Business Changes Fail as Staff Support is Seen as Cost
Support and training during transformation projects are seen as costs and not as investments which contribute to business change, severely impacting project success as a result.
Lack of effective training and support for business transformation initiatives are key factors leading to delays, over spend, and ultimately failure of many IT projects, claims Pat Coates, business development director at Redtray Solutions, the corporate training provider.
According to a survey conducted in 2008, in the last several years organisations in the UK have been losing £1.7 billion a year from unsuccessful business transformation projects. Coates says although the study was carried out a few years ago, many failed IT enabled change programmes still encounter problems.
He believes too many organisations don’t invest in their staff’s learning during transformation schemes because they see it as a cost rather than investment. He says, “During business transformation projects, the majority of the investment goes into the implementation of new technology. People are often the afterthought and allocated the fewest resources. This is a big mistake.”
“In order for employees to accept change they need to fully understand it and how it will impact them and their role. This involves a combination of effective communications, training and learner support. When staff don’t have the training and support they need, disengagement, poor acceptance, can arise - two of the main reasons why so many business transformation projects fail to deliver as planned. Businesses don’t appear to realise that and this is a problem”, explains Coates of Redtray Solutions.
The issue has inspired his company to prepare a workshop for L&D professionals, titled ‘Supporting technology enabled change’. This hands-on seminar will take place at Training Zone Live next week in London at Dexter House.
During the workshop, participants will find out how to manage change initiated by the implementation of new systems and learn about the impact such change has on people. Pat Coates will share a new return on investment (ROI) tool which he believes will help L&D, HR and IT managers realise the potential threat of a lack of investment in people in the planning stage for technology enabled change projects.
*A study commissioned in 2008 by IT services provider, Logica
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