Transformation FAQ v1

Transformation can quickly become overcomplicated. New governance structures appear, programme teams are created and job titles acquire the word ‘transformation’ often before anyone has properly agreed what needs to be different.

In reality, there is no single model for successful transformation - although we think ours is as good as it gets ;-)

How you organise and deliver it should depend on what you are trying to achieve, the scale and complexity of the work, and the capability and capacity you already have.

Here are five questions we’re most commonly asked about Transformation.

FIRST UP: 𝘿𝙊 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙔 𝙉𝙀𝙀𝘿 𝘼 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙎𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝘿𝙄𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙊𝙍?

Not necessarily. A Transformation Director can be extremely valuable when an organisation is undertaking significant, complex or organisation-wide transformation. Someone needs to hold the overall picture, challenge priorities, manage dependencies and ensure that individual projects collectively deliver the outcomes the organisation is trying to achieve.

But creating the role doesn’t create transformation capability.

Before appointing one, ask what you actually need them to do. Could that accountability sit with an existing executive? Do you need a permanent Transformation Director, or experienced leadership for a particular period? And, importantly, will they have the authority to make decisions across organisational boundaries?

So let's change the question from “Do we need a Transformation Director?” to “Who is accountable for making sure this transformation works as a whole?” Ultimately, someone needs to be.

SECOND QUESTION: 𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗠𝗘?

We think so, if it is genuinely transformation.

True transformation involves significant change to how an organisation operates or delivers outcomes. It will usually cut across teams and functions, involve multiple interconnected pieces of work, create dependencies and competing demands on capacity, and require benefits to be managed across the organisation.

Those are precisely the things programme management is designed to coordinate.

That doesn’t mean every piece of organisational improvement needs a programme. Far from it. Continuous improvement, process redesign and more contained improvement projects should usually be managed much more simply. (Read our previous blogs on Transformation vs Change here).

The danger comes when we call every improvement initiative a ‘transformation’. It creates unnecessary governance, additional reporting and complexity around work that could have been delivered perfectly well through good operational management.

So our answer is: 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩; 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮.

And if your ‘transformation’ doesn’t need any of the coordination, governance and oversight that a programme provides, it might be worth asking whether it is really transformation at all.

𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝟯: 𝙒𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝘿𝙊𝙀𝙎 𝘼 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙎𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝙇𝙊𝙊𝙆 𝙇𝙄𝙆𝙀?

There isn’t a standard transformation team, and be wary of anyone telling you there is.

For a substantial transformation, you may need programme and project management, business analysis, process improvement, change and communications, data and benefits expertise. You may also need specialist capability relating to technology, organisational design, finance or the particular services being transformed.

But that doesn’t mean all of those people need to sit permanently in a central Transformation Team.

We generally favour a 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱, working closely with the people who actually run the services being transformed.

And don't forget capacity. Giving somebody a transformation responsibility alongside an already-full day job doesn't magically create the time to deliver it.

𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘... 𝙒𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙋𝙀𝙉𝙎 𝙄𝙁 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙎𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙀𝙂𝙔 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙎 𝙃𝘼𝙇𝙁𝙒𝘼𝙔 𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙊𝙐𝙂𝙃 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙎𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉?

A very simple question, the answer is: 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. It sounds obvious, but organisations can become surprisingly attached to delivering an agreed transformation plan even when the reason for doing it has changed. A transformation plan is not the objective. The outcomes are.

If your strategy changes, revisit the outcomes you were trying to achieve. Which are still important? Which projects still contribute to them? What has become more important? What should be stopped, changed, accelerated or added?

A good transformation plan should be stable enough to provide direction and flexible enough to respond when that direction genuinely changes.

𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗬, 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥: 𝙃𝙊𝙒 𝘿𝙊 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙆𝙉𝙊𝙒 𝙒𝙃𝙀𝙉 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙎𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙄𝙎 𝙁𝙄𝙉𝙄𝙎𝙃𝙀𝘿?

A project finishing doesn't mean transformation has happened. Neither does implementing a new system, completing a restructure or ticking off every action on a programme plan.

Transformation is only finished when the organisation has achieved the outcomes it set out to achieve and the new way of working has become the normal way of working.

That means looking beyond delivery milestones. Are services performing differently? Are customers experiencing something better? Are colleagues actually working differently? Have the intended benefits materialised? And can the organisation sustain those improvements without the transformation team holding everything together?

Eventually, transformation needs to stop being transformation and become business as usual. If it never does, you may have created a permanent transformation programme rather than transformed the organisation.

Got any additional questions? List them in the comments and we might publish a v2…

And if you want to know more about our transformation model send us an email on hello@ad-esse.com and we'll be happy to walk you through it.