On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 Mw struck with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma Plate and the Indian Plate.

A massive tsunami with waves up to 30 m (100 ft) high, known in some countries as the Boxing Day Tsunami after the Boxing Day holiday, devastated communities along the surrounding coasts of the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries in one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

It was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Asia, the most powerful earthquake in the 21st century, and at least the third most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the world since modern seismography began in 1900.

Naturally, the rehabilitation following this disaster has informed various case studies, one of which has addressed potentially transformative shifts in the ways local people interact with the state in Little Andaman. 

Of interest here, is that challenges have been presented to the notion of ‘deliberate transformation’ as opposed to ‘progressive transformation’.  Keeping it simple, it is argued that actively instigating ‘deliberate transformation’ according to pre-determined visions held by external actors (in this case NGO’s ‘non-government organisations’) is a direct contradiction to the principle that progressive transformation should be shaped deliberatively by the values and priorities of citizens themselves.  i.e. the NGO should itself undergo a transformation from ‘doing to’ to ‘doing with’ citizens.

Now, to understand how this impacts digital transformations, let’s look at some of the reasons why transformations are likely to fail.

One of these is around lack of awareness within the organisation. Humans by default fear what they don’t understand. The majority of an organisation’s employees will reject new software, tools, apps, and processes, even if they will improve their lives, unless they are slowly, consistently educated. 

Indeed, this may equally ferment into pure resistance for fear of being replaced.  You will have internal saboteurs who fear losing their jobs, so they’re doing everything in their power to undermine your progress behind your back. Who can blame them? Wouldn’t you if you thought your job was on the line?

What about who is leading the transformation.  If you look at the experience of the leaders, are they expert coders and engineers? If so, why?  The skills people need to lead transformation programmes are essentially soft skills, probably 80% in fact, whereas the technical skills that they have may only contribute 20% to what is needed.

One of the outcomes here then may be poor decision-making processes. If your leaders don’t engage with the people who are most involved and most affected, they won’t understand the potential roadblocks and what they need to do to anticipate and prevent these. A result will be slow decision making and more delays.

This of course feeds through into the ability or inability to translate the new way into real world language.  Whether it is to the executives providing the funding, or the staff on the front line, an inability to translate efforts into a compelling story that non-technologists can appreciate leads to self-isolation and barriers going up between the IT teams and their managers and everyone else who may be affected.

I’m sure we all know of plenty of other reasons for failure, be they new toy syndrome, poor prioritisation, loss of talent, lack of control etc. But you know what, none of these have anything whatsoever to do with the technology. The tech is generally fine; it’s the people who are getting in the way. 

An organisation will fail 70% of the time, not because of inadequate technology, lack of organisational capacity or lack of funds. It will fail because it is looking at digital transformation through rose-colored virtual reality (VR) glasses when it needs to be paying much more attention to the soft skills.

Humans are the problem. And the solution. 

So how does an organisation succeed in its transformation?  Going back to the Andaman example, it needs to include the right people, the impacted people, at the very heart of the process.  Transformation needs to be progressive and not simply, deliberate.  An organisation needs to hire appropriately skilled, qualified leaders to forge the path of a successful transformation. It needs to recruit on soft skills and not purely through the eyes of IT.  Stop promoting your technologists to their level of incompetence in the soft skills areas or at least train them when you do! 

And then make sure you ‘do with’ and not ‘do to’...

This is why an organisation only has a small chance of success.  It is the soft skills, 80% in fact!

Find the best transformation leaders and talent with Malikshaw Interim & Executive...

Malikshaw Interim & Executive work closely with organisations to deliver real world outcomes from transformation and change programmes.  Whether it is about people, process, technology, data or product, our talent pools contain the very best leaders and domain specialists that can help to drive your organisation's next stage of growth and transformation.

My Biography

I am a sales leader with over 25 years experience of building go-to-market sales strategies and sales teams, for both multi-national corporations and start-up enterprises. I have been successful in building trusted relationships with both colleagues and clients, which have resulted in significant revenue generation and business expansion. I have proven experience in sales internationally, having managed sales teams in both North America and in a number of EU countries. I enjoy the challenges of the journey to goal achievement and the execution of the plan to get there.

My Areas of Expertise

Sales Strategy & Execution
New Business Development
Leadership & Coaching 

My Languages

English
Pub French

My Interests

Liverpool Football Club
Golf (because my Footy and Rugby playing days are long-gone!)

