“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” — William Arthur Ward
An organizational Change Readiness Assessment is a set of tasks completed to identify how prepared an organization is for a particular change. The level of change readiness assessed is based on the overall scale of the change, and the severity of impacts.
PMI considers “Change Readiness” as a measure of confidence, backed by defensible data and information. This concept acknowledges that readiness is a perception, and is measured both by judgment and by more structurally sound data (subjective and objective observation). Change readiness, like change agility, considers three key drivers that impact readiness (Combe, 2014a):
- Cultural Readiness—the degree of alignment between cultural norms and the proposed change.
- Commitment Readiness—the degree of resolve and ability of the organization, through its leaders at all levels, to see the change through to successful and sustainable completion within the organization’s overall strategic plan.
- Capacity Readiness—the degree to which the organization can bring supportive work processes, historical knowledge and experience, current knowledge, skills and abilities, and resources to bear to aid in successful implementation and sustainability of the change.
The Change Readiness Assessment will capture the organizational cultural views of the initiative, and perspective on what is needed for the organization to maximize the business benefits realization of the digital business transformation program. This is accomplished by the development and execution of (either internal or external third-party) Interviews, Questionnaires, and Surveys.
From this, you will gain a level of understanding (by way of quantitative or qualitative data) of the project rationale at a leadership level, and an understanding of the benefits and barriers the project/change will present. It will bear a belief of whether the project vision has been appropriately disseminated to stakeholders and a baseline understanding of the organization’s appetite for change based on previous experiences. Once analyzed and compared to project business objectives, the data will result in a report that outlines recommendations to improve understanding, competency, and user adoption of the new process, system, or tool.
The data will also provide an assessment of stakeholder attitude/disposition (advocate, neutral, critic, impediment). They will assist in the placement of where the stakeholder needs to be to make the program a success. Other results from a Change Readiness Assessment are moreover a Baseline Measure of Readiness, Initial Readiness Risk Assessment, and Surface Strengths/Assets to advance the initiative.
The change readiness assessment is a phenomenal tool for the overall change management process. It not only informs on the level of readiness but also provides a roadmap of recommendations for focus areas. Change is hard, but planning for it doesn’t have to be.
Change and Change Management are one of the critical drivers of the AMIGO platform. Keeping the cadence and optics intact down to the Work Package level will ensure proper communication is realized. Change and approvals are all tied to the Teams, Roles, and Work Packages as well, allowing for timely decisions and cost containment. Precious budgets are met and kept, while stakeholders rejoice.
There are so many things we can discuss within AMIGO that will transform your initiative to gain the much-desired benefits realization level you built into the business case. All you have to do is visit our Face The Challenge Head-On page or DisruptingDX.com and set a time for a FREE 30-Minute Consultation or Live Demo of AMIGO. I promise you will see the exceptional value, stability, and controls we are offering your organization. In this time, it is necessary to take every opportunity to safeguard not only your current resources but your organization’s future. We at Platinum PMO would love the opportunity to assist you with just that!
