Moorhouse has recently released the results of their survey into what is driving change and how effective it is. The team surveyed around 200 UK Board members and those who report directly to the Board. As a group, the respondents were responsible for spending more than £3.4bn on change programs, so it is worth knowing if they are being managed effectively.
The survey identified five key themes. Here’s a quick summary and our take on what you can do to ensure your projects and programs have the best chance of success.
1. Start Off Right
Survey says: Two thirds of respondents think that their project stakeholders are not properly engaged. In addition, two thirds of respondents also reported that their programs were not adequately resourced at the outset.
We say: Getting people engaged in what you have set out to deliver is essential for project success. Whatever level you are in the organization, spend time talking to stakeholders, mapping out project communications and working with the project team to ensure everyone is on board.
Sometimes it is difficult to resource appropriately at the beginning, so be willing to bring in external help to get you over a short-term difficultly.
2. Measure Benefits
Survey says: 48% of respondents are not measuring benefits during a project. Less than 25% are measuring benefits when the project is over.
We say: Benefits tracking is really important. Set up your Project Management Office so that benefits management is a key service that it can provide. Use your enterprise project management tool to gather useful data towards tracking benefits. And remember to keep tracking benefits even after the last project report has been written!
3. Be Flexible
Survey says: About 55% of the respondents reported that project objectives changed noticeably during the course of a project. Nearly 30% said that resource requirements changed significantly over the course of a program but nearly a quarter of changes were proactively planned.
We say: The business world is changing so quickly now that it’s very common for projects to start off delivering one thing and end up delivering something else. Be prepared for change and plan your budget and resources accordingly.
4. Grow The Capability To Deliver Change
Survey says: Companies are using external resources to support project teams both at the outset and on an ongoing basis. However, over 40% of respondents are not confident that the project team is capable of managing the project to time and budget constraints.
We say: It’s normal for companies to use external resources to flex the capacity of the internal team. This is especially the case where you don’t have specialist skills in house. However, you want to get the balance right, so that your critical projects are not being delivered by a large team of consultants who will leave, taking all their knowledge with them. Ensure you set up processes for knowledge transfer.
Talk yourselves up. With over 40% of Board members and their direct reports not believing that project teams are capable, get the PMO on a PR mission to spread the word about the skills you have in-house. Of course, you need to justify the good publicity with an excellent delivery record!
5. Mind The Gap Between The Board And The Project Team
Survey says: 80% of people who report to Board members feel their career is on the line if a project goes wrong. On the other hand, only 43% of Board members feel that a failed project would have a negative impact on their career. Board members are also far more confident that project objectives and benefits are set at the beginning than their direct reports.
We say: Senior leadership buy in to projects is essential if you want to make sure that a project is a success. As a result, Board members must be accountable for project success, and those who work for them must feel that their leaders are supporting them adequately. Ideally, no one’s job would be on the line if a project went wrong, because failing projects should be identified early enough and stopped. But we will continue to see senior managers struggling to keep project afloat even when they should be stopped all the while that they feel the Board could hinder their career progression if something goes wrong.
The results also show how important it is for senior executives to make sure that those further down the chain know about the strategy behind a project. You can never communicate this enough – and if you are one of those people at the front line, and you don’t understand what the project is supposed to be achieving, ask.