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I n a previous article published in Training
Journal last year 1 , we looked at the competencies and attributes needed to lead change.
In this article we alert line managers and training professionals to the type of problems they might encounter during implementation and outline the steps they need to take to ensure the success of their change programme. We will concentrate on operational and human aspects of managing change, although it is imperative that there is clear strategy in any change initiative.
How many companies announce a bold new strategy, but with no follow-through to ensure that it is properly executed?
For example, a company might pay close attention to the initial targets of a new programme, and then fail to apply the same rigour in the periods that follow, when problems may arise and corrections are required. Ignoring the whole performance picture makes it much harder to recognise and correct the fundamental problems that inhibit delivery.
There is certainly plenty of need to respond successfully to change. At the IoD conference in May this year, Arun Sarin, chief executive of Vodafone, identified the following factors that drive change:
• Increasingly fierce competition
• Technology advancing, requiring high investment
• Growing customer demands
• Shifting market dynamics
• Tough operating conditions that mean it is harder to make money.
This climate gives little room for mistakes.
Strong performance in the past may make it even harder to apply new methods of execution, as managers believe that the methods that have worked for them before will continue to work in future.
Sarin sees three ‘must-have’ aspects of making change happen:
• strategic leadership – thinking ahead and creating competitive advantage
• operational leadership – executing intentions to plan and the implementation process
• human leadership – the skills and qualities that leaders bring to influence others to turn ideas and plans into realities.
We will focus on the operational and human aspects of managing change in this article (although it goes without saying that a clear and well thought-out strategy is a must).
The key to successful change is to translate a chosen strategy into decision-making on priorities facing the business, and on
In today’s environment, it is necessary to equip managers to be able to execute change successfully and to take the initiative in making change stick.
In particular, there needs to be emphasis on enabling managers to develop implementation approaches tailored uniquely to their organisation, rather than to a standardised recipe. Change managers must understand:
• The difficulties and pitfalls of implementation
• Strategies to manage implementation within their organisation
• The importance of focused measurement, coupled with regular and open communication, feedback and involvement.
Managers need to keep asking probing questions, be receptive to input and take action on the results. Targeted performance measures and controls are vital to provide the necessary monitoring and information.

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This clarity means change can be executed with a firm template in mind.
What is the common thread in companies that execute change well? Most are faced with tough, competitive environments that keep them on their toes. Importantly, execution and improvement are ingrained into their company cultures, with communication and involvement high. This shows in welldesigned and well-maintained procedures that are capable of pinpointing problem areas and sorting them out quickly. They are also highly tuned to adapting to changing customer needs.
Toyota has adapted well to changes facing the automotive industry by establishing sound processes and procedures. It has made continuous change and improvement the essence of its business philosophy: each year thousands of improvements are suggested by employees and many are implemented. From humble beginnings, it is now one of the world’s best-known car companies, achieving prominence even in America, the home of the motorcar.
It has built its success with products that are made according to the all-embracing
‘Toyota Way’. In fact, so confident is Toyota of its quality and reliability record, that it allows rival companies to visit its factories all over the world.
Another example of a business that has adapted well to fast-paced change is computer giant, Dell. Dell outperforms its rivals by making low-cost delivery to the customer its top priority. It seeks high involvement from everyone in the organisation, and Michael Dell, its founder, is renowned for imbuing attention to detail.
This focus on implementation has allowed
Dell to sustain its competitive advantage in an increasingly turbulent marketplace.
Another notable example of a company that adapts well to change is Tesco, which continues to grow in the UK and globally by delivering what customers want, regularly and consistently. In particular, what distinguishes it is that it manages change through a clear focus on what is important, measures this throughout the organisation and involves and motivates its employees to deliver against clear-cut local targets that everyone understands and is committed to achieving.
Our experience of poor implementation of change suggests these frequent warning signals:
• Failure to see knock-on effects.
