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| Yes, this is what a real live FLIP-PHONE looks like |
Is Change Management
really necessary, or is it just “fluff?”
What exactly is “Change Management,” anyway? And why would one need this type of support?
Change Management, according
to Prosci, is “process, tools and
techniques to manage the people side of change to achieve the
required business outcome…(and is used) to help individuals make successful personal
transitions resulting in the adoption and realization of change.”
By comparison, Project
Management, according to the Project Management Institute (PMI), is “the
application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities
to meet the project requirements.”
Here is a real-world
example.
My mom still uses a flip
phone. My dad and I have “project
managed” getting her a smartphone; researching, purchasing, coordinating
logistics, and setting up the phone for use with her contacts, email, and
applications that she might enjoy or need.
Essentially, in the project of “Get Mom a Smartphone” – we executed the
project requirements.
This is the most important
question for the project’s overall success, however: Does my mom actually *USE*
the smartphone? And unfortunately, the
answer is: “No.”
Why not?
Turns out my mom is afraid
that she won’t be able to use the phone, that her calls will be inadvertently
missed, that she will accidentally provide personal information to the wrong
people over email or in apps, and in general that she will get frustrated and
waste time trying to use a tool to which she is not naturally inclined.
In order to successfully
realize the Return on Investment (ROI) for my mom’s new smartphone, the most
critical factor is that my mom actually *uses* the phone! I’d love to Face Time her with the kids, or
to send her pictures via text, or even just to group text her and my dad at the
same time.
The discipline of Change
Management faces these concerns head on.
A Change Manager would work with my mom until she was aware of the
rationale for change, and determine what her particular concerns were, then
support her to find solutions to these problems, as well as to help facilitate
hands-on training until the new behaviors were ingrained, and would follow up
to ensure that they stuck. After all,
what good is an expensive new smart phone and corresponding data coverage plan
if it is not ever actually used?
By the way, did you know
that AJC now offers Change Management services to complement our Project
Management and Process Improvement work?
