Change management and specifically large-scale organisational change or business transformation initiatives are dominating the activities of many organisations. In the most recent Trends in Business Transformation survey 84% of European managers viewed transformation as the norm and were involved in a new business transformation programme on average every 6 months.

1. HR Professionals
Guide to Business
Transformation
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2. Overview
Change management and specifically large-
scale organisational change or business
transformation initiatives are dominating
the activities of many organisations. In the
most recent Trends in Business Transformation1
survey 84% of European managers viewed
transformation as the norm and were involved
in a new business transformation programme
on average every 6 months.
Many of these changes are transformational
All UK Local authorities and NHS trusts have purely because of the inter-dependence of so
some form of transformation programme many of our business functions. For example,
underway, driven by budget cuts and the need to make changes in the finance
the need to maintain service levels in an function drives new processes and new
environment of smaller resources. In the private organisation structures in procurement, sales
sector, 25% of firms surveyed were re-organising and business development.
to reduce the pressure on resources and 25%
were improving the flow of information across It is this interconnectivity that has led to the
the organisation to move away from ‘silo’ popularity of the term business transformation
based thinking.2 as we can no longer implement change within
a single business unit or functional area. Each
A quick review of a single recruitment site change that is conceived must be reviewed
produced a list of over 500 transformational for its impact on part of the organisation,
change jobs in the private sector across all recognising that sometimes this impact is an
industry sectors. There is high demand for unintended consequence and may have
transformation consultants to lead outsourcing a negative effect in one area that must be
initiatives, the implementation of SAP and other balanced by the benefits gained in another.
ERP systems, redesigning marketing functions
to focus on digital media and the desire to re- The structure and skills needed for business
engineer processes in procurement, finance, transformation are derived from effective
logistics and order management. Organisational Development. OD builds the
strategic capability that generates sustainable
change.
This paper examines the context, skills and
challenges associated with building a capacity
for business transformation.
1. Cap Gemini Trends in Business Transformation 2009
2. Maven Training survey 2011
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3. Transformational change is driven by the The portfolio of initiatives that an organisation
strategic objectives of the organisation which is managing must be balanced between
are in turn impacted by developments in the the desire to change and the need to run
market place that the organisation serves and the existing business. It is the current business
its internal capabilities. structure that is often generating the revenue
that will be used to fund the changes. HR are
HR professionals have a great deal to naturally active in supporting the business as
contribute in explaining the current capabilities usual environment but demand for this support
and identifying what the organisation can will increase during transformation as we ask
realistically expect to develop in the short to staff to cope with their existing workload whilst
medium term. learning new ways of working relevant to the
transformation.
Market Forces Internal Capabilities
Strategic Objectives
Transformational Operational
Change Requirements
Portfolio
Change
Programme Programme Programme Project
Activities
Change Change Change
Project Project Project
Activities Activities Activities
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4. HR need to be involved in the very early stages
of transformational change, when options are
being explored and decisions are being taken
about the scope of the changes and the future
vision for the organisation. HR can represent
the culture and values of the organisation
which are easily overlooked when senior
executives are driving transformation from the
perspective of efficiency improvements and
cost savings.
However, too often HR are involved in a
transformation only at the point when the
scope, objectives and overall vision of
the transformed organisation have been
completed by the senior management
team. Effectively the change is passed to
the HR function for implementation through
the re-structuring of the roles, re-drafting of
responsibilities and communication of the
reasons for and impact of the change.
In a recent survey, Managing Change 2010:
the role of HR,3 64% of HR managers stated that
they wanted to become involved in change
earlier in the cycle so that they can shape
the transformation to include their knowledge
of the existing organisational capability for
change.
