Overview of the key areas to consider with a Change, Adoption or Transformation programme

1. Change:

Definition: Change refers to modifications, adjustments, or alterations made within an organisation. Change can encompass aspects, such as processes, systems or individual behaviours.

From a people perspective, change management is managing the process of change with a defined methodology and plan.

Worth noting: From an IT (Information Technology) perspective, change management is the process of changing technology, ensuring it is done safely and with minimal (or no) impact to services.

• Scope: Change is often incremental and focuses on specific areas; for instance, upgrading software, adjusting workflows or altering specific practices.
• Duration: Change can be temporary or permanent and there will be a range of considerations depending on the size and scope of the change.
• Example: Transitioning from an old legacy system to a new cloud-based software solution, how do we manage the change for those involved.

2. Adoption:

• Definition: Adoption involves individuals or teams embracing technology and incorporating it so that it becomes a fundamental part of the way they work. This could be something simple like utilising Microsoft’s SharePoint with Teams, or one of the many AI assistants such as Copilot for Microsoft 365.
• Scope: Adoption targets the use of an implemented system, process or technology.
• Approach: Successful adoption is influenced by a range of areas; most notably understanding the benefits of technology adoption and how difficult it is to achieve desirable outcomes.
• Example: Enabling employees to successfully utilise a newly deployed project management tool.

3. Transformation:

• Definition: Transformation is a more profound shift—it entails a complete redesign of a service, process or the entire organisation.
• Scope: Transformation seeks to address processes and cultures at an organisation-wide scale.
• Duration: Transformation is permanent; once complete, there should be no reverting to historic practices. This is why a Change Management approach, such as Kotter’s, has the final stage “Anchoring the change.”
• Example: Overhauling an entire supply chain process by implementing advanced AI-driven planning solutions.

In summary, while change is about adjusting, adoption focuses on effective utilisation and transformation represents a fundamental and lasting shift in an organisation’s approach.

Key areas to consider with a Change, Adoption or Transformation programme

The process of change, adoption and transformation is, often, a challenge for organisations who have historically engrained practices and processes.

At Wechange.AI, we believe in empowering organisations to lead their own change. The following twelve key points are areas to consider as you embark on a change or transformation programme:

