In the first two editions of this three part series of “How to Build an OCM Practice,” we covered key topics of taking each project one at a time to establish credibility and having the right people on board to both deliver high quality work and build the practice around. In this final installment, we’ll talk about the need to “sell” OCM to various constituents.
Sell, you ask? Yes! You have to sell it. Sell the concept. Sell to work required to be successful. And sell the value.
First, the concept. Change Management is a relatively young discipline, and while it is getting legs for real, to many people it’s still an unknown entity. We (OCM practitioners) have to help people realize what Change Management is and how it’s a game changer for our projects, our clients, and I truly believe our economy (elaborated further in the value section below).
Many people think of Change Management as “communication and training,” and while we may spend a large percentage of time executing in these areas, experienced Change Management practitioners know it is much more than that. Communication and training, in themselves, won’t garner user buy-in and adoption. It takes the Case for Change, active stakeholder management, course correction, etc. to effectively meet our stakeholders where they are and get their support.
Secondly, we have to help people understand the work required to perform Change Management effectively. In the paragraph above, I covered some of the major components, and in each one of those, there is significant effort. For example, stakeholder management is not a one-time event where we complete a stakeholder assessment and then we’re done. No, we have to revisit that assessment repeatedly throughout an engagement, making sure that if stakeholder dispositions are changing, they are moving in the direction we want them to go (which is not always the case!).
Another example – communications won’t write and edit themselves. Just putting together arguably the simplest of communications – the dreaded email – take time and effort to identify the topics to be conveyed, drafting, reviewing, editing, reviewing again, final edits and distributing. I could go on, but I often get pushback that OCM is a “part time job.” It’s not – it’s a lot of work if done well and shouldn’t be minimized.
Finally, selling the value. I’ve written extensively in the past about the value of OCM, as it was my “hot button” of 2017. Data suggests that as much as 75-80% of a project’s return on investment (ROI) is driven by user’s actually USING the new system or process the way it was intended. Add to that the old adage (that hasn’t changed by the way) that nearly 70% of all projects fail to meet their objectives, and this is due to poor adoption, we see the amount of money we are leaving on the table. To my comment above, if we efficiently got the value for the investment in each of our projects, think about how much money that would put back into the economy and ultimately, back into each of our pockets! It’s almost unimaginable.
I spend a lot of my day “selling” OCM. I “sell” it to clients, to internal business partners, our sales team – about anyone who will listen. And, while I’ve had success and people across the board are starting to get it, we still have a long way to go.
So to my fellow OCM leaders and practitioners out there, keep at it. Gurgle some salt water and keep your throat fresh. We’re getting there, and it’s going to take persistence day in and day out to help our colleagues recognize the work, the effort, and the value we bring to the table.