The importance oftransformational changein business
has long been recognised, but it is particularly pertinent at the
moment. In the public sector, great emphasis is now placed on
integration and efficiency, and this was further reinforced by
theOffice of the Deputy Prime Minister's
10-year vision, calledThe Future of Local
Government.
In many organisations, IT is at the forefront of
transformational processes. Unfortunately, this has resulted in
many well-publicised failures. Often, it is not the technology that
fails, but rather a failure of management to take advantage of new
IT systems. As a result, many organisations discount the potential
for IT to transform business.
There is frequently limited sharing of knowledge in relation to
factors affecting the success and failure of change initiatives. In
some organisations, each transformation initiative seems to be
undertaken according to standards set by the leader of that
particular initiative.
This approach should be avoided at all costs, as each new
transformational initiative then becomes an adventure into the
unknown.
Increasingly, the responsibility for change falls under the
control of a chief transformation officer. This role will often
involve all the aspects of creating the organisations of tomorrow:
programme office, strategy development, IT development, etc. Many
of these tasks demand consultation and interaction with senior
management.
Change and transformation management has been thoroughly
researched over the years. Numerous methodologies have been
proposed to achieve successful transformation, and in essence,
common themes recur.
The first four elements are centred on developing an agreed
change portfolio. The remaining six elements are involved with the
detailed planning, delivery and review of the change
initiatives.
Research by Cranfield suggests that these six elements are
necessary, but they are insufficient in themselves to deliver the
critical benefits. Realisation of these benefits is more closely
associated with the formulation of an agreed change portfolio.
The importance of these tasks raises the question of who aligns,
prioritises and coordinates the portfolio of business-change
initiatives. Who is responsible for creating organisational
readiness for change? Who ensures that adequate business-change
resources are allocated to each initiative?
The UK has seen a rise in the number of transformational roles,
particularly in the public sector. So what are the core
competencies of such roles? Would a CIO be well positioned to
fulfil such a role?
At first glance, the skills required for a transformational role
and for a CIO appear similar. Co-ordination of a variety of
initiatives is central to both, as is the need to understand and
act in a political manner.
Given the continuing drive towards IT outsourcing, many CIOs are
already focusing on demand management. Some would suggest that CIOs
are already undertaking this transformation role in content, if not
in title.
If this is occurring, it may well satisfy an aspiration cited by
some CIOs to become a permanent member of the board, rather than
the usual arrangement of being summoned as required.
However, some might ask why an organisation would want to
promote an individual to a wider role when the IT products they
currently deliver are subject to such criticism. Perhaps this
perception of failure is in part caused by the restrictions of the
CIO's role maybe a wider remit would increase the benefits gained
from IT change.
So what are the options for the CIO wishing to embrace
transformational change? One option is to become the organisation's
transformative officer, a "superstar" role with a board position.
Another option is to become a supporting act in managing a
collection of outsourcers working for the organisation's chief
transformation officer.
Some of today's CIOs would choose the former and some may be
required to become the latter. These speculations are embryonic,
but early indications suggest that such scenarios are becoming
reality in many organisations.
● Chris Edwards is professor of management information systems
and Rob Lambert is a senior lecturer at the Cranfield School of
Management, Cranfield University
Elements of change
Portfolio formulation
● Engender and reinforce a culture of continuous change
● Understand the drivers and content of each change initiative
at an early stage in the lifecycle
● Align and filter initiatives to the strategic goals, thus
creating the change portfolio
● Harmonise strategic leaders to support the change
portfolio
Programme execution
● Develop a detailed business case and obtain
approval/refusal
● Establish accountability and governance for each
initiative
● Execute each change initiative and realise the intended
benefits
● Manage the ongoing initiative portfolio, conflict, resources
and other inter-dependencies
● Coordinate the elements of the change capability
● Review, learn and improve the change capability