Conflicting requirements linked to seven key areas in business
Industry statistics show that between 20% and 70% of programmes fail to achieve their objectives.
This is a worrying figure, no matter where you are on the spectrum. We have learnt, over the many, many years in Consulting and Change Management, that you can drastically improve the chances of success by balancing the conflicting requirements linked to seven key areas. It isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach but when combined with a programme management methodology such as MSP (Managing Successful Programmes), it can work wonders. So, what are these conflicting areas?
Business Strategy
Where is your organisation headed? What are the CXOs and senior leaders in your organisation thinking? Is the business change being envisioned in line with your organisational strategy?
Legal & Compliance
There is a regulation affecting your business at every turn. A business change needs a legal and compliance lens to make sure that even the simplest modification (process, product or people) does not fall foul of the regulators
Risk
How much risk is the organisation or business unit willing to take on? Will a business change throw the operational or fraud risk models out of the window? Will modifying a product alter the customer’s credit risk profile?
Customer & Servicing
Customers expect seamless operation and exceptional service to be the norm. Unfortunately, most business changes tend to unsettle this equilibrium leading to customer disruption, higher servicing call volumes and in general unhappy customers. A poor customer review could make or break a business these days.
Technological
Are your existing technical platforms suited for the business change? Alternatively, you may find that technical upgrades open up unexpected business opportunities.
Future-Proof
Most businesses (Fortune 500 included) tend to go for the shortest and quickest route, without really evaluating the longevity and durability of the solution. If you were to look back at your organisation’s change decisions over the past 10, 20 or 30 years, would you find any that you wish had been done differently?
Macroeconomic factors
Keep an eye out for the changing global landscape. No one could have predicted Covid-19 crippling the world, but those who planned for a 25% - 30% budget and schedule contingency were able to breathe slightly easier.
Of course this isn’t everything, however, these are the critical areas change leaders in your organisation must not ignore. Unfortunately, pressure to get business change delivered quickly with shoe-string budgets without considering the conflicting dynamics at play, drives most programmes towards the failure end of the spectrum.