post-Go-Live Process Assessment
- After-Action Review
- Assess Adoption and Satisfaction Metrics