The most powerful and utilitarian aspect of Benefits Management is that it enables and brings them together in an integrated package; each element reinforcing the worth of the others. Each of the factors detailed below stand up in the in their own right as being advantageous to organisational change:
- everybody has a sense of purpose
- no one can ‘just’ make changes
- people know who is responsible for what change related function
- there is a common approach to the management of change
- change only gets easier as lessons learned are captured and communicated across the organisation
- opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked or perceived as adding little value can be explored and evaluated for their real worth to the organisation; these can and often do come from within the workforce
- changes where the evidence show little or no gain to the organisation can be stopped relieving the pressure on those personnel labouring on difficult or unpopular change projects
- the confidence in the organisation to deliver beneficial change is high
- issues and problems associated with change are ‘surfaced’ and dealt with swiftly
- change is something that the organisation can embrace rather than be anxious about
- individual and functional goals are easier to manage
- people have a platform for greater collaboration
- the greater expectation placed on individuals supports the organisation’s leadership aspirations
- a portfolio of change projects can be established where each is selected based upon its evidential contribution to the organisation’s goals
There are further organisational gains that could be added as direct result of using Benefits Management but they are more related to business performance rather than the experiences of individuals which is the focus of this post.
It must be stressed that Benefits Management enables and supports these desirable outcomes but in order to achieve them significant cultural change must be examined and made. The Benefits Management rigour does though enable the context and agenda for such change to be made.
