I defined Business Readiness here, but you probably want to know what to do! So,…
Here’s one definition of Business Readiness. It’s a bit long, please bear with me or skip it to get to the good stuff.
“Business Readiness is a term designed to describe the process of controlling any business change, by ensuring employees and management teams are able to efficiently and safely move from one mind set or environment to another.” Capita
I define Business Readiness as:
Ensuring successful change by engaging people to minimise disruption and distress
Definitely no ‘control’ of people and their mindsets!
Business Readiness enhances all projects, all technology introductions. You can call it Employee Readiness, Community Readiness, Patient Readiness, Supply Chain Readiness, etc.
Who helps the business prepare for change?
Even when part of the same organisation, the gulf between business and project can be huge. Business Readiness sits between them, advocating for both or – at worst – mediating. An individual or team can manage Business Readiness. Their roles and responsibilities depend on the size of the gulf.
Appoint your Business Readiness leader outside the project and your sponsor’s business function to gain a fresh perspective. A consultant, contractor or agency also brings experience and impartiality.
Regardless of the relationship between business and project, Business Readiness must be:
- Transparent
- Respectful
- Flexible
- Persuasive
Transparent
Excellent communications translate business, process and technology speak into compelling stories. They present the need for change, destination, goals and impact on people. And they do it continuously and consistently. Each time updating information, answering questions and adapting the project implementation strategy.
Respectful
Great Business Readiness treats people as people, not account ids, user groups or the downside of implementing change.
No matter how important your change, it does not deliver business goals. The people your change affects make the business money, represent the brand and innovate. Your project should ease their lives by reducing waste and repetitive tasks, improving the quality of their work or giving them tools to better serve the customer.
If you hamper their efforts longer than necessary, ignore their concerns or assume the project has the information it needs, you are not just disrespectful. You are compromising their ability to deliver their goals. In return, they will resist your change.
Flexible
The project the board approved and used to appoint the project team isn’t the project the team will deliver. The business case made assumptions, the job descriptions and Requests for Proposal didn’t touch the minutia of the status quo, let alone the Target Operating Model.
Excellent Business Readiness knows blind adherence to ‘the brief’ and, worse, the costing assumptions, ignores business needs and reduces the effectiveness of the project.
This isn’t a call to ignore budgeting. Enhance your chance of success by building flexibility into the business case and Business Readiness goals into your project. Budget for risk and learn lessons from other projects.
Persausive
Businesses prepare for change when they understand and accept the reason. The business case shows the business value, getting to know the teams and their struggles exposes ‘what’s in it for me’.
Business Readiness must move beyond arguments for and against change; its listens, learns and adapts plans. By building change advocates and supporting them, Business Readiness brings people on board.
Build credibility by showing how you are preventing disruption and helping people do their jobs. And influence the project, show how changing its plans delivers benefits or reduces costs.
My next post considers the tools mentioned above and on 16 June 2020 I speak at the Digital Leaders Virtual Summit.
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