Change is always hard, especially at an organizational level where you’ve got so many people who have their own way of doing things. In order to effectively implement change, an organization needs effective communication processes that help prepare, support, and assist members through it. Change management is particularly unique for utilities, with internal and external relationship definitions that are vastly different from any other industry.
Bolster your change management processes with PFES’ Best Practices for Utility Change Management.
1.) Assessment
Understanding the definition and impact of any change will set the stage for effective planning activities that involve both internal and external parties for utilities.
The two most important questions that need to be answered in the assessment phase are:
- Why are we changing?
- Who will be be impacted?
The assessment phase is particularly critical for utilities as they deal with both internal and external resources (eg. Regulators, Compliance Officers, other stakeholders) which require additional impact clarity.
2.) Awareness
Ensuring the right people are involved and communicated with at the right time are key factors in any successful change. Top level support is a critical factor in change initiatives and requires consistent leadership. Most change efforts fail due to inconsistent or poor support from leaders; internal and external.
3.) Knowledge
Creating specific information provisions, training and support for change is needed to provide understanding before the change is initiated. Internal and external parties will require different pieces of information to ensure they know the details of the change. Knowledge is the what of the change.
4.) Ability
There are different levels of abilities for each change consumer. While some may understand the what of the change, they may not understand how to do it. Ability is enabling the understanding of the how. Creating a space that is supportive, safe and open will allow change consumers to ensure they can do the how. Knowledge, support, and tools are needed along with an ability assessment to fully know if consumers are ready for the change.
5.) Sustainment / Adoption
Tracking how and who is utilizing the change can come in many different forms. This step is required to ensure consumers have not reverted to the old way of doing things, or not doing the change at all. Custom metrics should be developed in order to track and monitor these activities with specific follow-up for desired outcomes.
References: [1] Project Management Institute (PMI) [2] Prosci ADKAR Model [3] PFES Program Management