In the latest edition of our Unlocking Success series, we consider how unveiling the salary ranges to your employees with honesty will unlock the numerous benefits that open dialogue can bring.

Key Insights:

• Ethical and legal significance of pay transparency is on the rise.
• The implementation of pay transparency aids in attracting and retaining top talent, cutting recruitment costs, building trust, and identifying pay equity concerns.
• Employers should adhere to best practices by honestly communicating compensation ranges, maintaining transparency in policies and procedures, and regularly conducting employee surveys and reviews.
• Initiating a pay transparency policy reflects respect for employees and contributes to improved performance and retention.

The concept of pay transparency is currently a widely discussed subject in HR circles. Pay transparency involves the open disclosure of both current and potential employee salary information. The increasing importance of this topic is partly attributed to employers using excessively broad or reduced salary ranges to avoid revealing their true pay structures. Even if this hasn’t affected you organisation, embracing pay transparency is considered a strategic decision. This is because openly communicating how pay is determined stands out as a crucial method to attract and retain top talent. Recent research indicates that job seekers are more inclined to apply for positions with disclosed salary information, and this transparency is linked to reduced recruiting costs. Furthermore, a clear and open approach to pay contributes to cultivating a trustworthy and fair environment between employees and employers, shedding light on potential pay equity issues that may require attention.

Here are three essential best practices related to pay transparency that you should be aware of:

Provide truthful information regarding compensation ranges

Ensure transparency about any bonuses, incentives, and employee benefits forming part of your company's comprehensive rewards package. This practice facilitates candidates in comparing job offers, making informed decisions, and avoiding potential misunderstandings related to compensation in the future.

The foundation of pay transparency lies in honesty. Human resources leaders and hiring managers should furnish a realistic salary range for their respective job positions, enabling applicants to have clear expectations. This range should allow flexibility for adjusting salaries based on experience, qualifications, or other relevant factors. However, it should not be overly broad, obscuring the budget allocated for the position. If uncertainty arises regarding the determination of a market-competitive salary range for a specific role, consider consulting resources providing salary data or, indeed, please ask us, we will be delighted to guide you.

Ensure transparency in pay policies and procedures

An integral part of promoting pay transparency involves ensuring that employees are well-versed in your company's policies and procedures regarding compensation. This encompasses detailed discussions on the criteria used to determine salary increases, the individuals responsible for decisions regarding promotions or salary hikes, and the specific benchmarks that employees must meet to be eligible for a raise or promotion. This not only aids in establishing clear expectations regarding performance metrics but also guarantees that everyone is aware of the necessary steps to progress towards higher pay or advancement within the company.

Introduce employee surveys and evaluations

An integral part of promoting pay transparency involves ensuring that employees are well-versed in your company's policies and procedures regarding compensation. This encompasses detailed discussions on the criteria used to determine salary increases, the individuals responsible for decisions regarding promotions or salary hikes, and the specific benchmarks that employees must meet to be eligible for a raise or promotion. This not only aids in establishing clear expectations regarding performance metrics but also guarantees that everyone is aware of the necessary steps to progress towards higher pay or advancement within the company.

Reap the rewards of pay transparency

Among the numerous advantages offered by pay transparency, it stands as a crucial tool for attracting and retaining top talent. The clarity and openness surrounding compensation contribute to fostering an environment of trust and fairness between employees and employers, shedding light on any existing pay equity issues.

Pay transparency goes beyond merely sharing compensation ranges and outlining pay policies; it necessitates the creation of an open and honest workplace where everyone feels at ease discussing salary matters without fearing repercussions from managers or colleagues.

We understand first hand that achieving pay transparency requires time and dedication. At Malikshaw, we firmly believe that the effort is worthwhile, as organisations embracing salary transparency showcase respect and appreciation for their employees' contributions—yielding significant benefits in talent performance and retention.

Finally

If you are looking for your next role or to employ new talent into your organisation, we can help.

For more information on how we can help you become or recruit the high-performing individuals you need, get in touch with us on 0870 042 1430 or email us here.

Read our latest “Transformation Trailblazers” Newsletter in which we are talking change, transformation and technology - from the innovators and triumphant to the stagnant and struggling — Read it here.

