Companies spend a lot of time, effort and energy introducing new initiatives into the organization (often referred to as a rollout), some with more frequency than others. Before starting a ‘rollout’ it’s very important to remember that what you’re doing is introducing a change. And, more importantly it’s important to realize that change is not easy to introduce (or sustain), and it certainly doesn’t happen on its own. 

Have you ever participated in a conversation with other leaders where the topic of conversation is focused on frustration about a new initiative that the teams are not embracing? Often the solution for that problem is a request for more training since the belief is that the teams didn’t ‘get it’ the first time. However, if you dig deeper you will probably discover that the root cause of the problem isn’t that the teams didn’t understand the training, the reality is that the initiative wasn’t introduced with an intentional change management approach. As a result, the teams (for one reason or another) are still doing things the old way. 

Change does not happen in isolation – it impacts the whole organization (system) around it, and all the people touched by it. In order to manage change successfully, it is critical to focus on the wider impacts of the changes. Take time to consider the tangible impacts of change (the process and technologies impacted) and most importantly the associates (on-site or in the corporate and/or regional offices) who are impacted by it, as well as their journey toward working and behaving in new ways to support the change.

There are multitudes of books written about various change management tactics and approaches with equally as many processes and tools that will facilitate successful change within an organization. Formal change processes and tools are required to build robust change capabilities within an organization. Here are 9 tips that will help facilitate a successful execution:

1. Create a project prioritization grid for the organization to track requested initiatives and meet with key stakeholders on a monthly (or more frequent) basis to prioritize new initiatives.
   
   
2. Agree on no more than three initiatives to introduce into the organization at any given time.
   
   
3. Evaluate each change, and don’t be tempted to underestimate the impact; research the potential outcomes and perceptions (both positive and negative) by talking with associates at various levels of the organization to test and understand the impact.
   
   
4. Create a cross-functional working team to evaluate the initiative and the potential impact.
   
   
5. After an initiative is selected, make a list of the key stakeholders that will be impacted by the change. Note the impact on each of the stakeholders – will they be expected to DO something differently or do they just need to be aware of the change?
   
   
6. As part of the evaluation make a list of any tools and/or processes that will be impacted by the change as well as owners responsible for updating them.
   
   
7. Communicate often to ensure that those who will be impacted by the change receive regular communication (what is coming, what will change, what tools will be available to support them) and ensure that there is a process for teams to reach out with any questions or concerns as the project evolves.
   
   
8. Resist the requests to add another ‘small’ project into the rollout to ‘get it out the door’.
   
   
9. Patience is a virtue – change doesn’t happen overnight and behavioral change in particular requires ongoing reinforcement and coaching. Take time to answer all of the questions the teams might have about the change. Remember you’ve been working through the change for weeks or perhaps months and are further ahead of the teams in processing what’s next.

Change takes time and as a leader, the ideal approach is to create a culture that embraces change. Respect everyone's right to have their own reactions, communicate the news with authenticity and empathy, and give everyone time to work through the change cycle at an individual pace.