Writing Internally For HR Departments

30 60 90 Day Plans can be a very useful and simple method to drive specific process improvement projects or initiatives I generally use them to plan out specific projects and goals within an overall Continuous Improvement (CI) approach. 💠 I start with identifying a specific issue, and then breaking down the plan into three phases- 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. That's all kept very high-level, as in the visual below. 💠 The first 30 days are usually focused on learning and planning, the next 30 days are focused on implementation and monitoring and the final 30 days are focused on evaluation and optimization. The whole approach is kept in line with Lean Six Sigma thinking: PDSA- Plan Do Study Act and DMAIC- Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. 💠 Beyond the high-level plan, it's important to get into the nitty gritty details of improvement. This involves setting specific milestones for the end of each of the 30 day periods and agreeing roles and responsibilities with each team member. 💠 It is REALLY important to have systems and processes that support scheduled check-ins. If you are using cycle planning, the team must agree how they will communicate and collaborate. It may be a mixture of daily huddles, weekly team meetings, 1:1's or something else. 💠 It helps to use simple project management tools (e.g. Trello, Asana, or Microsoft Project) to visualize progress and manage tasks. Just make sure that support is high if people are unfamiliar with the technology as technology could be barrier otherwise! 💠 I like to keep it simple and at the end of each 30-day period, review the progress made towards the milestones. Discuss what worked well and what didn’t, and use these insights to improve the next phase. 💠 Remember to recognize all efforts and celebrate the achievements at each milestone. 💠 And when it comes to evaluation, conduct a thorough review of the entire initiative at the end of 90 days. Assess the outcomes against the original objectives. Gather feedback from the team on the process and outcomes to inform future projects. 💠 Really importantly, build in a continuous improvement approach to your process management. Establish a routine of regular feedback, monitoring, and adaptation to continually improve the process. Have you any experience with cycle planning? Have you any tips for people? Leave your thoughts in the comments 🙏 #changemanagement #strategicplanning #goals #continuousimprovement #cycleplanning #projectmanagement

The 3-Year Masterplan ➡️ Roadmap & Process Optimization. 💫 Part 2: The 36-Month Marathon: A Roadmap for Global HR Excellence. This is a continuation of my 3-part post series, in the spirit of raising awareness about Digital HR Transformation roadmaps that encompass everything from strategy to execution. Part 1 is here: https://lnkd.in/gqktgDh2 Execution is where strategy goes to die, unless you have a roadmap that breathes (and long exhale). For a 3k plus headcount multi-industry org, you probably can’t do a "Big Bang" rollout. You’ll break the culture and the "core". Unless you are breaking it down into "pilot projects" and "roll-outs". Here is the 3-year blueprint highlights that I collated from my experience across the industry and consulting sides: ✅️ Year 1: The Foundation (The "Clean Up") ✔️ Q1-Q2: Process Mining. Map every "Hire-to-Retire/Re-hire" process. If a process is broken on paper, digitizing it just makes it fail faster. ✔️ Q3-Q4: Global Data Governance & Core HCM Pilot. Harmonize job architectures across BUs. ✅️ Year 2: Integration & Scaling (The "Value Add") ✔️ Q1-Q2: Roll out Talent Management & Learning modules. Connect the dots (and gaps) between Manufacturing skills and Consumer Goods leadership needs. ✔️ Q3-Q4: Advanced Analytics. Move from "How many people left?" to "Who is going to leave?" Predictive modeling becomes your best friend. ✅️ Year 3: Optimization & AI-Driven EX (The "Innovation") ✔️ Q1-Q2: Hyper-personalization. The HR portal for a factory worker in Vietnam should look different than for a Brand Manager in New York. ✔️ Q3-Q4: Continuous Listening & Ecosystem Integration. Linking HR data to business P&L. ✨️ Process Optimization Tip from an Industrial Engineer (me 😏): Stop designing for HR. Start designing for the Employee. If a manager needs 15 clicks to approve a leave request, you’ve failed. We aim for the "Two-Click Rule." In the last post of this series, I’ll wrap up with the most critical piece of the puzzle: The #ChangeManagement strategy. Because without buy-in, you’re just building a ghost town on a used paper. #HRStrategy #DigitalHR #ProcessOptimization #WorkforceAnalytics #GlobalLeadership 📷 generated by Nano🍌

