Implementation & Beyond
At this stage the emphasis of work shifts from defining and designing to engaging and implementing.
Implementation is concerned with planning and implementing and finally embedding new practices to enable the new design to become reality.
Guidance
The role and contribution of the Organisation Design practitioner during this stage may vary depending on the implementation approach that is adopted. A programme manager will most typically be assigned to manage large-scale restructuring programmes, which enables the Organisation Design practitioner to focus on:
- providing specialist 'technical' support during implementation.
- design integrity – ensuring that as the new structure is implemented and detailed design decisions are taken, those decisions are aligned with the design criteria.
Your plan should cover:
- broad implementation approach (e.g. speed, involving and collaborative vs. directive)
- who will drive implementation (change agents, line managers etc.)
- how progress will be tracked
- what training is required to equip people to manage and navigate change
- how communication will be managed
- how momentum will be maintained
- how the equality impact assessment will be completed
- implementation risks and mitigation
Implementation begins when the plan is ready, key change agents and line managers are informed and trained and the business is committed to managing the impacts of change. During this step, it's important to:
- review progress against the plan regularly
- understand and address resistors to change
- check design consistency and design integrity as the new structure is implemented
- review risks and identify contingency plan
- actively and regularly engage with people impacted by the change
- capture learnings
The focus at this step is to ensure change is maintained after the initial activity; that outcomes are evaluated against original success measures and that areas for improvement are identified. Specifically:
- to what extent did the changes meet the objectives?
- what are the perceptions of people who were affected by the change?
- have any issues been left unattended?
- has the equality impact assessment been reviewed and any equality issues been identified and resolved?
- have benefits been realised?
- what lessons have been learned?
- what further improvements need to be made?
Tools
Engagement Framework - Find out how functions or teams create their own engagement or decision making framework, reasoning how it links into the overall framework.
Communication Plan - Use this template when planning communication. These templates act as a checklist that covers key stakeholder groups that need to be communicated with, what message must be communicated, which media, by whom and by when.