Working as one team
One scenario I’ve seen in a number of organisations is a very big boundary line between project teams and business teams. If we take the example of an IT transformation project, large sums of money are spent bringing in consultants and contractors to design and deliver new systems. Business cases are created, procurement teams negotiate deals with system providers and the project is kicked off.
But who is going to use the new system? Usually it’s individuals whose everyday success and job satisfaction is entirely dependent on having the information and tools they need to do their job. So why are the business teams not more involved up front and included as an integral part of the project team?
To reap the business benefits of a change programme, people usually need to do something different. If the project team and business teams do not regard themselves as one team with a common set of objectives to deliver better outcomes for their customers and stakeholders the results will usually cause frustration and disappointment. If you are the project manager or change lead for a project, here’s a few things to do:
Involve business teams early and make sure if you are going to need their help, they have backfill resources - there are very few organisations which are sitting on spare people. Even releasing a couple of people to attend workshops can play havoc with operational performance
Set up your governance to be a business and project group with equal weight
Check in regularly with the leaders and managers of the teams which will be required to work differently - make sure you respond to any concerns
Use the leaders and managers to be your champions and communicate directly with their teams - this will start to build a sense of reality and ownership early on
Include plans for knowledge transfer from any contractors/specialists you have brought in - consider buddying up early on
Engender a sense of ‘we’re all in this together’ - not an us and them
Create forums where people can raise concerns and make sure you respond - even if you can’t give them the answer they want
If you do some of these things you will reduce the chance of the blame game - that’s a game that no-one can win.
