All organisations are on a journey of change. This journey may be marked with periods of:

• Planned large-scale transformation,
• Semi-structured continuous improvement, or
• More sporadic, uncontrolled change, that is potentially no less innovative

The maturity model framework

We have developed a maturity model framework that allows us to rapidly define the as-is and to-be and to deliver an actionable roadmap for clients. It consists of customisable components that can be tailored to suit the element of the business under consideration, for example:

• Digital capability;
• Organisational health;
• Supply chain health; and
• Project management maturity

We capture data via interviews of a representative sample of staff, as this best allows for sentiment to be captured and root cause issues to be surfaced. When assessing a business’s maturity we ask questions like:

• How would you describe your organisation’s digital culture?
• How would you describe your organisation’s ability to capture benefits across projects?
• How would you describe your organisation’s process of change management and continuous improvement?

A five-point scale with accompanying narrative, from Entrant to Pioneer, is used to rate each element. The data that we capture is processed by our Data Science team, utilising analytical techniques such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), which uncover insights that would be hidden from more traditional techniques.

Prioritise the change

Senior leaders don’t always have the evidence to be able to proactively and dynamically prioritise tactical improvements within a wider portfolio of change. This may be due to:

1. Lack of a clear baseline of current performance;
2. Lack of awareness of industry best practice; or
3. The need for greater clarity of the benefits of an action

The maturity model framework enables these insights to be uncovered.

The ability to maintain a desired vision, especially when previous change has been misaligned with the strategy is a non-trivial task. Multiple transformation programmes with misaligned or duplicated objectives can cause confusion and result in ‘change fatigue’. The highly transparent and collaborative nature of the maturity modelling process can be a key mitigation for this challenge and can support organisations on their change journey.

Empower employee ownership of change

Entire frames of reference may differ from one group of individuals to another, even within the same organisation. Employees participating in a maturity model assessment will have the ability to shape the change and gain increased awareness of how they can contribute to improving the performance of their organisation. It represents a shift from a siloed, exclusive approach to an open, cross-functional one where all staff are involved in setting the direction.

During the initial phases of transformation projects senior leaders should be concerned with the people elements of change. The ability to effectively communicate performance ambition and trajectory across a vast population will typically require several interrelated people-centric initiatives. A collaborative maturity modelling approach can help build meaningful early engagement, as well as identify champions of change that will be able to support subsequent phases of the project.