Marta Ortigas is a Director at Malikshaw Interim & Executive, a leading interim management and executive search firm exclusively focused on helping organisations achieve transformational change through delivering high performance, diverse, impactful talent teams.

Transforming our client’s performance through exceptional talent…

+44 7715 905810
marta.ortigas@malikshaw.com
www.malikshaw.com

In the latest edition of our Unlocking Success series, we look at how organisations can create longer lasting value from using contract staff.

In the contracts with one of our long-standing clients we have a written clause covering contractor transition and knowledge transfer. Indeed, to win the assignments in the first place, we need to present a comprehensive plan to ensure that the intellectual property developed by the contractor is effectively retained by the organisation. We thought this might be a useful subject to touch on in this series given how little attention it is often given – especially in times of 0 days notice.

As we know, change is an inevitable facet of organisational life, particularly when it involves personnel. While using contract staff can deliver huge benefits, the person leaving can pose huge challenges, particularly where knowledge transfer is concerned. Rather than being concerned here, adept preparation can transform this into an opportunity to reassess team dynamics and identify areas for improvement. A contractor transition plan serves as the foundation for managing such changes with minimal disruption to business operations.

Here we look at key aspects of creating an effective contractor transition plan.

What Is a Contractor Transition Plan?

A contractor transition plan is a dynamic document that outlines the crucial projects, responsibilities, and other details associated with a contractor's role. This plan establishes a structured approach or standard operating procedure (SOP) for:

• Handing over responsibilities
• Managing pending and future tasks
• Ensuring smooth operational continuity

This plan extends beyond the daily details of a contractor’s tasks and responsibilities, encompassing a framework for knowledge sharing, risk mitigation, and expectation setting. Typically utilised when an individual is leaving a team or organisation, it proves valuable during project handovers, new contractor onboarding, or other organisational.

When Is a Contractor Transition Plan Needed?

Contractor transitions occur at various levels and for diverse reasons within an organisation. Relevant scenarios include:

Increased Responsibilities: When a contractor secures an enlarged role within the company, a transition plan aids in succession planning.

Resignations: In cases of contractor resignation, a transition plan preserves the valuable knowledge of the departing contractor.

Shift in Job Roles: Organisational restructuring may lead to changes in job titles, descriptions, and duties. A transition plan helps redefine responsibilities during strategic shifts.

Long-Term Absences: Whether due to parental leave or extended medical leave or even furloughs, a transition plan ensures the continuity of duties during a contractor’s absence.

Why Is A Contractor Transition Plan Important?

A well-designed contractor transition plan offers numerous benefits to a company:

• Ensures business continuity, preventing disruptions to crucial projects.
• Facilitates smooth knowledge transfer to new and existing team members.
• Reduces uncertainty and anxiety for both remaining team members and the transitioning contractor.
• Enhances contractor engagement and morale by involving the departing contractor in the transition process.
• Prevents business losses, missed opportunities, and other risks during transitional phases.
• Saves time and resources by providing a citable plan during busy periods of change.

While consistent communication remains crucial, a contractor transition plan serves as a written resource for repeated reference.

Key Elements of a Transition Plan

A contractor transition plan functions as an SOP, offering comprehensive details of a contractor’s duties. It includes:

List of Responsibilities:
A detailed inventory of daily, project-related, and overarching responsibilities provides a holistic view of the contractor's role.

Timeline:
A clear timeline helps keep the transition on track, especially when time is limited.

Log of Current Projects and Deadlines:
An overview of ongoing projects, impending deadlines, and guidance for completion ensures a smooth handover.

Key Contacts:
information on contacts, including names, job titles, companies, reasons for contact, email addresses, and phone numbers, facilitates seamless communication with stakeholders.

What Is a Transition Plan Template?

A transition plan template is a reusable guide or checklist outlining the components necessary for creating a contractor transition plan. It serves as a starting point, ensuring consistency in planning for departures or leaves of absence. The template includes:

• Duties and responsibilities (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
• Priorities and transition timeline
• Current projects and upcoming deadlines
• Key stakeholders' contact information

Templates can be simple documents or more elaborate tools like SharePoint sites or project management platforms.

How to Create a Transition Plan with Your Contractor

Even with a template, crafting a personalised transition plan involves several steps:

Start the Conversation:
Initiate a candid conversation with the contractor, gathering insights about their role, responsibilities, and ongoing projects.