Many managers put the immediate changes to the forefront of their minds, thereby failing to assess all the implications of change. A recent high profile example was an industrial relations problem in an outsourced catering company, GateGourmet, which had devastating repercussions for British Airways and thousands of its passengers this summer. Managers must think ahead to predict what is likely to cause resistance to change and create barriers, and also what form that resistance may take.
• Not being alert to key warning signs.
Change can be so confusing that it becomes difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff and to spot which indicators are the important ones to watch.
• Under-investment in people.
Many organisations underestimate the extent of time and money required to equip their people for the challenge of change. Change often requires substantial investment, not just in technology or IT but in fully equipping employees with new skills to make the change sustainable.
• Failure to look under stones.
Small wonder that many change managers choose not to lift up the stone and reveal what is underneath.
Addressing change management execution will almost certainly lead to facing up to deeper, and perhaps darker, management and organisational issues.
• Insufficient clarity and challenge.
Many of these pointers indicate how much successful change relies on clarity of direction and willingness to challenge orthodoxy. Management discipline involves the continuous asking of three important questions and, vitally, the ability to be open to take action on the results: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? How do we close the gap?
See Figure 1 below.
A lack of regular, forthright and open communication and failure to take action on feedback stifles effective implementation.
Figure 1
An example of good practice is what took place at GE, where Jack Welch encouraged a change process through targeted problemsolving. These involved a cross-section of employees bringing concerns to the table with senior managers, to debate and resolve live issues.
It involved frank exchanges called workouts, which put any doubts and issues firmly on the table; speedy resolution and management accountability for results were paramount. No manager was allowed to get away with diverting objections or not taking responsibility for actions.
Implementation needs careful thought and reflection, even when – inevitably
– the pressure is on to speed things up. For example, in the 1990s, Hoover put together an overly hasty marketing plan to increase sales through a promotion offering a flight ticket with every purchase.
Unfortunately, in its haste, Hoover had not realised that the cost of the promotion would far outweigh any potential benefit .
Early sales rises were deceptive and then the true, vast cost became apparent. The result was that the whole company nearly collapsed in a wave of bad publicity.
The change process puts the onus firmly on the manager to drive the operational aspects and skillfully manage the people component; for example, confronting and resolving issues and leading and managing effectively by continually testing the temperature and applying high-level influencing and negotiation skills. The task demands a disciplined all-rounder who:
• Establishes robust processes to manage schedules, budgets and resources
• Communicates direction and listens well
• Structures the team, establishing roles and responsibilities
• Reviews individual and team performance
• Recognises and rewards effective contribution.
Sound implementation requires thorough scoping of the required change, and later checking that the decisions still hold good. This requires answers to these questions:
• Who are the customers/stakeholders?
• Which key issues will the initiative address/resolve?
• What are the boundaries/parameters?
• What assumptions are we making about this change?
• What will stop us or hold us back?
• What are the deliverables/outputs?
• Who are the key people responsible for driving implementation?

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Figure 2
Change implementation plans can be described as passing through four phases:
1. Set up
2. Kick off
3. Delivery
4. Review
See Figure 2 above.
Many organisations are using programme and project management techniques to implement change, particularly those that are complex and cross organisational boundaries. In the mid-1990s, British Airways Engineering was radically reorganised to create more customer responsiveness through Business Process
Re-engineering. A carefully structured programme approach was adopted, involving key managers and specialists. Unusually for that time, the same approach was applied to the critical ‘soft’ aspects with the introduction of HR and cultural change.
We have particularly highlighted the important role of development throughout the implementation process.
Time spent in initial preparation pays off, and development is a critical element of this. Communicate in advance the nature of the change and involve those affected in planning for the change. Assess the organisation’s readiness and draw up a development plan. Build contingency plans, as change will rarely go exactly to plan.
A well-prepared launch will set things off with confidence. Developers can help ensure the message is well devised and executed by creating a management group to oversee the change and initiate team development for rapid effectiveness.
Further development needs will arise; be alert to the need to coach key people, particularly to resolve people issues. You will need to remind people why the change makes sense, help people let go of the ‘old’, hold people accountable for distinct areas of responsibility and set short-term targets and monitor progress at regular intervals.