3. Author: CharlotteWoolff, XpertHR
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5. Skills and Challenges
The continuing increase in the number of This is supported by the results in the Cap
change initiatives being undertaken is mirrored Gemini survey which identifies three skills that
by the demand for change management skills. managers feel their organisations need to
The Interim Management Association report improve:
growth in the demand for these skills in their • Ability to ensure that staff understand and
latest survey: accept the transformation
• Change or transition management required • Communicating the objectives of the
in 18% of roles (in 2010 this was 14%) transformation
• Business improvement experience required • Avoiding slippage in the implementation of
in 21% of roles (in 2010 this was 17%) the transformation
Anecdotal evidence suggests that whilst These skills are in high demand because
organisations have the capacity to plan a achieving successful change is a significant
business transformation too few have the leadership challenge. Numerous surveys
ability to motivate and inspire their employees indicate that failure is as likely as success, with
to participate and turn the plans into reality. structural and people driven reasons for this
failure:
Business Transformation challenges


 We don’t have enough resources to
change our organisation whilst at the
We change our
minds about what
The new ways of
working have not
taken account of all
same time keeping the current business we want halfway of our exceptional
which funds the transformation) going through our change circumstance and so
  fail to be adopted
The planning of the The transformation is
transformation is being derailed by the complexity
undertaken at too low a level of all the moving pieces The programme absorbs
to get the necessary support - by making one change so much resource our
we had a series of business suffers and we then
unintended consequences abandon the transformation
which negatively to take remedial action in
There is insufficient cooperation our main business
and collaboration to implement impacted what we were
trying to achieve

the changes cross functionally -
our silo based mentality means
that each function alters the The team responsible for the transformation is so far
requirement to suit its own removed from those expected to change that they have
needs insufficient influence to make change happen


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6. Defining the skills for
business transformation
The contribution that HR professionals can In Organisational Development there are
make to successful business transformation further requirements:
is recognised by the Chartered Institute of • Know the critical role that managers have
Personnel and Development (www.cipd.co.uk) to play in the success of change initiatives
in their HR competency framework, called the and is able to engage managers in the
HR Profession Map. change plan
The map is divided into ten professions • Know the key stages in change
including Organisational Design and management
Organisational Development, both of • Know how to implement OD interventions
which explicitly state the need for change for complex organisation-wide
management skills. transformation programmes
For example, in Organisational Design there is Learning about the theory and practice
a requirement for HR professionals to: of change management and business
• know how to utilise champions, shift fence- transformation supports your career goals
sitters and remove blockers when designing by enabling you to develop the behaviours
and implementing structural change necessary for effective HR management.
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7. The CIPD HR Profession Map identifies eight
behaviours, four of which I think are particularly
relevant to change management:
Collaborative
Works effectively and inclusively with
Personally credible
colleagues, clients, stakeholders customers,
teams and individuals both within and Builds a track record of reliable and valued
outside the organisation. delivery using relevant technical expertise
and experience and does so with integrity
This behaviour makes explicit reference to and in an objective manner.
the need to work effectively with all those
whose active participation and support Successful change management and
is needed to implement and embed business transformation draw on a wide
organisational change. range of technical skills underpinned by the
need to really understand the organisational
context of the change. It is important
Skilled influencer to understand the theories and models
associated with change management in
Demonstrates the ability to influence order to make an informed choice about
across a complex environment, to gain the approach that the organisation needs
the necessary commitment, consensus and to be able to hold your own in the
and support from a wide range of diverse company of trained change professionals.
stakeholders in pursuit of organisation
benefit.
Courage to challenge
Our organisations are becomingly
increasingly complex. Formal understanding Shows courage and confidence to speak
of how to identify, analyse the needs and up, challenge others even when confronted
plan for the needs of a diverse range of with resistance or unfamiliar circumstances
stakeholders is a critical skill but one
that can be learnt. The confidence to challenge is derived from
the confidence you have in your skills and
knowledge. Ensuring that you are educated
in the theories and models of change
management is not a ‘nice to have’ but
a business essential for those who wish to
fully participate in the management and
direction-setting of their organisation.
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8. Qualifications
and
assessments
In addition to the contribution of the
CIPD in this area, there are two other
bodies who are positioning themselves
as the professional body for change
management practitioners:
Change Management Institute (CMI):
an independent not-for-profit organisation
set up to promote and develop the
practice of change management
internationally
Association of Change Management
Professionals (ACMP):
provides networking and collaboration for
change management professionals who
lead the people-side of change. ACMP is
focused on developing industry standards
and a professional certification program to
ensure a globally recognized standard for
the change management discipline.
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9. There is growing demand for qualifications
in change management, recognising the
business value that this skill set offers. The
APM Group, a UK based accreditation and
certification organisation offers the Change
Management Practitioner qualification
which is examined at Foundation and
Practitioner level and includes modules
covering:
• Definition of change and its impact on
individuals, teams and the organisation
as a whole
• Assessing the impact of change on
individual and team productivity
• Analysis of how organisations with
different cultures and values are
affected by change
• Consideration of different models
of organisational change and their
applicability to different organisational
structures and cultures
The Change Management Institute
offers an assessment against a change
management competency model,
successful completion of which results
in the award of Accredited Change
Manager (ACM) status.
