ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
I Am Not A Number - Why Too Many Change Projects Fail
Many of you will recognise this quote from the 1960s TV show, "The Prisoner". Patrick McGoohan used the phrase to describe his frustration at not being treated as an individual, and being kept in the dark about what his superiors were up to in a very confusing environment. This experience is not dissimilar to what employees face in most change projects. A cog in the machine Traditional approaches to business change and process improvement have at their heart, the idea that a business is, essentially, a machine that can be engineered to be efficient. In fact the term "Business Process Re-engineering" (BPR) makes this assumption quite explicit. This "mechanical" approach to change can leave employees feeling alienated and devalued (much like Patrick McGoohan). As these traditional approaches have developed, more emphasis has been placed on the "human" aspects. It is acknowledged that a change programme cannot work without "employee buy-in". The issue is usually tackled by running numerous workshops where consultants try to make the employees feel part of the exercise, while continuing to apply the same old techniques to the business processes themselves. From the employee's point of view, an external consultant has interviewed him for thirty minutes to understand the job that he has been doing for thirty years, gone away and come back with a new way of doing it. This comes across as patronising at best. The consultant then rubs salt into the wounds by running workshops to try to win the employee over so that he does not obstruct the changes! In this environment, addressing the "people issues" is all about ensuring that the level of disillusionment is not so great that the change project fails. Processes vs People These problems are created because the underlying approach to the business processes is still to treat the organisation as a machine that needs to be "re-engineered". The problems created by this approach are then treated as "people issues". Processes and people cannot be separated like this. Even in this age of technology, the vast majority of business processes are carried out by people - usually informally. It is what employees do on a day-to-day basis that makes a business work. A large percentage of the processes are not documented and are so complex that it would be almost impossible to do so. Procedures manuals are a very conceptualised view of business processes - if they could capture everything, no-one would pay for experience. Once you acknowledge this, it becomes quite clear why most change projects are unsuccessful. A business process is not an inanimate object that can be "re-engineered" but a collection of human behaviours. The only people capable of changing the business processes are those carrying them out. Process Improvement for Strategic Objectives (PISO®) PISO®, developed at the University of Sunderland, is a unique approach to business process improvement that provides a structured step-by-step approach for the employees themselves to re-design their own processes. At Feechan Consulting Ltd, we work with organisations large and small throughout the UK, from public sector bodies such as the BBC and North Tyneside Council to private sector companies across all sectors. Many of our clients learn the technique on one of our training courses and then apply it themselves, whereas others require our facilitation. Either way, it is the employees that carry out the processes that redesign them, removing the separation of people and processes and significantly improving the success of any change. Glen Feechan is Chief Executive of Feechan Consulting Ltd (http://www.feechan.co.uk), a business consultancy specialising in business process improvement training and consultancy. Email Glen at glen@feechan.co.uk. Glen is also the editor (and regular contributor) of Changing Business ezine (sign up at http://www.feechan.co.uk).
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Overcoming the Document Tracking Challenge "Where did it go? It was here yesterday. Wait. Here it is. But it looks a lot like the draft I just sent my team members yesterday. I don't remember when this change was made. Who made this change? Why is document tracking so difficult?" Innovation Management: The Quality and Quantity of the Idea Pool Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. Hows Your Company RQ (Reputation Quotient)? In light of recent corporate scandals, from Enron and Global Crossing to those of once trustworthy mutual funds, is it any wonder that more people are asking, "Can I trust this company enough to do business with them?" But the trust issue isn't just relative to the buyers of your products and services, its vitally important to employees as well. Impacting their retention and performance in very real ways. Loyalty, Motivation And Work-Life Balance Managers who aren't loyal to their people can't expect loyalty in return. Companies that complain about employee loyalty have usually done nothing to earn loyalty, often routinely lying to employees, demanding sacrifices that are never rewarded, shunting them aside and casting them off in the name of good business. Action Learning: Its More Than OJT For centuries companies have used on-the-job training (OJT). OJT works because it follows much of what we know about adult learning theory. For example, we know: A Tricky Supervision Challenge Many managers believe that treating their team members as responsible adults will assure excellent results. The truth is that while this usually is effective, some people need much firmer limits than others to perform their jobs. 10 Critical Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Consultant Talk to as many consultants as you can before hiring one. Even if you have one person or firm in mind, interview at least a few others as a sort of due diligence. You'll probably find that each interview helps you focus on the issues you're hiring a consult to help resolve. How Can A Communications Audit Help You? Organizations communicate in two directions: internally to staff and externally to clients, customers, shareholders, stakeholders, the