How Project Change Managers Support Digital Transformation

Digital transformation projects need a good project change manager to oversee the process. Without one, suggestions are made and never followed up on, improved workflows are forgotten, transformation is not achieved, and morale can plummet. That’s where we come in. At Pareto, we specialise in finding the perfect candidate to help you plan and carry out big (or small) changes and negotiate the transition period as smoothly as possible.

Why project change managers are important

Great project managers look after a project team, monitoring their activities and planning business strategies to meet project goals. But when digital transformation needs to occur, project managers can benefit from a fresh pair of eyes and a specialist set of skills.

Strategic 

This is the change method many people think of first. Extensive, strategic changes are put in place to affect the overall direction of an organisation, where brand new technology is implemented, or a management restructuring means a change in vision.

Change managers are well versed in negotiating transformational business processes which may impact projects, tasks, processes, structures, or even job functions. The term “growing pains” can often be applied to businesses: as they get larger, earn more profit, and hire more staff, those systems and workflows that took them from SME to a corporation may break. After all, the daily routine of a tight-knit group of four business partners isn’t going to scale up successfully for a team of 60 or more.

A project change manager is called in when transformational change is needed, which is often a highly stressful time for everybody to oversee the entire process. Different approaches to changing the management process depend on when and how your digital transformation projects need to happen. However, it is generally understood that there are four main types of project change management:

Anticipatory 

Do you know your business needs transformation in advance? If you need to plan changes ahead of an expected outcome, project plans can mitigate those changes before they happen. Of course, it’s ideal to start as early as possible. However, you must be sure of the outcome before project manager recruitment starts. For example, if a senior employee is expected to hand in their notice.

Reactive

The opposite of the anticipatory approach is when an unforeseen event occurs. In crises, it’s often the case you need a project change manager who can pivot unexpectedly with little time to plan. Of course, reactive change management is not ideal, but we can help you find an expert to help you steer clear of the storm.

Incremental 

Total change management is needed if you would like to introduce gradual changes over a prolonged period, such as the ongoing addition of new features to an existing app. Alterations are small on a daily scale but must be constantly monitored to ensure the digital transformation project stays on track to avoid “scope creep.”

What to look for in project change managers

Good change managers need to react quickly, solve problems and teach others. They also need excellent organisational skills to effectively manage business change implementation. For example, change management can utilise many digital tools to ensure the job runs smoothly. Gantt charts, Kanban boards, shared calendars, and templates will be created by the project change manager and updated by the team or teams involved. Of course, if they are unfamiliar with using these tools, they have to be taught how: the right candidate also needs to have good people skills, especially in communicating new ideas.

Increasing productivity and maintaining employee adoption and usage are vital when transformation occurs. That’s why the successful candidate will focus just as much on the people involved in the change and their daily routines and workflows as much as the corporate vision.

When changes to business models, processes, systems, technology, and people’s job roles shift, it can cause friction. Change managers do not necessarily need conflict resolution skills, especially if your HR is robust, but they help. After all, their primary responsibility will be to create and implement change management strategies that are better for everyone. While the project change manager may or may not have supervisory responsibility, they’ll need the cooperation of higher and lower staff in the organisation to succeed at their mission. So, you need someone flexible, capable of taking feedback, and confident enough in their ability to follow through when required.

The right candidate for you

No two businesses are the same. Therefore, before starting the project manager recruitment process, we thoroughly evaluate your business’ transformational needs.

Firstly, consider which of the four project change management styles you need: Anticipatory, Reactive, Incremental or Strategic. What skill sets does your business need urgently, or which will it need in six months or three years? How can you help a project change manager do their job? Do you have the tools and skills to start the transformation process immediately, or is there groundwork to be laid first?

Technology forces organisations to transform aspects of their business into digital experiences. Moreover, how business is handled during unprecedented financial and global changes will never be the same. This means your project change manager needs to be adaptable - but they also need to be able to communicate with you exactly what they’re doing and why.

It becomes easier to embrace change and ride out the phases of a digital transformation journey when you have the right project change manager on board. At Pareto, we can help you find the right person to ensure you’re ready for any challenge in the future.

Knowing what you want to accomplish helps us find you a candidate who can evaluate the challenges and clearly articulate how they would solve them. And lastly, you need to be sure that you and your company are ready and willing to accept the changes which will come.

Be realistic about what your organisation is capable of: a manager in charge of business change implementation is more likely to be able to help if you have specific, measurable, and achievable goals. For example, it’s not enough to want your business to “grow” or adopt the latest technology without knowing why.

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If you’re looking for a transformation partner to help your business reach its maximum potential, we can help. We can be your growth partner, allowing you to find your perfect match. Discover more about our Change and Transformation Project Resource solutions and various sales training courses, including our leadership training programmes.