Soaring to New Digital Heights – Change Management at Pilatus Aircraft Ltd (September 19th 2024)

There are many reasons why projects fail. Let's look at a few examples:

• Lack of management support

• Lack of clear goal definition

• Employees' resistance to change

• Insufficient training

• Poor communication

• Ineffective program or project management

• Inadequate resources

Effective change management can help address these challenges.

John Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model offers a useful framework to guide you through this process.

1. Create a sense of urgency

For change to happen efficiently and sustainably, you first need to establish a sense of urgency. Highlight the most pressing challenges your employees currently face. On the positive side, emphasize the opportunities that change can bring.

2. Build a guiding coalition

The more "like-minded" individuals you bring on board, the better. For a project to succeed, you need the support (active or passive) of individuals from various departments and levels of the organization. Ideally, these are well-connected and respected people. The more people convinced of the need for change, the broader the reach and the easier it will be to implement the initiative sustainably.

3. Form a strategic vision

Next, develop a strategy and formulate a positive vision. Think about where you want to go and how to tackle the identified challenges. Your organization’s existing strategy can provide guidance here.

4. Communicate the vision

Communicating the vision effectively sets the stage for the next steps. Make the urgency tangible and the vision inspiring and relatable for employees. Enough people need to be motivated and convinced of the initiative. The core team must identify with the project. Directly impacted employees should be actively involved, indirectly affected employees need to understand the purpose, and even those not directly involved should have some insight. Everyone should stay informed—after all, people are interested in “what’s in it for me.” Consider which communication channels work best for each audience.

5. Enable action by removing barriers

A key part of any change initiative is not only improving processes and structures or addressing inefficiencies but also handling employee resistance effectively. Success depends on taking concerns seriously, listening to employees, and involving them in the process. Only then can obstacles be effectively removed.

6. Generate short-term wins

To maintain momentum, it’s valuable to set interim goals and celebrate them accordingly. Break longer projects into smaller, tangible milestones whenever possible.

7. Sustain the acceleration

Celebrating early successes can be risky if it causes focus to waver. It’s crucial to maintain momentum to achieve subsequent milestones and ultimately realize the vision. Gradually transition tasks and responsibilities from the project team to the organization. Highlight what’s coming next and keep the sense of urgency alive as new responsibilities are established and employees adjust to the changes.

8. Institute change

Change is only truly sustainable when it’s embedded in the company culture. Showcase how the changes positively impact the organization, employees, and their daily work routines. Leaders must lead by example. In some cases, old processes or systems can even be retired completely.

For inspiration, check out how one of our customers, Pilatus, approached this topic in their case study (in German, with optional auto-generated English subtitles).

https://digitaleneuordnung.de/blog/kotter-modell/

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