Development and HR professionals should prompt and perhaps facilitate a thorough
(though not ponderous) evaluation of what can be learnt for next time. Review learning points for the future, not just in one big review but as part of a continuous process.
The process and disciplines of monitoring, measuring and control are often where change goes wrong. Good, relevant measures and controls help to keep a handle on what is happening and where, so that critical problems are nipped in the bud and corrective action taken. Cranfield School of Management’s
Centre for Business Performance suggests the sort of criteria to judge the usefulness of measures:
• Provides timely and accurate feedback
• Reflects the business process
• Part of a closed management loop
• Clearly defined
• Has visual impact
• Focuses on improvement.
An important component of delivering must be identifying and monitoring risk.
Risk management focuses attention on the chance of an event occurring that could threaten successful delivery and to identify actions (risk response) that could be taken to reduce the threat and impact of the risk.
To assess risks in a structured way, for each risk the potential impact and likelihood is evaluated and plotted on a risk map.
Prioritising risks means you can allocate time and money toward the most important risks. Risks should be periodically monitored to head off trouble. This could lead, for example, to setting aside money to alleviate cash flow problems or ensuring effective IT support to avoid significant systems down time at key periods.
A common and potentially serious issue in execution is the problem of responsibility falling between two stools. This can lead to unforeseen and unwelcome issues causing damage. Using a template, such as an RACI chart, is helpful in establishing for each activity who is:
Individuals who perform an activity – responsible for action/implementation. The accountable person defines the degree of responsibility. Rs can be shared.
The individual who is ultimately accountable
– includes yes/no and power of veto. Only one
A can be assigned to an activity/decision.
The individuals who need to be consulted before a decision or action can be taken.
Two-way communication is vital in all forms of consultation.
Individuals who need to be informed after a decision or action are taken. One-way communication is sufficient for this.
Another useful visual planning and monitoring tool is the Gantt chart. For a project task, it enables everyone to assess visually what needs to be done, the sequence of those tasks and progress to date. During the delivery phase of a change the steering team needs to meet regularly to control risks and issues, making any changes to the plan that occur as well as monitoring delivery against that plan.
One of the key factors in effecting change is to work assiduously to bring others along with you. Even large and successful businesses and prominent businessmen do not always get this right; for example, when Sir Ken Morrison’s eponymous supermarket recently took over rival chain
Safeway, he was accused of alienating many staff whose support he later needed.

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Table 1
Tick the appropriate column: Excellent
• Delivery of regular improvements, my own and my team’s, at the forefront of my mind
• I clearly communicate my expectations and priorities
• Development plans are in place and are active to enhance my, and my team’s, delivery
• I have measures installed reflecting results needed and changes expected
• I regularly ask for feedback and act on the results
• Reward and recognition processes are in tune with the changes we need
• Follow-up plans, with milestones, are always agreed and carried through
• I regularly try to enhance my skills
• I’m up-to-date with business trends in order to be more effective in what I can deliver
Good
Need more work
Under each of the headings in Table 1 above, make an assessment of your capacity to execute change and deliver. Note actions to improve areas that should be strengthened.
It is important for managers to develop implementation skills and to know how to translate a company’s change aims into individual areas of responsibility and accountability. Disappointing results from change management initiatives can often be tracked back to poor execution.
To increase the chances of success, managers should approach implementation in a systematic and planned way. It is particularly important to carry people along with you and minimise resistance.
Putting together a comprehensive change implementation plan requires the manager to think ahead and take decisions about the nature of the implementation and the context in which they are making their decisions.
This planned approach to implementation is more than a set of techniques; it inevitably requires flexibility and attention to organisational culture, individual and group attitudes and the development of measures and processes to make change stick.
The authors can be contacted through Steve Macaulay on
+44 (0)1234 751122 or at s.macaulay@cranfield.ac.uk.
References
1. Steve Macaulay, Sarah Cook, and Hilary Coldicott,
‘Leading Change Intelligently: A Route-map for Success’,
Training Journal , December 2004, pages 30-33.
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