Agile is designed for speed, where features and outcomes are delivered quickly, and the pace doesn’t leave much room for “catch-up” later. That’s why change management can’t sit on the sidelines until the end. It needs to move in step with delivery, baked into every sprint. Here are some practical ways to make that happen: 🔹 Engage stakeholders early. Get impacted teams in the room (or on the call) while features are still being shaped. Their input can spark ideas, uncover risks, and create a stronger sense of ownership. 🔹 Plan for readiness. Even when people feel confident about a new tool or process, it helps to have quick-reference info and clear summaries. These make adoption faster when testing or release time arrives. 🔹 Review feedback. As user insights roll in, use a change lens to make sure release plans are realistic and easy to adopt—not just technically sound. 🔹 Run workshops. Before go-live, walk teams through what’s changing. The upfront investment saves time later by reducing confusion and resistance. 🔹 Set expectations. Be clear about how feedback will be collected, how future sprints will refine delivery, and what teams can expect next. When you think of change as something that belongs in each sprint, not as an afterthought, it stops being a blocker. Instead, it becomes a natural part of delivery. That’s what ensures outcomes don’t just land, they stick. 💡 Learn more strategies to make change stick—browse my LinkedIn Learning courses. 👉 https://lnkd.in/g5ZDicpF

70% of change management efforts fail. Because most leaders go straight to execution. You treat change as a logistics problem. You build the roadmap, communicate the timeline, and track the milestones. And then you're blindsided when people push back. I've seen this happen in every room I've worked in,  From Capitol Hill to Fortune 150 boardrooms. The process is rarely the problem.  The people side is where change actually happens or falls apart. Here's the reframe that changes everything: Change is emotional before it is ever operational. When your team pushes back, they're not resisting the initiative. They're feeling something: 😨 Fear of losing ground they've worked hard for.  🤔 Uncertainty about where they fit in what comes next.  ❌ A lack of trust in whether leadership will follow through this time. When you understand that the emotional layer comes first, resistance stops being a problem to overcome. Instead, it becomes information to work with. That means before you roll out the roadmap, ask yourself what people are actually worried about. Before you send the announcement, ask: Do they trust this? And before you expect buy-in, check if you have given them a reason to believe in it. Here's the difference it makes in practice: ❌ Change management focuses on the process. ✅ Change leadership takes people on the journey. ❌ Change management treats resistance as a problem. ✅ Change leadership treats resistance as information. ❌ Change management makes one announcement. ✅ Change leadership communicates consistently. And when you are ready to have the conversation, your team needs four things from you, in this order: 1️⃣ What is changing and why. People cannot commit to something they do not understand. 2️⃣ What it means for them. Specific clarity creates confidence. Tell them exactly how this affects their role. This turns fear into focus. 3️⃣ What success looks like. If people cannot picture the destination, they will not start the journey. 4️⃣ What you need from them. Ask for their input before the plan is final. People commit to what they helped build. The leaders who get change right understand that people don't resist a revised plan. They resist feeling unseen in the middle of it. Address the emotion first, then lead the process. What's the hardest part of leading change right now? Let me know in the comments. Every day inside The Leadership Boardroom, I share daily leadership coaching on leading through moments like this: The tools senior leaders need to bring people with them, not just move them. Join us now: https://lnkd.in/g2WGzder ♻️ Repost for a leader in your network navigating change right now.  And follow me, Cicely Simpson, for daily leadership insights like this.

Successful organizational change requires a solid strategy. Here’s how I help organizations make it stick: 👇 1️⃣ 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩. Where are you now? Where do you need to be? Without a clear understanding, you’re guessing, not leading. 2️⃣ 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲. A change management plan isn’t optional. It aligns teams, removes confusion, and sets the foundation for success. 3️⃣ 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 & 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬. The biggest mistake? Only listening to supporters. Skeptics reveal blind spots you can’t afford to ignore. 4️⃣ 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬. Success happens in phases. If you don’t focus on critical moments, change loses momentum. 5️⃣ 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 & 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲. Change is hard—celebrate wins, big or small. Recognition fuels momentum. 6️⃣ 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤. Set new KPIs to track progress. Ensure the change becomes part of your culture, not just a temporary shift. Change isn’t an announcement. It’s a process. And the companies that do it right don’t just survive. They lead.

