strategy+business

ONLINE DECEMBER 20, 2010

THE ESSENTIALS FROM BOOZ & COMPANY

Making Change Happen,

and Making It Stick
Five factors make the greatest difference in fostering the new
behaviors needed for a transformation. All of them reflect the
basic importance of people in implementing and embedding change.

BY ASHLEY HARSHAK, DEANNE AGUIRRE,

AND ANNA BROWN

 THE ESSENTIALS FROM BOOZ & COMPANY
www.strategy-business.com

Making Change Happen, and

Making It Stick
Five factors make the greatest difference in fostering the new behaviors
needed for a transformation. All of them reflect the basic importance of
people in implementing and embedding change.

1 by Ashley Harshak, DeAnne Aguirre, and Anna Brown

F ew organizations have escaped the need for

major change in the past decade, as new tech-
nologies and global crises have reshaped entire
industries. However, the fact that change has become
more frequent does not make such changes any easier.
of the new post-transformation enterprise.
Most business leaders have come to understand the
importance of the people component in implementing
and embedding change. According to a survey conduct-
ed by Booz & Company of 350 global executives
Change is, at its core, a people process, and people charged with leading major transformation programs,
are creatures of habit, hardwired to resist adopting new senior leaders now recognize that people initiatives usu-
mind-sets, practices, and behaviors. To achieve and sus- ally spell the difference between success and failure.
tain transformational change, companies must embed However, there was broad consensus among the
these mind-sets, practices, and behaviors at every level, respondents that this sort of change management is
and that is very hard to do — but it has never been more often undertaken too late and too lightly to be effective.
important. To achieve a successful change effort, people issues need
Some organizations have managed to develop to be identified and incorporated in project manage-
approaches to change management that address change ment plans from the start and then revisited again and
comprehensively. A successful business transformation again throughout the implementation process to ensure
effort must capture the hearts and minds of people who the desired strategic outcome.
need to operate differently to deliver the desired results.
The good news is that it can be done. The Five Success Factors
Each of the following five key success factors should be
What Is Change Management? considered vital by those designing a change manage-
Change management is both a capability and a set of ment program. These are the actions that can make
interventions that deliver the people-oriented side of a change happen — and make it stick. All five should be
change effort. Successful change management targets evident in the program’s implementation.
leaders but also engages people across the organization, 1. Understand and spell out the impact of the change
while adjusting key enabling processes such as perform- on people. A prerequisite to any viable change program
ance management. It helps employees make the transi- is a clear-eyed assessment of the impact it will have on
tion to new behaviors, and it helps sustain the benefits various populations in the organization. This analysis
 www.strategy-business.com
Ashley Harshak DeAnne Aguirre Anna Brown
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
is a Booz & Company partner is a senior partner with is a Booz & Company senior
based in London. He special- Booz & Company based in associate based in London.
izes in change management, San Francisco. She is an She specializes in change
organizational development, expert in organizational and management, culture change,
and large-scale transforma- talent effectiveness and leadership, and organizational
tions across many industries. change leadership and has led development work designed to
transformations in both U.S. deliver the objectives of large-
and global corporations. scale transformation.

identifies the type and scale of changes affecting each geted to each segment of the workforce, and delivered
segment of employees (as defined by role or business, for in a two-way fashion that allows people to make sense
example). This assessment also provides a basis for com- of the change subjectively.
municating with the team members about what the If you are asking people to adapt to a new reality,
change means for them personally — the predominant they need to understand the emotional case for the
concern of every employee in a business transformation. change so they can feel truly committed to the transfor-
A well-known global energy firm did exactly that mation. It can’t be presented as another “program of the
when it produced a change impact analysis with a “heat month” that they will have to live through. Bringing the
map” illustrating the intensity of change for each group details of what will change — and what won’t — into
of employees, and a detailed description of the changes the presentation allows leaders to paint a vivid picture of
each role would need to deliver. As a result, the leader- what the change means for employees personally, not
ship team was able to focus and redirect the transforma- only why it benefits the business.
tion program to address the challenges facing those in 3. Ensure that the entire leadership team is a role
the roles most affected. Moreover, project teams identi- model for the change. Companies start their transfor-
fied areas of potential overlap and conflict in the impact mations from the top. Senior executives must be not
of various initiatives. Finally, the analysis informed the only “on top” of the change program, but also “in front”
plans and sequencing of the overall transformation pro- of it, modeling the new behaviors they are asking their
gram and became the basis for communications with people to adopt and holding one another accountable
managers. In cascade fashion, managers received the for the initiative’s success. When executives talk about
message from their supervisors and then delivered it to creating a performance culture, they must demonstrate
their teams. through example what that means.
2. Build an emotional and rational case for change. An aligned and committed leadership team is the
Many leaders excel at building the rational case for foundation for any major corporate undertaking. When
change, but they are less adept in appealing to people’s executives lead by example, the impact can be pro-
emotional core. Yet the employees’ emotions are where found. One senior director found that it was only after
the momentum for real transformation ultimately lies. he introduced ongoing performance discussions with
Change management communications need to be tar- his direct reports that his team started to hold similar
www.strategy-business.com

