Introducing a new Operating Model? These are your 3 keys to success
Bringing about a new Operating Model will mean your organization experiences a change, inside IT and out. That makes it essential to get it right the first time around.
Here we present three topics that should have your attention during such an implementation.
Leadership involvement: You want it, all the way from the top
A change of this magnitude cannot be driven by a project team or an IT department alone, you will need support and a push for it from a strategic level within the organization. An Operating Model is about grasping the needs of the business and turning them into well-managed technology services, and the IT or Technology department cannot run that as a solo assignment. If they do, the business aspects will likely go lost, and the value will not be created.
Rally the whole leadership team around the change and the implementation. Have leaders talk to their own departments about the benefits and importance for the whole company, and do not make an Operating Model purely about IT.
Showing the way: Find and implement the quick wins
Moving people along on a change journey can be a tough task, if they can’t see the end goal. By identifying some early wins that are easily implemented, you create traction and make the change more tangible to your organization.
Is there a current pain point experienced by end-users that you can alleviate? Is there a decision process that you can tidy up and implement ahead of the whole model, to show what the governance introduced with an Operating Model can do in terms of efficiency?
It is about giving the organization at large a taste of what is to come, so they see the benefit and start asking for the change, rather than simply waiting for it to happen because they do not understand the future state.
Collaboration: Engage beyond IT
You must go cross-functional to reap the benefits. Both in the management support, but also in the development and verification of your Operating Model. Technology creates value for the business – and the ideas for new value-creating initiatives can grow on either side: in the IT department the rapid development of new technologies may unlock possibilities that just a few years ago were not realistic to implement, while on the business side a greater realization of how technology creates value to customers may unlock new ideas. Yet, if the two sides do not meet and exchange these ideas, then they will not flourish.
An Operating Model is about bridging the divide between IT/technology and business – breaking down silos is very cliché, but for a reason. There are still plenty of silos around, an Operating Model is one way of breaking them down.
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