Project ECM - Adding intent and structure to
"institutionalizing change management"
Module 2

Over the last decade, the discipline of change management has emerged and evolved. What was once an ad hoc, after-the-fact approach occasionally accompanied by a communications plan or training plan has been replaced by holistic, structured processes with complete toolsets for addressing change management at the individual and organizational levels. Now, leading organizations are taking the next step in the journey, shifting their focus from project-by-project application toward institutionalizing change management practices, processes, capabilities and competencies. Instead of addressing change management one project after another, these organizations are investing time, energy and resources to build organizational change management capabilities and competencies. Prosci calls this effort Enterprise Change Management (ECM), the structured and intentional deployment of change management across and throughout an organization. The first tutorial in this series provided an overview of Enterprise Change Management.

This tutorial introduces the construct of Project ECM as a way to bring intent and structure to building change management capabilities and competencies.

A major pitfall in Enterprise Change Management

One of the most common pitfalls regarding ECM is failing to treat and manage the effort as a project and a change. For ECM to be successful, it is essential to treat "institutionalizing change management" or "building change management capabilities and competencies" as a specific initiative.

There is an important mindset shift that must occur. You have to move out of the mindset of simply doing more change management (whether that means more application or more training) to a mindset of deploying change management and building organizational capabilities. There are countless organizations that continue to do more and more change management, and their projects and initiatives are more successful because of it. But they never hit the seminal moment of deciding to take the next step toward institutionalizing change management.

When the shift in mindset has occurred and you begin treating and managing the effort to institutionalize change management as a project and a change, you have embarked on what we call Project ECM. We use the phrase "Project ECM" to reinforce that this is an effort that must be managed like a project.

Like any other project, there is a current state, or how things are done today. Like any other project, there is a future state, or how things will be done after implementation. And like any other project, there is a technical side and a people side to the transition state between the current and future states. This simple but universal model of change is applicable to a variety of organizational efforts, but here we are applying it to one particular effort: institutionalizing change management.

In addition to thinking about Project ECM as a change using the states-of-change framework, you will also need to use the tools available for making any project successful, including change management and project management. You will need to design a solution. You will need effective sponsorship. You will need a schedule and budget. You will need organizational and individual change management plans. Treating the effort to institutionalize change management like an initiative increases the likelihood that you will be successful and adds credibility to the work you are doing.

The following sections of this tutorial address the current, transition and future states for Project ECM with descriptions and examples. If this is a direction your organization is moving, the Prosci ECM Boot Camp is designed for you. In the one-day workshop you gain additional tools based on research findings for creating your Project ECM strategies and plans. Learn more or download the ECM Boot Camp registration form.

Current state of Project ECM

The current state of Project ECM is how change management is done today in your organization. What percentage of projects are applying change management? Is there a standard approach or are there numerous approaches being used? Are tools available for all levels in the organization? Who has been trained in change management?

The new Prosci Change Management Maturity Model Audit provides a web-based self assessment to determine your current maturity across five Capability Areas: Leadership, Application, Competencies, Standardization and Socialization.

A second aspect of the current state is understanding factors about the environment where you are trying to institutionalize change management. This includes assessment and evaluation of how change, generally, occurs in the organization including the initiation and governance processes in place. Through research and experience, Prosci has also identified a number of factors that can act as assets in the effort to deploy change management or risks that must be mitigated. Evaluating each of these factors builds out your understanding of the environment for Project ECM.

Future state of Project ECM

The future state of Project ECM is what your organization will look like and how it will operate after you have built change management capabilities and competencies. This is when change management becomes the norm. Applying change management on projects and initiatives is the expectation, not the exception. It is simply assumed that resources, tools and processes addressing the people side of change are present on all projects. Employees throughout the organization have built their own personal competencies at leading change, from wherever they are in the organization.

Failing to define a future state - establishing the targets of what you are trying to achieve when you take on Project ECM - is a major pitfall for many organizations that are beginning the ECM journey. They make progress in applying change management more regularly, or train a number of employees in change management, or even work to integrate change management and project management, but they never step back to really define what they are trying to achieve.