Assess Role and Responsibilities:
Review records of the contractor's position, job description, and any changes in responsibilities. Align these records with the contractor's assessment.

Establish Objectives:
Clearly define the goals to be achieved by the end of the transition period.

Choose a Successor:
Collaborate with the contractor to select a successor, considering the nature of the transition.

Draft the Transition Document:
Create a comprehensive transition document outlining key details of the transition process.

Review by the Contractor:
Allow the contractor to review and provide feedback on the transition plan, ensuring accuracy and completeness.

Onboard and Off-board:
Facilitate the onboarding of the new contractor and the off-boarding of the departing contractor, ensuring a smooth transition.

Finally

If you are looking for your next role or to employ new talent into your organisation, we can help.

For more information on how we can help you become or recruit the high-performing individuals you need, get in touch with us on 0870 042 1430 or email us here.

Read our latest “Transformation Trailblazers” Newsletter in which we are talking change, transformation and technology - from the innovators and triumphant to the stagnant and struggling — Read it here.

Marta Ortigas is a Director at Malikshaw Interim & Executive, a leading interim management and executive search firm exclusively focused on helping organisations achieve transformational change through delivering high performance, diverse, impactful talent teams.

Transforming our client’s performance through exceptional talent…

+44 7715 905810
marta.ortigas@malikshaw.com
www.malikshaw.com

In the latest edition of our Unlocking Success series we consider some of the clear benefits of working with short-term contracts as well as the increased use of SOW’s…

In today's business environment, organisations are reassessing traditional employment models and increasingly turning to short-term recruitment contracts to fulfil their talent requirements. These contracts have become a strategic solution, offering adaptability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. In this discussion, we will delve into the concept of short-term contracts, why more organisations are opting for this arrangement, and the advantages it brings to businesses.

A lot of what we talk about here is fairly obvious, but with many of our readers invested in this way of working, it is useful to sometimes remind ourselves of the why as well as some of the real benefits for both clients and candidates.

Defining Short-term Recruitment Contracts:

Short-term recruitment contracts are employment agreements that entail engagements for specific projects, assignments, or predetermined durations. Often referred to as Interim, Contract or Temporary (we will stick to interim for this purpose), these contracts involve hiring individuals on a short-term basis to meet immediate staffing needs, allowing organisations to respond swiftly to changing demands without committing to long-term arrangements. Interim workers can be sourced through Employment Businesses, such as Malikshaw, or directly hired by the company.

Benefits of Short-term Recruitment Contracts:

Scalability and Agility:
Short-term, interim contracts provide organisations with the capability to scale their workforce up or down rapidly and efficiently. Businesses often encounter fluctuating demands or project-based requirements, and Interim contracts offer the flexibility to hire additional talent or reduce staff as needed. This agility enables organisations to optimise resource allocation, maintain operational efficiency, and respond effectively to market dynamics.

Cost Optimisation:
Utilising Interim workers allows organisations to optimise costs associated with talent acquisition and management. Rather than committing to full-time employees, organisations engage short-term workers for specific durations, aligning workforce costs with actual business needs. Interim contracts minimise fixed overheads, such as benefits and training expenses, while still providing access to a skilled workforce for key projects or peak periods.

Access to Specialist Skills:
Particularly in interim and contract roles, short-term recruitment contracts offer access to a diverse range of specialist skills and expertise. Organisations can engage Interim workers with niche capabilities, filling critical skill gaps for specific projects or assignments. This access to specialist talent enhances innovation, problem-solving, and overall organisational adaptability, ensuring organisations remain competitive and meet evolving industry demands.

Workforce Diversity and Inclusion:
Short-term recruitment contracts can also contribute to workforce diversity and inclusion within organisations. Embracing Interim work arrangements attracts a more diverse pool of talent, including individuals who may prefer or require Interim employment due to personal circumstances or career aspirations. This inclusivity fosters a culture of diversity and respect, leading to enhanced employee engagement, creativity, and a more vibrant work environment.

Talent Engagement and Retention:
One of the key benefits of short-term contracts is the ability to positively impact talent engagement and retention. In a dynamic job market, staff often seek flexibility, varied experiences, and the opportunity to work on different projects. By offering Interim contracts, organisations demonstrate their commitment to meeting the evolving needs and preferences of their workforce. This, in turn, enhances job satisfaction, fosters a sense of belonging, and increases the likelihood of retaining skilled individuals who value the Interim work arrangement.

