The ‘measured’ success of a consultancy programme is often linked more to the timing of the assessment process than to the delivered benefit. Some change processes will kick in overnight; others might take weeks or months and some large-scale processes might take years to realise a pay-back for the company. Your goal should be to develop a process that measures the total value of the change.
The time at which the change might be measured can often be seen as:
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(T1)
Shooting star - Any consultant who wants to impress the client and ensure a pay
cheque will measure the change when the momentum is at its peak. At this
stage both desirability and capability to become involved in the change is
quite high - hence the conformation process is likely to show it to be a
raving success. |
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(T2)
It wasn’t me - As new toys and interests come along, the organisation will eventually
tire of the change process.. Undertaking the confirmation process at this
stage will be the kiss of death. The negative bias that people put on
failed projects will potentially put the chance of any further work in
jeopardy. |
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(T3)
It’s over - In many cases, the negative spin applied to the change can actually
result in the view that the company should never have embarked on the
change and that it caused more problems that it cured. Measuring the
transformation at this stage would be akin to committing professional
suicide. |
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(T4)
Never give up on a good thing
- Once the dust has settled and a sense of reality returns, most
change projects are seen to have added something to the business. As such
it is possible to measure a residual outcome, one deeply embedded in the
culture of the business. |
(c) Mick Cope