Mastering Change: 6 Key Lessons for Effective Change Management Change management is both an art and a science, requiring thoughtful planning, strong leadership, and ongoing engagement with stakeholders. Its purpose is to ensure steady sailing in uncharted waters. Here are 6 key lessons for success: 1. Strong Leadership and Vision are Non-Negotiable: Leaders must articulate the purpose of the change, align it with organizational goals, and embody the change themselves. John Kotter’s work on change management emphasizes the importance of establishing a guiding coalition to lead and support change efforts (Kotter, 1996). When leadership is engaged, employees are more likely to follow suit. 2. Build an Effective Comms Strategy: Research shows that employees resist change when they feel uninformed or when they perceive the process as secretive (Armenakis & Harris, 2002). Regular updates, Q&A sessions, and opportunities for feedback help reduce anxiety and build trust. 3. Address Resistance Early with Agility: Resistance to change is a natural response, stemming from fear of the unknown, perceived threats to job security, or lack of clarity about the benefits. Proactive change managers identify sources of resistance and address them regularly at each iteration with empathy, training, and involvement. As Lewin’s Change Model suggests, creating a compelling reason for change (“unfreezing”) helps overcome resistance (Lewin, 1947). ICAgile 4. Engage Stakeholders Early and Often: Stakeholder engagement fosters buy-in and reduces opposition. Involving employees in the planning and implementation process not only builds trust but also surfaces valuable insights. Prosci ‘s Change Management Model highlights the importance of active stakeholder involvement in ensuring the change is both adopted and sustained (Hiatt, 2006). 5. Invest in Training Often: Change often requires employees to learn new skills or adapt to new processes. Providing adequate training and ongoing support can make or break adoption rates. Studies have shown that employees are more likely to embrace change when they feel prepared and supported throughout the transition (Burke, 2017). Association for Talent Development (ATD) 6. Measure and Adapt: Regular evaluation helps identify gaps and refine strategies. Continuous evaluation ensures that the change initiative stays on track. Key performance indicators (KPIs) and regular feedback loops allow organizations to identify gaps and make necessary adjustments. Without this iterative process, changes risk failing due to unaddressed issues. McKinsey & Company By focusing on communication, addressing resistance, and providing robust training, organizations can foster a culture that embraces change and thrives in an ever-evolving business environment ready to navigate change effectively. Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP Global) ACMP DC Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) SHRM

Ever tried to change a tire while the car's still moving? That's what implementing organizational change can feel like for you and your team. We've all been there. 😅 Pushing through changes without a clear strategy, hoping sheer determination and long nights would be enough. But nope. The change initiative ended in confusion, resistance, or maybe didn't make it across the finish line before everyone abandoned ship. I've been there—from implementing organization wide learning programs to updating team policies. And let me tell you, without a roadmap, it's chaos. 🌪️ ---From Chaos to Smoother Sailing---- Enter the Knoster Model for Managing Complex Change. It's like GPS for navigating the treacherous waters of change management. This model has been hanging in my office for the last 10 years, serving as a visual cue to ensure I have all 5 elements covered before taking on change initiatives. ----Here's the Model---- Vision + Skills + Incentives + Resources + Action Plan = Successful Change 🔹 Vision: Where we want to go 🔹 Skills: What we need to know 🔹 Incentives: Why we should care 🔹 Resources: What we need to use 🔹 Action Plan: How we'll get there -----The Impact of Missing an Element---- 🚫No Vision? Confusion reigns 🚫Lacking Skills? Anxiety spikes 🚫Forget Incentives? Resistance grows 🚫Skimp on Resources? Frustration builds 🚫Skip the Action Plan? False starts abound Over the years, this model has become my diagnostic tool. When I hear confusion about where we're going or what we're trying to achieve, I immediately know I haven't been clear on the vision element. 🚩 It's like a red flag waving, telling me to step back and refocus on communicating our goals and business objectives. Similarly, when I notice people are confused about how they're going to meet the vision, it's a clear sign that I haven't properly set them up for success with the right skills. This realization always prompts me to pause and reassess where I can improve. 🔄 It's a simple framework and can also be used as a self-assessment tool. Now, it's your turn to put this model into action: Think about a change initiative you're currently planning or struggling with. Which of the five elements needs your attention most? Is your vision crystal clear? Are your team's skills up to par? Which element are you excellent at?