Add into the mix: SOW
Statements of Work have more recently become a popular means of creating output driven work arrangements. Whilst SOW’s are not new, their significance has increased with the evolution of IR35 and the need for the worker to act under their own supervision, direction and control. The benefit for Interim workers is clear in that roles are often therefore outside IR35 and are more consistent with being brought in as a specialist who can use their own experience to determine how to deliver an assignment.

For organisations, SOWs should also mean increased assurance over deliverables, improved forecasting of contract costs and reduced risk of projects not delivering. Add into the mix the lower pay rates associated with outside IR35 roles (due to reduced employment costs) and there really can be a win for all parties.

Over the last 30 years or so, interim contracts have emerged as a strategic solution, allowing organisations to align their talent acquisition with dynamic business requirements. By embracing Interim contracts, companies can achieve scalability, cost optimisation, access to specialist skills, workforce diversity, and talent engagement. As the demand for adaptable staffing solutions continues to grow, more organisations recognise the value of Interim recruitment contracts in building agile and resilient organisations. Embracing Interim contracts enables businesses to navigate the evolving employment landscape effectively, attract top talent, and thrive in a competitive business environment.

Finally

If you are looking for your next role or to employ new talent into your organisation, we can help.

For more information on how we can help you become or recruit the high-performing individuals you need, get in touch with us on 0870 042 1430 or email us here.

Read our latest “Transformation Trailblazers” Newsletter in which we are talking change, transformation and technology - from the innovators and triumphant to the stagnant and struggling — Read it here.

Take a glance at Malikshaw’s experience of delivering Statements of Work. — Read it here.

Marta Ortigas is a Director at Malikshaw Interim & Executive, a leading interim management and executive search firm exclusively focused on helping organisations achieve transformational change through delivering high performance, diverse, impactful talent teams.

Transforming our client’s performance through exceptional talent…

+44 7715 905810
marta.ortigas@malikshaw.com
www.malikshaw.com

 There have been a range of theories as to why cars drive on the right in the US and most of Europe.

On the US side, the Conestoga wagon was key to their story as was the predominance of most wagon drivers being right-handed. When the driver needed to walk alongside the wagon, it made sense to be on the left, so pushing the wagon to the right of the road. The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road, the US’s first main highway, opened in 1795. Among the rules written into its charter, according to the book “Ways of the World” by M.G. Lay, was that all traffic had to stay to the right — just like the Conestoga wagons did.

In France, the left side of the road was, by long cultural convention, reserved for carriages and those on horseback. In other words, the wealthier classes. Pedestrians, i.e. poorer folks, kept to the right. The French revolutionary government under Maximilien Robespierre — best known for leading the late 18th-century “Reign of Terror” in which thousands were guillotined — dictated that everyone should drive on the right. Forcing everyone to the same side of the road, besides being good for traffic, was part of doing away with these snobby class distinctions.  The French policy is said to have been spread by Napoleon as his armies marched through Europe.

There is one nation that was neither a subject nor ally of Napoleon. That would be Sweden. Sweden drove on the left, up until one surprisingly uneventful day in 1967 when drivers there switched to the right.

That day saw the culmination of a huge transformation process.

Dagen H (H-Day), otherwise known as “Högertrafikomläggningen" ("The right-hand traffic diversion") was the day that Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right.

In the early hours of September 3, 1967, all traffic across Sweden came to a halt. All non-essential cars were banned from the road from 1:00 a.m. onwards. At 4:50 a.m., everything on wheels stopped.

Then, in systematically careful fashion, every car, truck, and bus moved from the left to the right-hand side of the road. Slowly, traffic began moving again, the streets flowing in a mirror image of the way they had the day before.

It was one of the greatest traffic logistics solutions ever enacted. The problem it was designed to deal with was straightforward but quite serious. Up until this point, Swedes drove on the left side of the road (and on the right-hand side of the car), as is still the convention in the U.K., Australia, and Japan. But in the countries that Sweden shares a land border with—namely, Finland and Norway—cars drive on the right side of the road. Crossing the border from Sweden into Norway was a bit of a kerfuffle, to say nothing of a visiting Finn in Stockholm getting a bit absentminded and driving the wrong way down a street.

