Success in transformation isn’t just about reaching the finish line—it’s about what happens after. When a transformation project succeeds, the work isn’t over. This episode dives into the critical steps required to ensure the change is sustainable, embedded, and truly delivers maximum value for your business in the long run. From transitioning ownership to business-as-usual teams to celebrating wins with empathy, Oliver Banks explores the often overlooked but crucial activities that make transformation stick. Whether you’re in the final stages of a project or planning ahead, tune in to join Oliver and learn how to wrap up your transformation efforts the right way and set up your organization for continued success.
Listen to this episode to discover:
- The essential handover activities that ensure smooth transitions from project mode to business as usual.
- The importance of celebrating success with empathy.
- How to revisit the transformation later to drive ongoing improvements and maintain the change over time.
The key elements for closing a successful transformation
1. Wrapping up the transformation
- Handover to business as usual (BAU) Team: Transition ownership from the transformation team to BAU teams, ensuring long-term responsibilities are clear and that the new operating model is fully adopted.
- Communication: Clearly communicate the handover process and progress, recognise key contributors, and ensure all stakeholders understand the new normal across the business.
- Documenting and archiving: Store and label final models, measurements, and documents for future reference, ensuring they are accessible and well-organized.
2. Closing down the transformation
- Celebrating success: Recognize achievements, express gratitude, and celebrate the journey, while being mindful of the potential negative impacts on individuals or teams.
- Disbanding the transformation team: Transition team members back to their regular roles or next projects, while acknowledging the emotional side of disbanding and recognising contributions.
3. Looking to the Future:
- Lessons learned: Capture insights on what went well and what could be improved, with the goal of applying those learnings to future transformations. The whole purpose of lessons learned are to positively adjust the future.
- Educating the organisation: Share knowledge gained from the transformation to inspire future initiatives and embed best practices across the business.
- Opportunities for further improvements: Identify areas for continuous improvement or new opportunities while reassessing and prioritising the next steps.
- Revisiting the transformation: Revisit the transformation at a future point to assess if the changes have truly embedded and determine if any further tweaks or interventions are needed.
Learn more about the evolving retail sector
Listen to The Retail Show podcast to learn more about how the ever-evolving retail industry is changing. You can find The Retail Show on your usual podcast app.
Sign up to the Retail Transformation Briefing below:
And if you’ve not already done so, remember to connect with Oliver Banks on LinkedIn.
Additional episodes to listen to next.
Whilst we hope for success, many transformation efforts end in failure. In episode 308: When Transformation Fails, learn the key activities and factors to consider when your transformation efforts fail.
In episode 253: Boost Chances To Successfully Transform, Oliver shared some of the intentional actions that you can take to maximise the chances for success.