When I first stepped into BCM leadership, I assumed legitimacy came from one thing: Build more plans. - Build them for every department. - Build them fast. I believed a full plan library signaled maturity. I believed documentation meant readiness. And I believed volume equaled value. But in both healthcare and tech, the reality was the same: 👎 Leaders skimmed the documents. 👎 Teams forgot the content. And when disruptions hit, nobody opened the plan—they walked down the hallway or jumped into a chat thread to solve problems together. That’s when it hit me: Plans don’t fail because they’re wrong. Plans fail because they’re disconnected from how people actually work. So here’s what I wish someone had taught me on day one. 1️⃣ Shrink the scope before you expand it Instead of planning for every department, identify the 3–5 workflows the entire business relies on. Every organization has a backbone. Find it. Protect it. Everything else cascades from there. This shift alone prevents 70–80% of wasted effort. 2️⃣ Build understanding before building documents I used to start with templates. I should have started with conversations. Questions like: • What happens first when things break? • Where do you feel the pressure? • What slows you down? • Who do you call reflexively? People will give you clarity long before documents will. 3️⃣ Make planning collaborative, not extractive Early on, I “collected” data. Teams felt like I was taking something from them. Now, I use short, facilitated sessions where they show how work actually moves. When people see their reality reflected in continuity planning, engagement goes up—and resistance disappears. 4️⃣ Turn plans into decision tools, not binders Plans shouldn’t be archives of information. They should answer three questions under pressure: What’s the impact? What’s the workaround? What’s the next decision? If a page doesn’t support action, it doesn’t belong in the plan. The real lesson I didn’t fail by writing plans. I failed by thinking plans were the destination. If I were starting over, I’d care less about building content and far more about building alignment—because clarity drives engagement, and engagement drives readiness. ------------- For anyone finding this post first: I’m sharing the lessons I learned moving from early BCM roles to leading programs in healthcare, tech, and consulting—specifically what I’d do differently if I were starting fresh as a BCM Manager today.

ERP implementation brings significant changes to your organization and managing this change effectively can make or break your project. Here’s a guide to managing change during ERP implementation: 1. Develop a clear change management plan. Outline the scope, objectives, and timeline of your ERP project. This plan acts as your roadmap for a smooth transition. 2. Engage leadership and stakeholders. Secure commitment from top management and key stakeholders. Their support is essential for driving organizational change. 3. Communicate effectively. Keep all employees informed about the implementation process. Transparent communication builds trust and reduces resistance. 4. Provide adequate training. Offer training programs tailored to different user roles. Well-trained users are more likely to embrace the new system. 5. Monitor progress and gather feedback. Track the implementation process and make adjustments as needed. Collect feedback to identify and address pain points. With these strategies, you can manage change effectively and ensure a successful ERP implementation. Effective change management leads to smoother transitions, higher user adoption, and better business outcomes. 📌 Need expert guidance on managing change during your ERP project? Send me a message.

We ask managers to deliver hard messages all the time but how often do we prepare them to do it well? A company I worked with was going through a merger, and one of the first challenges was compensation alignment. At one company, everyone received a bonus. At the other, only managers and above did. That meant some employees who used to get bonuses would no longer receive them. That’s not the kind of change you can just drop in an email, but that was the original plan. Before they did that, I encouraged them to pause. Instead of rushing the communication, we focused on preparing managers to lead it well. We built a simple conversation framework that included: 🔸 what the change meant 🔸 why it was happening 🔸 how to explain it clearly and empathetically 🔸 and how to respond when people pushed back. We reminded them of ways to support the development and growth of their teams. We even brought the compensation team together with managers ahead of the announcement, so they could ask their own questions and build comfort before facing their teams. It worked. Not because the message got easier, but because the rollout was smoother, the conversations were more thoughtful, and the managers felt equipped to lead instead of left to improvise. If you’re leading change, remember: information alone isn’t enough. Managers need interpretation, context, and confidence. Here are a few ways to prepare them to be change agents: 🔸 Co-create talking points. Let managers shape the message so they can deliver it authentically. 🔸 Anticipate the hard questions. Give space for them to ask first before employees do. 🔸 Equip them with frameworks, not scripts. Structure builds confidence; scripts create anxiety. 🔸 Close the loop. After rollout, check in to hear what surfaced in conversations and where support is still needed. Preparing managers shouldn’t be an afterthought, and change isn’t something to roll out. It’s something to build, side by side, with the people who bring it to life every day. Engaging managers as change partners means offering them the same empathy, clarity, and care we ask them to show their teams.