Preparing to transform : The do’s and don’ts of a successful transformation programme

Our ‘preparing to transform’ webinar kick of the series last week, with the first session covering the things we’ve seen that make transformation work, as well as the issues that can become barriers to success.

We were delighted to be joined by organisations from across the sector for a rich discussion and Q&A. We know how valuable it is to hear best practice and having space to share what is going on in your organisation. 

In our interactive polls, the majority of our attendees rated their transformation maturity as medium: “We’ve got plans in place, but it is a bit bumpy”. We weren’t surprised at this scoring – change tends to feel a bit bumpy, or perhaps more accurately like a rollercoaster! This is feedback we often hear when we are out and about with our clients.

In the webinar we set out eight Critical Success Factors to make transformation work:

• strong leadership from the Cabinet and the Council Management Team 
• management buy-in to the transformation approach with managers leading by example and owning the process of engagement and communications with the workforce
• a collaborative approach across the council and partners working constructively together
• strong leadership of the transformation programme, with separation from business-as-usual activity 
• dedicated resource with the right experience, capabilities and skills to deliver the transformation including strong project and programme management capabilities 
• adequate funding to deliver the proposed transformation 
• management and staff to be open to innovation, new ideas and technology
• operational delivery at pace, breaking down barriers that stall implementation  

This aligned to key areas that were raised by participants as areas they needed support with which included:

• transformation programme leadership
• building strong foundations and project management expertise
• resourcing and prioritisation
• benefits realisation

If you are interested in learning more, you can re-watch the webinar here, or send on to a colleague.

Sign up for the next webinar in the series here, covering transformation in the context of the climate emergency.

We publish a range of free resources for transformation in our resource hub.

This includes:

Transformation case studies

Template transformation prioritisation matrix

Programme Management Office toolkit

If you are wanting to build your transformation maturity, have a particular transformation challenge you are grappling with, or would just like someone to bounce ideas off, please get in touch. We are always keen to hear from you about your experiences of transformation.