1. The importance of leadership and the role of a sponsor – Leaders could be considered the trailblazers for change within an organisation. It is imperative that they are visible, involved and should practice what they preach. The dawn of AI has presented some of the greatest changes to working practices in a generation and, therefore, the role of a leader has never been more important. A growth mindset and an eagerness to embrace change is vital as it must be demonstrable that the organisation is moving together to reach their goals.
2. Consider an organisation’s culture – this is likely to be fairly unique to each organisation and can be a gift or possibly a curse. Consider how the culture of an organisation can work to enable change but also if there are aspects which may prove challenging during the process of change. Change Agents, a range of training, communities, psychological safety and strong enabling leadership, are key contributors to creating and sustaining a learning and transformative culture.
3. Support and embrace a learning culture – In the age of AI, rapid shifts in working practices are easily attained. Organisations are having to change and adopt technologies and methodologies at an unprecedented pace. An organisation wide adoption of a learning culture and growth mindset is essential in ensuring sustained and effective change and transformation. Leaders and change agents are at the helm of this journey, demonstrating their commitment to advancing their learning and enabling others to learn from best practice methodologies.
4. Project and programme management – Project and programme management are critical for the success of any change, adoption, or transformation programme. They provide a structured approach to planning, executing, and controlling all aspects of the initiative. This includes defining clear objectives, identifying risks, allocating resources, and setting timelines. Effective project and programme management ensure that the transformation is aligned with the organisation’s strategic goals, and that the changes are implemented in a controlled and systematic manner. This reduces the likelihood of failure, minimises disruption, and increases the chances of achieving the desired outcomes.
5. Change Management – Change management is a vital component of any change, adoption, or transformation programme. It involves preparing, supporting, and helping individuals, teams, and organisations in making organisational change. The primary focus of change management is on the human aspects of change, which is often the most challenging part of any transformation. It includes activities such as communication, training, and support to help stakeholders understand why the change is happening, how it benefits them, and what is expected of them.
6. Communication – A wise woman once said, “over communicating is not an issue, under communicating is.” People need to know what is happening and the framework utilised by an organisation is central to this. Leaders, change agents and communities amplify the outcomes of the project, programme and plans; communicating the short-term wins as you shift towards a model of Continuous Service Improvement (CSI).
7. Communities to accelerate change – an organisation’s culture is often evident in its communities and how people interact. Creating communities where leaders are visible, voices are heard and an interactive space is supported, is key to a change, adoption or transformation programme.
8. Change Agents as the conduits for change – Change Agents are fundamental. An organisation should try to have a Change Agent in each team or service acting as the conduits of the change from the project and change teams. A Change Agent understands the nuance of their workplace. They could act as conduits of information; equipped with the ability to communicate successes and opportunities for improvement to both staff and leaders. They are the glue that maintains cohesion throughout the change process.
9. Agile working – Agile working is beneficial in a range of ways, particularly during change and adoption programmes. If the early benefits of a change are tangible for individuals, there is an increased likelihood of acceptance. Working in an Agile way is essentially a process of delivering services over a short period called Sprints, which can then be assessed as to whether they meet the objectives of the project.
10. Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) – whilst similar in principle to agile, a model of CSI for an organisation should be an ongoing process of seeking improvements. For organisations embracing a learning culture, staff will continue to learn new skills and apply them to their working worlds, delivering Continuous Improvement across their service.
11. Ensure you work to the IT best practice management methodology of ITIL – ITIL is a best practice management methodology developed for managing IT services. At a very minimum, organisations should have some sort of service catalogue (details of the technology available), have key roles in place such as business relationship managers (who act as the conduits between the requirements of a service and IT) and adhere to a strong change process (in terms of delivering new IT services or changing existing ones). Having the key elements of the ITIL methodology in place supports change, adoption and transformation programmes.
12. Organisational dynamics and the role of “Perception” – Organisational dynamics are a complex but fascinating area. Lengthy definitions can be condensed to a slightly more simplistic one: what is an individual’s perception of the situation? Consider this relative to the whole framework: if you share a clear vision and strategy, have effective leaders, change agents, communities and communications all clearly communicating the same thing, peoples’ perceptions of a situation should be aligned. Perception is everything.

An example where the key considerations for successful change, adoption and transformation have been considered:

A Public Sector service is looking to utilise Copilot for Microsoft 365, an AI assistant that empowers staff to significantly increase their output. Using AI is a significant change for the organisation and the ways in which staff work and careful consideration is taken when considering the approach.

As it is such a sizeable change, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the project sponsor. The CEO takes part in training, uses Copilot during meetings, the CEO admits when they need help, posts articles on communities and they attend Change Agent meetings.

The CEO truly embraces the change and plays an active part in the communities; supporting a learning culture by continually demonstrating a growth mindset.

As an organisation, they embrace John Kotter’s eight steps to successful change and there are specific plans in place for each step. If you consider the eight steps, you will see they run through the key components listed.

The Change Agents understand the vision and strategy for introducing Copilot for M365. They work as the conduits to change, amplifying the messages from leadership, the project and change teams, both within their services and as part of the communities.

Working in an agile way, the adoption of Copilot for M365 demonstrates short term wins. People get excited as they see it used and colleagues promote the change. This assists those who are earlier on the change curve to gain a better understanding of the technology and, notably, the reasons for them to adopt, change and transform.

After just a few months, the project and change teams, supported by the CEO as sponsor and other leaders, observe that the usage statistics of Copilot for M365 gradually climb. They continue to share the benefits for staff, the amazing prompts and wins, as they move to a model of Continuous Service Improvement (CSI).

Further, new features are released regularly which are shared through the network of change agents and as part of the communities – delivering further benefits.

WeChange.AI – Innovation with Insight

For more information on anything covered in this article, please do not hesitate to contact the WeChange.AI team.