How To Budget For Change

Organizations pursue change for all kinds of reasons but at their core is the desire to improve. It could be streamlining service or adding a new product to their portfolio. Whatever the reason, there needs to be a robust change management plan in place, with the budget for change clearly laid out. But how important is such a budget and what does this budget need to cover?

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How To Budget For Change

Organizational change management consultants will understand that people are the most important resources in change. From stakeholder buy-in to gathering the right team of people to drive the project forward, there is no denying the role that people play in such projects.

And yet, so many organizations focus on the resources and budget aspects of change management projects, sometimes at the expense of its people. Budget is an important consideration, one that change management training courses will detail as critical in the planning and execution of any project.

A project of this kind that is short of budget and other resources is bound to fail. how do you improve the odds of success? – Three critical actions need to be taken relating to budgets and change management projects.

1. Budget For Staff Training And Development

The driver behind change is improvement. When we want something to be done better, quicker or leaner (or all three) it can mean investing in new equipment as well as processes.

At the core of these changes are people. There is no point in bringing in new equipment or new ways of doing things if your staff team don’t have the skills in how to use them.

As part of the budget, a change management expert will always look at staff development and training as a critical budget spend.

2. Budget For The Project Team Itself And Organisational Change Management Consultants

Some change projects can be complex and large-scale, the impact of which are serious and far-reaching (especially if poorly thought through and implemented). In some cases, this impact and transformation can be underestimated.

Change consumes resources and time, and budget too which is why, as part of the whole project, the change project team needs to have an adequate budget that allows them to deliver the results an organization wants.

3. Budget For The Term Of The Project

Success metrics of a project of this kind are when changes ‘go live’ on time, on budget, and when all other aspirations are met. The change budget needs to detail for the term of the project, whether that is a small-scale project that will be completed within weeks or a larger scale, complex change project that will not be complete for several months.

The important factor is that the project shouldn’t ‘go live’ because the money has run out.

In summary

Every project needs to be adequately resourced in order for it to be successful and that includes how much money is in the pot.

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