Michael Page Logo

Main menu

  • Home
  • Jobs+

    Searching for a job?

    • Advanced job search
    • Job search
    • Submit your CV
    • Salary comparison tool
    • Income tax calculator
    • Featured employers

    Job search advice

    • Job search advice
    • Cover letter and CV advice
    • Growing your career
    • Job interview tips
    • Making your next career move
    • Global opportunities

    Search for jobs

  • Career advice+

    Career advice

    • Career advice
    • Cover letter and CV advice
    • Job interview tips
    • Growing your career
    • Job search advice
    • Making your next career move
    • Tips for temps
    • Skills employers look for
    • Being happy at work
    • Graduate advice

    Insights

    • Insights
    • Latest insights

    Salary centre

    • Salary centre
    • Salary tools and advice

    Popular articles

    • Popular articles
    • How to answer competency based interview questions
    • How to write an effective job description
    • The importance of good communication
    • Why are transferable skills so important?
    • Seven reasons for employee demotivation
  • Recruiting+

    Looking to hire?

    • Recruitment services
    • Request a call back
    • Recruitment services
    • Reasons to partner with us
    • Advertising for candidate attraction
    • Salary benchmarking tool
    • Testimonials

    Outsourcing/project recruitment

    • Outsourcing/project recruitment
    • Our approach
    • Our solutions

    Management advice

    • Management advice
    • Attraction and recruitment
    • Development and retention
    • GDPR
    • Legal updates
    • Insights

    Recruitment expertise

    • Recruitment expertise
    • Discipline expertise
    • Industry expertise

    Submit a job spec

  • Work for us+

    Work for us

    • Work for us
    • Why choose us?
    • Your role here
    • Use your skills
    • Apply now
  • About+

    About us

    • About us
    • About Michael Page
    • Recruitment services
    • News & research
    • Testimonials
    • Reviews
  • Contact+

    Contact us

    • Find our offices
    • Find our offices
    • Request a call back
    • Submit a job spec
    • Submit CV
    • Timesheet portal
    • Feedback
  • NEW - Job match
Register / Sign in
Saved jobs (0)
Search for a job

Michael Page Consultancy, Strategy & Change

Specialists in consultancy, strategy and change recruitment.

You are here

Home>Our expertise>Consultancy, strategy and change>Bridging the gap with effective change management

Bridging the gap with effective change management

In the broad context of project and programme management, the term ‘change management' causes more debate, confusion and consternation than perhaps any other topic. The true change professionals (and you know who you are) have seen it all, from perfect projects with happy and satisfied customers to angry board members facing an employee revolt after yet another sloppily delivered programme. Despite the vast number of consultancies and contractors who focus their careers on the subject, change is often seen as the ‘softer', more intangible alternative to ‘proper' project management.
 
Michael Page knows all too well the tales of woe from many frustrated IT professionals who, after completing yet another successful project, are dismayed to find the wider business shunning their efforts completely. The reason is usually that the IT department and the business simply weren't communicating throughout the process.
 

Example

 
Here's an instance of a project where, from a purely technical project management perspective, the new ERP implementation was a masterpiece, career-defining material. All of the project's agreed objectives were met, the budget was under control and nothing spontaneously combusted. High fives and popped corks all round.
 
However, the accounts department didn't see it this way. The new system didn't cater for any of the complex financial approval processes the business had in place. Resorting to manual work-around made everyone's lives more difficult and the entire supplier base complained that they couldn't get their invoices paid. One complaint to the FD later and suddenly IT was the enemy; the board felt as though they'd been sold a dummy. As the great Neil Young put it - "you pay for ‘this' and they give you ‘that'."
 
The missing component in this case was, of course, effective change management. The most successful IT leaders realise that IT implementations don't in themselves deliver real business improvement. The true benefit comes from a fundamental step change in what one of our interim change experts calls ‘the three P's', which are people, policy and process.
 