sessions with their own direct reports. This requires con- help people support the change but also how it can con-
sistent attention, but that level of engagement will make tribute to embedding and sustaining the change. This
the difference between success and failure. requires HR to understand the business and its long-
4. Mobilize your people to “own” and accelerate the term requirements as both a strategic partner and a
change. The blunt truth is that most change initiatives change agent.
are done “to” employees, not implemented “with” them
or “by” them. Although executives are pushing behavior Navigating Change Successfully
change from the top and expecting it to cascade through A comprehensive approach to change management
the formal structure, an informal culture left to instinct requires all five of these success factors. Together, they
and chance will likely dig in its heels. enable you to take the necessary steps for change. First,
To counteract this undermining force, companies clearly define the business objectives the change is
should leverage what Booz & Company Senior Partner intended to deliver. Next, understand the current
Jon Katzenbach calls the informal organization — the organization — its culture, its capabilities, and its expe-
3 network of peer-to-peer interactions. People need to be riences (both successful and unsuccessful) with change
encouraged and motivated to change their behavior by — and then conduct the change impact analysis and
those around them as much as they need incentives make a clear case for change, including the reasons why
from the top. change in people’s behavior is needed. The main thrust
This does not mean that companies should forgo a of the change program follows with a series of tailored
centrally driven program with a clear road map that lays interventions that drive change through both formal
out the formal elements of the new organization. But and informal levers. This should not be a fixed or for-
they must not overlook the informal organization either. mulaic methodology but rather one that accelerates suc-
Pride, commitment, and purpose reside here. If you use cess by selecting the most efficient tools and techniques
powerful emotional motivators, invite employees to for the specific circumstances of the client organization.
contribute ideas and perspectives, and provide the kind At each step, all five of the success factors should be
of informal support and recognition that makes it easi- considered. Indeed, they provide a useful checklist.
er to take ownership of new behaviors, you can acceler- Have you spelled out the impact of the change on peo-
ate and intensify the impact of the change initiative. ple? Have you built both an emotional and a rational
5. Embed the change in the fabric of the organization. case for change? Is your leadership team — all the mem-
Sponsors often declare victory too soon, diverting lead- bers, yourself included — acting as a role model? Are
ership, commitment, and focus from the ongoing effort. your people “owning” and accelerating the change? And
To embed the change and ensure that it sticks, you how deeply is the new behavior embedded in the fabric
should acknowledge the lessons learned. You also should of the organization?
investigate how to engage and involve employees over In today’s business environment, change is an
the long term and how to institutionalize best practices imperative. A change management approach such as
to capture the full benefit of this change and any future this can help companies enhance their overall transfor-
changes. mation capability, increase the speed of implementa-
The human resources function plays a critical role tion, and improve the probability of success. +
in this process. To enable lasting change, all HR systems,
structures, processes, and incentives must be aligned and
consistent with the goals of the transformation. You
need to articulate clearly the various people-oriented ele-
ments of the future organization — not just its struc-
ture, but also employee value propositions and
individual and team roles, as well as required competen-
cies, skills, and behaviors. Things like performance
management, learning and development, workforce
strategy, and retention programs are key enablers of the
change program.
The challenge is to rethink not only how HR can
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