Navigating Your First 30 Days: Essential Advice for Transformation, Change and PMO LEADS
For me, change management is an intuitive task. I have been doing it for a long time. If you have recently been appointed as Head of Transformation, Change Management, or PMO, congratulations on your new role! Dive into your new role with confidence and unlock immediate impact using essential tools and quick wins. Here's how to make the most of your first 30 days:
Week 1: Tool Up for Success
Start strong by leveraging powerful tools to streamline your processes. Explore project management software, communication platforms, and stakeholder mapping tools to enhance efficiency and collaboration from day one.
Consider reverse-engineering the project (I do this every single time)
Map all stakeholders and use the power-interest matrix to determine which stakeholders need to be addressed via a more targeted communication outreach
Review existing employee surveys, KPI dashboards and identify change management KPIs so you can set up the reporting
Meet with all of the project's critical stakeholders- even during a short 30-minute call.
Quick Win Tip: Create a first draft of the project plan by envisioning the change project from its end date and including all milestones. Share this with your internal client quickly so get feedback and demonstrate your 360 degree thinking. Look for opportunities to leverage internal know to identify quick wins (ideas to streamline workflows, automate repetitive tasks, or implement simple process improvements to demonstrate immediate impact).
Week 2: Shaping Change Initiatives
Shape the trajectory of your change initiatives by refining communication measures and establishing a robust governance structure. Develop concise messaging and create a project committee team to ensure widespread buy-in and alignment.
Quick Win Tip: Create a project governance overview. Use change customer personas to tailor the communication to different segments of the employee base. Look for opportunities to optimize existing processes, address pain points, or capitalize on untapped resources to drive rapid progress.
Photo by Yuko Kotetsu, 2024. https://yukokotetsu.com
Week 3: Amplifying Communication and Collaboration
Enhance communication efforts to engage stakeholders (including the board, change agents and change ambassadors) effectively. Collaborate with internal and external partners to develop essential deliverables, such as change communication handbooks and leadership briefs, to support your change initiatives.
Quick Win Tip: If you hire an external agency to develop a change manual for senior and middle management, brief its staff at the beginning of week 3 to receive a first proposal (2 pager) at the end of week 3. Liaise with HR to create a shortlist of change agents and change ambassadors and leverage HR’s experience with employee engagement.
Week 4: Sustain Momentum
Compile comprehensive reports and evaluate project progress to drive strategic decision-making. Create succinct reporting decks featuring key success KPIs and risk analysis findings. Regularly brief stakeholders and solicit feedback to ensure alignment and mitigate potential obstacles.
Ideally, you have a (powerpoint) deck of 10 succinct slides to use for all reporting on the change management progress:
One to two slides featuring the significant change success KPIs
A slide that explains the evaluation approach (how you you measure progress and document risks)
How to obtain employee buy.-in?
Quick Win Tip: Compile the power point deck for regular reporting. Create the KPI dashboard and get it approved by your internal client. Streamline the reporting so it takes as little time as possible.
Empower yourself with essential tools and quick wins to accelerate success in your new role as Head of Transformation, Change Management, or PMO. Seize the opportunity to make an immediate impact and pave the way for lasting organizational transformation.