Bridging the gap between IT and the business

 
To many, this may seem obvious. However, given the number of technology programmes which still (often very publicly) go awry, something must be getting lost in translation. One theory is that the people in charge of the programmes fail to make a distinction between project management and change management.
 
Project methodologies such as PRINCE2 are ideal for setting up clear, structured, logical projects and provide a standard set of rules to which everyone can adhere. But project methodologies fail to legislate for the most unpredictable aspect of any major programme - the people. With an effective change function in place, the business is made to feel like they are part of the programme, rather than victims of the board's latest cost-saving scheme.
 
Strong change managers will be open, honest and authentic. They will be capable of engaging the business at all levels and will possess many of the same skills that can be found in the best sales professionals. They won't lie to their stakeholders. Instead they will be highly adept at delivering tough messages to difficult audiences and ensuring that they realise and appreciate the business benefits of new processes and procedures. In doing this, the functionality of the IT department's shiny new system can be turned in to real, well-defined and measurable commercial benefits.
 

So, you've decided to bring a change manager on board - what next?

 
When a Michael Page consultant sits down with a CIO to discuss change recruitment, there tends to be a fairly linear pattern. The CIO explains the story so far (having sent their specification for an interim change manager to the HR department's ‘preferred suppliers', they've seen 94 CVs ranging from Oracle developers to the former CEO of IBM; they wearily state ‘I can't stress this enough, I definitely DO NOT want an IT project manager'.)
 
Once established, it's time to discuss the job specification. This is the crucial point at which consultants have to take a step back from the jargon and formality of a typical job specification and focus on the desired outputs. The CIO is asked how the success of the programme will be measured. The answer will always dictate the response to the brief, and who will be introduced to the client. Like IT project management, change management is a broad and yet highly-specialist discipline; one size does not fit all.
 
The days of the flashy, all-singing, all-dancing, vanity projects are over. As purse strings continue to tighten across all sectors, businesses demand first-time delivery and real return on investment. With cost-saving programmes driving the agenda across all-sectors and employee uncertainty at an all-time high, an expert business change presence on the programme team can truly be the difference between ‘as things are' and ‘the way things could be'.
 

Consultancy, strategy and change

Consultancy, strategy and change

  • About us
  • Meet the team
  • Salary comparison tool
  • Browse for jobs

News and updates

News and updates

  • Consultancy, strategy and change – market update August 2015
Michael Page Logo
  • Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Google+Follow us on Google+
  • Follow us on LinkedInFollow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Twitter
  • Watch us on YouTubeWatch us on YouTube

General

  • Site map
  • Site terms
  • Work for us
  • Feedback
  • Accessibility
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Employee rights
  • Cookies
  • Modern Slavery Statement
  • Privacy policy
  • Complaints policy
  • Change country

Search for jobs

  • Accounting
  • Audit & Advisory
  • Banking & Financial Services
  • Compliance
  • Construction
  • Consultancy, Strategy & Change
  • Digital
  • Engineering & Manufacturing
  • Executive Search
  • Facilities Management
  • Fashion
  • Health, Safety & Environment
  • Healthcare
  • Hospitality & Leisure
  • Human Resources
  • Insurance
  • Legal
  • Life Sciences
  • Logistics
  • Marketing & Agency
  • Oil & Gas
  • Policy
  • Procurement & Supply Chain
  • Property
  • Public Sector & Not for Profit
  • Retail
  • Sales
  • Tax
  • Technology
  • Treasury

Reviews

Feefo logo

Download from Google Play Download from the App Store

Employers

  • Request a call back
  • Submit a job spec
  • Our offices

About Michael Page

  • Investors site
  • PageGroup corporate site
  • Page Executive
  • Page Personnel
  • Page Talent
  • Page Outsourcing
Michael Page is part of the PageGroup. Michael Page is a trading name of Michael Page International Recruitment Limited. Registered in England No. 04130921 Registered Office:
Page House, 1 Dashwood Lang Road, Addlestone, Weybridge, Surrey, KT15 2QW