Master The Art of Change, How To Affectively Assess Impact ( Change Management Foundation Microlesson )

Before you launch any major change, you must first answer a critical question: "Who is affected, and how significantly?" This focused Microlesson provides the foundational tools and techniques for conducting a robust Change Impact Assessment (CIA).

Understanding technical changes is not enough; you must quantify the impact on roles, processes, and people. A solid CIA is the bedrock of your entire change management plan.

Tune in to master this essential change management discipline, ensuring you target your resources effectively and minimise disruption for those on the front lines.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Training Bitesize Micro Lessons. We are here to help you navigate the complexities of modern business. Today we're talking about a topic that's crucial for any project's success. 

Assessing the impact of change. Assessing the impact of change is a critical two-step process that forms the foundation of effective change management. It's how you ensure a smooth transition and get the best possible outcome from any project. The first step is to categorise and identify impacts. This means figuring out what will be affected and who will be affected. Looking at the change from both the organisation's and the stakeholders' viewpoints. The change team uses this information to pinpoint potential gaps or barriers that could stand in the way of achieving the end goal. It's all about mapping out the landscape of the change before you start the journey. 

The second step is to define the severity of these impacts. For each group of stakeholders, you need to understand just how much the change will affect them. When you do this, you have to consider the environment and the change maturity of your organisation. Is your company great at handling new things or does it struggle? The information you gather here is what will directly inform the entire change approach you decide to take. Now here's the key takeaway. Assessing impacts and their severity isn't a one-time thing. It should be an iterative process. Meaning you keep doing it throughout the project, regardless of how you're delivering it. This continuous assessment informs and shapes your interventions, making sure you're always adapting to the situation. 

Contextual factors like leadership style, corporate culture and staff capability can either help or hinder your success. You also have to be ready for unplanned outcomes to emerge, which can alter the impact profile. When this happens, a good change manager has to be ready to adapt their approach to maximise the realisation of the project's benefits. Remember, not all change outcomes are positive. But by assessing impacts, you can proactively reduce the disruptive efforts and strongly support the parts of the change that are beneficial. It's the key to smart change management planning. Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time on Training Bitesize.