From family vacation planning to corporate transformation - get your stakeholders involved!
This past December, my family and I took a road trip to visit my in-laws and nephews in Ohio - the first time since the pandemic started in March 2019. This trip was way overdue and we wanted to make the most of it, not just once we got to our destination, but along the way as well. Instead of driving non-stop for two days, we decided to visit friends and check off a few more National Parks and Monuments. The stops and destinations were more or less planned on the way to Ohio, but we left our return more flexible with the idea that we would firm up our plans a couple days before we left to return home. Besides, December was crazy busy so I figured the return trip details could wait - I needed to take care of my kids, clients, cat, dog, packing….(and the list goes on!)
With stops in Dallas for lunch with my college friend at Torchy’s, overnights and sightseeing in Little Rock, Nashville, then hiking at Mammoth Cave National Park and meeting a business partner in Louisville it was an enjoyable, unrushed trip. We made it to Ohio, spent a week visiting with family and friends, enjoying the opportunity to see and hug each other in person! As our stay was wrapping up, I started asking my kids what places they wanted to stop and see on the way home. I told them the expected route, possible stops and suggested they check google maps or TripAdvisor for ideas. I reminded them once more, but did not get any feedback. They were either too tired, too busy or too happy eating food they don’t get at home to determine what might happen in the coming days. Okay, fine by me - I just decided myself we’ll head back through Indianapolis, St. Louis, Tulsa and Dallas.
As we pulled into St. Louis, we still had a few hours of daylight left, so I decided we would stop at the Gateway Arch and maybe grab some dinner in that area. My kids (aka stakeholders) were not onboard with this plan - what and where is this exactly? And why do we need to go here? Why do we always have to do what Mom wants to do? How quickly they had forgotten that they were asked to provide input on the plan, but did not contribute any suggestions!
It dawned on me that these questions were similar to those I have seen in a multitude of projects in which stakeholders are either a) not given the option to provide input into the changes being implemented or b) are asked to provide input and don’t take advantage of the opportunity to do so. Let’s examine the reasons why this happens.
In one recent project I was managing, I suggested my client include a broader set of stakeholders in the discovery process, but they rejected this recommendation. On further investigation, it seemed they thought including the larger group of stakeholders might set an expectation that all feedback would be captured as requirements and would result in unnecessary customizations in the end product to address all the concerns raised. I suggested that we begin the session with setting the expectation that all inputs would be heard and documented, but not necessarily accepted as we have an overarching goal to implement a system that has limited customization and takes advantage of out of the box functionality wherever possible. I also reminded the client that involving the larger stakeholder group in the discovery process was more likely to determine a successful change management outcome. In other words, involving stakeholders early and often in the change process, setting clear expectations and continuing communication throughout project discovery, build, system demonstrations and beyond would give the stakeholders more opportunity to have a say in the overall change process and lead to successful adoption of the new system and processes.
But what about those stakeholders that are asked for input but do not contribute? There could be a myriad of reasons for this - being too busy (like my kids were when asked for suggestions on our return vacation trip) or in the case of many projects I have managed, it seems stakeholders either think their input won’t be heard or that similar input has already been shared. There are several ways to address this project issue. First, make the feedback shared accessible and visible to stakeholder teams for review. Secondly, when you haven’t gotten stakeholder feedback, have project sponsors personally follow up with team members who have not provided input to solicit feedback. Lastly, all impacted stakeholders provide signoff that documented feedback addresses the necessary requirements for future system and process improvements.
Involving your stakeholders, whether they be your client team or your family members, will lead to higher engagement, buy-in and overall change management success for your corporate transformation project or your family vacation!