Defining the future state includes creating a vision statement, establishing objectives, identifying the artifacts that will be present after the main push of the deployment effort, and creating metrics and indicators that will let you know if you reached the future state for Project ECM.

Transition state of Project ECM

The transition state for Project ECM involves moving from that status of change management today in the organization to a point where change management is embedded and engrained in how the organization operates. The transition is where you change how changes are managed in the organization by making change management a part of every initiative.

The transition state has a technical-side component - the implementation of solutions and mechanisms for institutionalizing change management. The Prosci ECM Strategy Map defines five areas where tactics are needed to advance change management at the enterprise level - Leadership tactics, Project tactics, Skill tactics, Structure tactics and Process tactics. An effective solution for the technical side of the transition state requires a balanced approach both in terms of these five tactical areas and in terms of timing (short-term, medium-term and long-term tactics).

The transition state also has a people-side component - building buy-in, support and commitment for change management and for fulfilling the specific roles in change management. For senior leaders, this means becoming great sponsors of change. For front-line supervisors, this means becoming great coaches to their direct reports. For project managers, this means addressing the people side of their project from the onset. The people side of the transition state is based on the fact that "change management takes change management" - a fully implemented technical solution that no one is supportive of will not deliver results and outcomes.

Prosci ECM Boot Camp

The Prosci ECM Boot Camp is a one-day workshop that gives you the foundation, perspective and tools you need to be successful with Project ECM. You will dive deeper into the current, future and transition states of Project ECM and apply the construct to your organization. The fast-paced session draws on the latest benchmarking data and development from Prosci, equipping you with tools for creating your own customized strategies and plans for deploying change management broadly throughout your organization.

US ECM Boot Camp sessions conducted by Prosci:

• Feb 22, 2013 - Chicago, IL
• April 18, 2013 - Los Angeles (day after ACMP conference)
• June 28, 2013 - Washington DC
• July 23, 2013 - Denver, CO
• Sept 10, 2013 - San Francisco, CA
• Oct 11, 2013 - Cleveland, OH
• Nov 5, 2013 - Houston, TX
• Download registration form for US programs delivered by Prosci

Canada ECM Boot Camp sessions conducted by AdPro

• September 26, 2013 - Calgary
• Learn more about Canada sessions delivered by AdPro

Australia ECM Boot Camp sessions conducted by Being Human:

• May 22, 2013 - Melbourne
• Sept 18, 2013 - Sydney
• Learn more about Australia sessions delivered by Being Human

Feedback:

• "The ECM Boot Camp gave me a research-based grounding in the principles of Enterprise Change Management, and equipped me with robust tools that enabled me to immediately apply the learning. Highly recommended for anyone looking to go beyond project change management to affect an entire culture."
     - Eryc Eyl, Change Acceleration Specialist
• "ECM Boot Camp affords excellent understanding of the mechanisms underpinning ECM. As importantly, it informs on the practicalities of making it happen. Any first steps on the ECM journey will be all the more surefooted for a day spent here."
     - Graeme R, Management Consultant
• "My favorite part of the ECM Boot Camp was learning that there is already a defined approach and that if you follow the steps you can make progress – AND that there is a way to measure that progress – I loved it!"
     - Stephanie Christensen, Director of Enterprise Change Management
• "The ECM Boot Camp was very much worth the time and money that I invested. I walked away knowing what I needed to do next, to get on the right path to complete my journey to implementing ECM."
     - Marlene Mathias, Six Sigma Black Belt
• "The ECM Boot Camp will kick your organizations Change Management practices into high gear...."
     - Janice, Sr. HR Consultant II
• "If you're serious about achieving true change management as one of your core organizational competencies, then find a way to get to this course."
     - Jeff, Managing Director, Governmental Agency

Sessions are held at conference facilities near the airport, so you can take the complimentary airport shuttle to simplify travel. Tuition for the program is $889 and includes a single user license for the new ECM Roadmap (online instructional tool) and access codes for the new Prosci Change Management Maturity Model Audit. Visit the ECM Boot Camp website to learn more or download the registration form to enroll. Seats are limited.