Perhaps more pressing was that the Swedish themselves were wrecking cars by the hundreds. Traffic speeds had increased significantly through the 1950s and into the 1960s, and fatalities were way up. The vast majority of the cars driven in Sweden were left-hand-drive, which made passing on the right especially hazardous.

As transformations go, this was one that couldn’t afford to fail. And it didn’t. It was a remarkable success, even if some of the original assumptions, such as its effect on reducing accidents didn’t quite materialise over time. Incredibly, despite public opinion being 83% against the proposed changes just four years prior, the Swedish government had pulled off a transformation masterclass.

Of course, the results could have been tragic, but they weren’t. Indeed, in the early days, traffic deaths decreased by nearly 18 per cent, and injuries were reduced by 11 per cent, before returning to the same levels a few years later.  

What is interesting is all the boxes the programme ticked to get it to work successfully.  At the outset, the programme had a clear mission to put Sweden on the same path as the rest of its continental European neighbours. It was one everyone understood, enabling them to focus on a common goal.

The Government had also put in place its best leaders that were capable of organising and driving such a transformation.  Naturally, it was a complex, multi-departmental, multi-agency, national and local change programme, so it meant a huge array of stakeholders needing to be aware of and bought in to their own roles. Leadership was therefore critical, requiring people to have a deep understanding of the linkages between their own projects and those in the wider programme. This fits a narrative presented by McKinsey which suggest allocating high performers to the highest-value initiatives gives organisations the highest chance of success. 

The investment in the planning and logistics needed to prepare for such a major change was clearly fundamental. In the run-up to H-Day, each local municipality had to deal with issues ranging from repainting road markings to relocating bus stops and traffic lights, and redesigning intersections, bicycle lanes and one-way streets. Several cities including Stockholm, Malmö and Helsingborg had also used the change to implement more wide-ranging transport changes, such as closing tram lines to allow for more bus routes. Hundreds of new buses were purchased by municipalities around the country, and around 8,000 older buses were reconfigured to provide doors on both sides.

On H-Day itself, some 2,000 soldiers, 6,000 civil police, 50,000 school police, and 150,000 volunteers were on duty throughout Sweden, while an army of construction workers had worked throughout the night to make alterations to 350,000 street signs.

Drawing a link to our previous newsletter, winning Hearts & Minds amongst the public was going to be crucial. In the end, the PR campaign lasted 4 years and engaged psychologists to work out how to motivate the population of Sweden to make the switch.

If you thought the marketing campaign for Dagen H was going to be mundane, think again. The Swedes went all out. They designed a special “H-Day” logo and slapped it on everything from milk cartons to underwear. The government sponsored a national televised H-Day song contest and the winning tune “Keep to the right, Svensson” was played frequently in the run up to the big day. With the politicians realising that it wasn’t enough to have an information programme, they needed a propaganda campaign, public service television booked global celebrities to appear on its most popular television shows, designed to attract large audiences. Put together, the programme was designed to educate the public and get them to comprehend, buy in and finally implement the change - classic AIDA in marketing speak!

After go live, that campaign then became about securing the benefits by continuing to build good habits.  To that effect, the government gave out thousands of pairs of driving gloves with a red left hand and a green right hand so that once the switch was made, drivers would quickly build the habit of driving on the correct (green glove) side of the road.  As you would imagine, “thrilling” is the word repeatedly used to describe the feeling of participating in a nationwide mission to get all Swedish motorists and cyclists to change the habits of a lifetime and begin driving on the right-hand side of the road for the first time.

When we hear statistics like only 30% of transformations are successful, it does put into context the gargantuan size of the achievement Sweden made in 1967.  What’s also clear, is that the core principles of successful transformations don’t really change that much. A clear mission, skilled leadership, effective planning, bringing people with you and embedding good habits will dramatically increase the chances of an organisation’s success. Indeed, when an organisation frees up its bandwidth from other initiatives and focuses its resources and energy solely on a transformation, then it’s possible to take the truly holistic approach that success requires.

Find the best transformation leaders and talent with Malikshaw Interim & Executive...

Malikshaw Interim & Executive work closely with organisations to deliver real world outcomes from transformation and change programmes.  Whether it is about people, process, technology, data or product, our talent pools contain the very best leaders and domain specialists that can help to drive your organisation's next stage of growth and transformation.

 We have just finished the 2^nd series of The Tourist which, of course, left us on a cliff edge. Would Eugene Cassidy aka Elliot Stanley succeed in winning the heart and mind of his mother, Niamh, and bring an end to the eternal feud between the Cassidy’s and the McDonnell’s?  Unlikely, it seems, but a great watch.

