The other day I was helping an ex-colleague respond to an online questionnaire for a potential job opportunity. The role was for Change Management. The potential employer - one of the Big 4s - had a very interesting question: "Which Change Management methodologies have you used in the past?". This question set me thinking. Have (we) consultants reduced such a delicate issue as Change to a methodology? And if were just about methodology, we can churm out potential change managers by huge numbers on the production line (a.k.a. management schools).
And if it is a process (i.e., set of discreet activities) that lead to a defined results, companies don't need Big 4 any more. Any BPO/ITO/KPO/XXO vendor can deliver the change from offshore. Big 4s, watch out!
I have handled transformation programmes (and the inherent change element) of varied sizes before. I have found it to be emotionally draining, very intense, but extremely rewarding experience. No amount of compensation can beat the sight of a (formerly) resistant person, helping their co-workers with their newly acquired skills.
Methodologies help. No doubt about it. But to the extent of developing an understanding of what goes in a change programme. If you select a change manager only on the basis of their knowledge of a particular methodology, I believe your change programme may be in for serious challenges.
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