Change management/culture change

However sound the strategy, however well-defined the procedures and however fit for purpose an organisation’s infrastructure and technologies, it is the people within the organisation, their attitudes and behaviour which will make transformation happen, or not.

Whether the requirement is to facilitate planned change, or to address existing performance issues, Socitm Consulting can help your organisation develop a culture which is positive in its approach to transformation and capable of delivering better customer service to customers ever more efficiently.

Introducing new technology, for example, usually entails changes in working practices (and indeed, this may be the main point of the exercise). If your people are not ready for those changes, the best new system will fail, however carefully configured and implemented. Similarly, the adoption of mobile, home and flexible working offers huge potential benefits to the organisation, but presents enormous challenges to those most affected. In some cases, consistent performance and morale issues across the whole organisation indicate a clear need to undertake cultural change.

We see it as vital to start from the vision, not the problem. Our approach is therefore to begin by defining and agreeing the organisational or departmental culture needed to achieve the organisation’s business objectives, and then auditing the current culture against that vision. We identify the benefits to be gained by the change, and then plan and execute the change programme, measuring the actual benefits against those planned and communicating the change to all stakeholders, including customers.

This requires a thorough understanding of the political and organisational drivers, and considerable experience of working in and with public and independent sector organisations. Together these inform the provision and effective use of tools and methodologies to unravel the complexities of change and ensure that systems, structures and, most importantly, people are working together.

And because ultimately an organisation has to learn to change itself, we make skills transfer a key element in every change programme. This ensures that the change capability becomes part of the organisation’s culture and strengthens its position now and in the future.

If you would like to discuss how we may be able to help you in this area, please call us on 0845 450 0904, email info@socitmconsulting.co.uk.