media. Faulty internal communications can lead to mistakes, discouraged and unhappy staff, employees leaving the company. Poor external communications can jeopardize image and sales. It really is that simple. Any overall management strategy needs a communications plan or the whole operation might fail. Strategic Outsourcing: Testing the Outsourcing Waters and Staying Afloat Before Gertrude Ederle began her historic swim off of Cape Griz-Nez, France, she underwent extensive training for endurance and technique-even though she was already an accomplished record-breaking swimmer with Olympic medals to her name. Outsourcing IT may not garner the same attention as being the first woman to swim the English Channel, but it is no less important to gather as much experience and knowledge as possible on a small scale before diving in for the big swim. Business & Family Safety and Health Rating For good reason, practically every endeavor in life is rated. I've seen ratings on who or what's #1 in business, industry, NFL, NBA, MLB, person of the century, athlete of the century, technology, restaurants, university, neighborhoods, travel destination, best looking, best movie, best book, etc. It doesn't stop. In fact, there are multiple ratings for the same #1 spot because of varying value systems. Of course, each of us has our independent rating to see if it's in agreement with the masses, the experts, or promotional efforts. Innovation Management ? Producing Great Products, Motivation Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. More Problem-Solving Success Tips The ability to solve complicated problems quickly is more important than ever in today's tough economy. What to Ask When You?re Invited to a Meeting 1) Where is the agenda? A meeting without an agenda is like a journey without a map; it will always waste your time. Once you have the agenda, make sure that it consists of more than a list of words because this is almost useless. The agenda for an effective meeting will provide a complete description of how the meeting will proceed. Juggling Demands in an Organization JUGGLING DEMANDS: All leaders constantly juggle a multifarious array of demands from those of their organization, employees, and themselves. Good leaders, never drop one demand at the expense of another equally important requirement. They give each demand its fair share, while balancing the organizational goals with their employees' needs, while still fulfilling their own personal/professional purposes. Successful leaders meet both these business and personal needs through their staff. They learn about their staff's aspirations, their strengths and potential contributions to the organization. From this knowledge, they mesh together a successful working team. Sounds easy, doesn't it? For starters, it becomes much easier if you know your organization. Creativity and Innovation Directors, Consultants and Managers Creativity and Innovation is essential for competitive advantage, yet the role of Creativity and Innovation Manager is often not viewed as essential. Organizations without such a role will simply not perform as competitively as their rivals. Increasing Employee Retention Through Employee Engagement You've seen it happen many times. An organization that provides top wages and benefits loses a great employee to a competitor for no apparent reason. Of course, some employee turnover is to be expected, but if your company is truly engaging your employees, there is no good reason for the unexpected loss of quality staff members. Many companies already know that wages and benefits are important to employees, but compensation alone is not enough to keep the highly skilled, motivated and experienced workforce your business needs to excel. Get Over Yourself Let me tell you a secret. Keep Your Good Workers by Building Good Leaders A recent report from the American Hospital Association's Commission on the Workforce asked healthcare workers key questions about the performance of their front line managers. The study concluded that an employee's decision to stay with or leave an organization is primarily based on his or her relationship with an immediate supervisor. No matter what industry or setting or company size, effective leaders: Possess personal integrity. Can easily adapt to change. Work to build the talent of others. Communicate well with their people. Have the ability to build and lead a team. Can analyze problems and create solutions. Encourage a collaborative work environment. Five Ways to Develop More Effective Front Line Managers: Encourage and give managers time to attend leadership courses. Learning and growing is part of their job. Develop an approach to hire and assess managers based on the above key competencies, not on old job descriptions. Reward effective leadership on a regular basis whether it is through a "Manager of the Month" award or free movie tickets. Get creative with training. Start peer coaching groups - managers with similar levels of authority meet once a month to discuss challenges in managing people, dealing with organizational politics, or other thorny issues. Do short reviews every three to six months to catch performance problems before they blossom into big leadership headaches. When problems are identified, action plans should be put into place to rectify the issue before the next appraisal. How Businesses Can Stop Wallowing in Bad Debt and Prevent It in the Future "Become the Squeaky Wheel", a new book just published, explains that getting customers involves more than advertising. Michelle Dunn presents examples of credit procedures and policies to help creditors or business owners collect bad debt and prevent it in the future. Uncommon Common Sense ? Know What is the Most Important Thing in Your Business Over 3 of my meetings with 3 business owners last week, what really shocked me was how uncommon common sense was. 2 out of 3 I spoke to do not know what is the most important thing in their business. They keep on trying on other things that are not important. As we know, every business has ONE most important thing in their particular industry. You need to do well in your most important thing and the rest will take care of itself.
|
|
|
|
|
