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Everyone loves a champion, whether we are talking about fictional boxer Rocky Balboa or soccer club FC Barcelona. People invested in the success of a transformation project also grow to love a champion, because champions are essential to such projects.
Coleman Parkes Research’s latest white paper, Transformation: Governance, Benefits and How to Get it Right, which is based on a global study looking at transformation activity in the telecommunications service provider marketplace, details top transformation success factors. Senior IT, operations and business executives at more than 100 service providers around the globe who are engaged in some form of transformation activity, provided input into this important study concerning their experiences, challenges and the benefits seen from undertaking a transformation program. An effective champion was found to be a crucial element.
A champion is essential
Whatever the transformation drivers are, and however many of them there are, such programs are most likely to have their roots in the IT function (with the main sponsor or initiator often the chief information officer). This said, nearly one quarter of transformation projects are championed from the very top of the company by the CEO, with other board members also very prevalent. Overall and not surprisingly, responsibility for the conception and delivery of these types of business change initiatives sit at a very senior level, highlighting their business-critical nature and the impact that they will have on the business.
Governance
Almost three quarters of service providers feel that governance is an important part of the full transformation project and many regard it as very important. Several areas or issues relating to the way transformation projects are managed or governed are seen by many as critical to success, and three in particular stand out: the importance of aligning top-line management within business and IT; the setting of clear goals; and finally, keeping to the timeline of the transformation project plan. Failure to have clear governance over the project will jeopardize the program’s impact and the impact of future programs, too.
Leadership
It should of course go without saying that, for such business critical transformation programs, effective leadership is an absolute must. The good news is that the vast majority of companies currently implementing such programs recognize this. Fully 87% regard leadership and effective sponsorship as important in the successful governance of a transformation project, and only 3% say it is not important.
Success is not easy
But care needs to be taken since successful governance is not a given — service providers have to work at it and ensure that all of the right stepping stones are in place. Good governance will lead to greater success, poor governance will lead to major issues. Success is not easy or a given, and expert advice is normally required according to those in the marketplace. Fully half of all service providers currently implementing a transformation program admit that the misinformation or miscommunication of plans has been a weakness of governance during their transformation project, adding complexity, cost and the possibility of failure to the program.
Many service providers note that deviating from the plan and failing to monitor and control costs during the transformational change are the results of poor governance. This must put the transformation project manager and champion under great stress as senior manager ask appropriate questions. Not only is it clear that most companies need help in terms of governance, it is equally clear that getting this right could be the difference between success and failure.
A defined strategy, roadmap and communication, not miscommunication
The necessity of effective communication, multitiered, constant and consistent, is again highlighted, with half of service providers saying that constant communication between the leaders and enactors of change is essential to the success of the transformation program. Many indicate the need for a consistent roadmap explained and communicated to all levels of the organization, and the same proportion say the organization must allocate skilled and experienced realistic resources (which can be obtained via internal training or a trusted third-party partner) to transformation change.