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10. Developing your skills in
change management and
business transformation
Managing Business Transformation
Creating your Business Change Lifecycle
Change Leaders Change Managers Change Agents
Understanding Understanding
Defining the
and planning the and planning the
change
change transition
Sponsoring the Implementing and Moving from
implementation of embedding the transition to
change change business as usual
Making change Making change
Planning change happen - happen -
Managers Individuals
Change Management
Foundation and Practitioner
Introduction to Change Management
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11. HR professionals undertake a number of 2. Developing the business change lifecycle
roles in managing change. To support Many organisations struggle to implement
organisation wide change they facilitate change successfully because they do not
the communication and engagement with have a pre-agreed approach to managing
the change, and guide those operational change that is understood and can be
managers who are making changes to applied by all those involved in a consistent
processes, systems and organisation structures. way.
Where change is directly impacting the HR
function of an organisation HR managers will An organisation needs a business change
be expected to adopt the role of leader, lifecycle that sets out how a change is
manager or change agent. planned, implemented and embedded,
taking into account the culture of the
The knowledge and skills required to undertake organisation and scale of the changes
these roles include: being undertaken. It should explain in detail
each step of the change management
1. Understanding the approach to business process from initial idea to successful
transformation embedding of the change as the new
business as usual.
To effectively support change it is
imperative that those helping others to
engage are themselves very clear about
3. Building confidence to successfully
how the transformation will be delivered.
implement and embed change
Understanding the process of business
transformation enables you to remain Business transformation requires the
focused on the necessary steps and help participation of everyone in the
those involved to navigate their way organisation as it is only at this individual
through the uncertainty and chaos that level that specific changes to working
is often associated with transformational practices will take place. We need to build
change. an environment of trust where individuals
believe in the fairness of how changes that
• It breaks down the many moving parts of
affect them are reached and empower
the change into clearly defined pieces
individuals to make these changes.
of work, reducing the paralysis that arises
when staff and managers feel the work is This empowerment comes from
so complex that they don’t know where understanding the psychological impact of
to start change and how influencing, motivating
• It produces a roadmap of changes and and persuading are essential skills in making
new capabilities that are expected as a change happen. Identify activities that
result of all the different projects which celebrate completion of the change and
enables people to identify how they will reward new behaviours and attitudes that
be affected and how they can become align with the new business model.
involved
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12. Conclusion
Understanding what is involved in business
transformation and developing a detailed
knowledge of the theories and models of
change management and how to practically
apply them are an essential HR skill set. The
importance of this skill set is recognised
by the Chartered Institute of Personnel as
fundamental to your progression in your HR
career.
Development of these skills offers HR
professionals the chance to significantly
contribute to the strategic direction of the
organisation and the form that this journey will
take.
Position yourself as a strategic thinker who can
also contribute from the perspective of human
resources rather than an expert in human
resources who is only called upon when there is
a perceived HR impact to a strategic decision.
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13. Maven
Company Overview
Maven has a strong foundation in change, programme and project management expertise.
We have synthesised this wealth of skills and knowledge in these three areas to provide our clients
with a systematic approach to business transformation.
Effective business transformation
Change Management Capability
Change
Management
Project Programme
Management Management
We will work with you to:
• define what your organisation needs to achieve and the structures and roles required to do so
• ensure that the change leaders can provide inspiration, motivation and drive for the change
• enable managers to implement the change
• ensure that those impacted by the change to their working environment know why it is
happening and support it
Maven can provide you with the skills and techniques to avoid becoming yet another case of
business transformation gone wrong. We are not management consultants – we will not do it for
you – but we will enable you to do it.
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14. Biography:
Melanie Franklin
Melanie has an impressive track record in the successful realisation of business change
programmes across private and public sector organisations. She is the founder and Chief
Executive of Maven Training and is highly experienced in the delivery of board level guidance
and mentoring.
She takes a very practical approach to change, programme and project management with
priority on the realisation of planned benefits, working closely with her client base to ensure that
the desire to implement best practice does not result in bureaucracy for its own sake. Each
solution that Melanie proposes to clients is based on sound practical advice and experience with
guidance on how it is likely to be received by staff, how resistance to change can be overcome
and how stakeholders can be engaged from the outset.
Melanie is a talented communicator and has a reputation for delivering complex information with
humour and passion. She draws on her wealth of practical experience to illustrate concepts and
to engage her audience in lively debates on advantages and disadvantages of each approach
that she outlines.
Melanie is the author of a number of books and whitepapers about project and change
management including the recently launched Managing Business Transformation: A Practical
Guide.
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15. For further information about Maven Training
please contact:
Melanie Franklin
Telephone: 020 7403 7100
e-mail: melanie.franklin@maventraining.co.uk
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