The exact moment when the phrase ‘winning the hearts and minds of the people’ was first used does not seem to be officially recorded but, as we can all see today, it has become part of our common language for measuring success. In its original use, it required the notion of understanding people’s needs and desires and linking those desires to a sensible civil development programme.  It meant delivering it without qualification yet undertaking all of this within the culture of the people, rather than the culture of the change agents.

Originating and honed from military campaigns of the 50s and 60’s, Hearts & Minds has been tested and deployed across transformation programmes for the past 30 years, presenting a common thread throughout any organisational restructuring.  It has been successful because it operates within the value system of the target audience.  Even where there is a lack of correlation a strong analogous relationship still persists. Crucially, Hearts & Minds does not involve coercion: it is founded on persuasion. It does not use dictatorship or ordering. Instead, it involves changing attitudes, appealing to people, and motivating them.

In the commercial model, this is represented by a dual approach whereby the installation of a team culture is encouraged by presenting to them missions and objectives initiated at the corporate level, followed by cascading them down throughout the entire organisation. By enabling people to do things differently, it acts to open their minds. Once doing things differently creates perceived success, people are convinced of their abilities and thus become motivated to continue. A successful conclusion occurs when the people have identified with the new ideas; they have assimilated them and then internalised the ideas to become additional to their own set of beliefs.

Following early pilots of Hearts & Minds, a final version of the methodology for the commercial field was deployed with enhancements which then went on to achieve considerable success amongst a range of organisations including the NHS.  One such outcome was to achieve cultural change in the IT Division of a large insurance company, SunLife, totalling 550 people, whose success was recognised widely by their winning awards.   A change guru described SunLife at the time as, “an interesting story of rampant chaos, which was resolved by applying converging 1) Programme Management and 2) Actual learning.”

During the original research, when the attributes of Hearts & Minds began to emerge such as persuasion and incremental beliefs, the significance of Needs & Wants became clear as did the requirement to work within the target culture in order to change from within. One of the most important aspects was seen to avoid intrusion into core beliefs, with obvious examples being religion and football.   

In a similar way to Kaizen which “offers doing the same amount of work with less effort”, people can quickly be persuaded if their lot can be improved and Needs & Wants build on this. Delivering the Hearts & Minds methodology has been shown to feature high reliability because it operates within the value system of the target audience. It involves careful diagnosis, restores loyalty, provides support to, and indeed rejuvenates the target culture and focusses on the Needs and Wants of the target audience.

In SunLife’s case, the need for better communication triggered the deployment of Hearts & Minds and started with Needs & Wants. Like Kaizen, Hearts & Minds puts the target audience in control of their own destiny knowing that their own desires will be achieved.  It targets small incremental changes and staff owning their own processes which dispels any fears of being spied upon by staff observing themselves.  Indeed, SunLife was the very first realisation that Hearts & Minds previously employed for changing whole countries could be used to change commercial organisations.

The organisation had faced several issues, many of which readers may be facing today: an old hierarchical organisation structure, two previous programme failures, lack of comms between staff and management, the ‘Untouchables’ as well as the over-use of external consultants. Indeed, the latter was relevant, because the organisation had sold out to consultants as the drivers of change as opposed to incorporating them into an internal, staff owned, change programme, complemented by external guidance and support.

Of course, the real value of any change or transformation is permanence. The real focus of Hearts & Minds lies in improving the lot of the target audience in a permanent way and ensuring they are equipped to maintain that change by not only possessing new skills, but more importantly from within their own set of beliefs.  SunLife achieved that through combining the characteristics of persuasion aided by change agents, training teams and permanence. In total, the programme delivered 7 major projects and 21 in total over a 3-year period involving 800-man years of effort and included the largest DB/2 database conversion in the world. Truly trailblazing. It is a testament to sustained change and without further intervention, the change at SunLife lasted 10 years before the organisation was outsourced.

Find the best transformation leaders and talent with Malikshaw Interim & Executive...

Malikshaw Interim & Executive work closely with organisations to deliver real world outcomes from transformation and change programmes.  Whether it is about people, process, technology, data or product, our talent pools contain the very best leaders and domain specialists that can help to drive your organisation's next stage of growth and transformation.