We don't get much argument on the importance of managing the "people side" of projects. But demonstrating the value that change management brings to the table through metrics is sometimes overlooked. One of the ways I have found to get some early traction on measuring change effectiveness is to ask sponsors - "what is your evidence of success?" It is important to ask this in the early stages of designing your approach as this will help shape your plan. For me, the OCM goals are always:

• ADOPTION - What level of buy-in are we seeing from stakeholders?
• PROFICIENCY - How well are stakeholders performing in the "new world?"
• UTILIZATION - Are stakeholders using the new tools, processes, methods vs. reverting to old ways?

When I share these goals with sponsors & leaders - we end up having a pretty robust dialog that ultimately drives us to relevant effectiveness measures for the project. Although, I must admit - having this discussion is kinda like dentistry sometimes :) 

Organizational culture is sited by Prosci as being the primary cause of resistance. Risk-averse cultures, past negative experiences with change, mistrust between departments, competing objectives all contribute. We can still help these organizations navigate through change, but it's an uphill challenge. You can put good performers in a bad system but the bad system usually wins. 

Another trend in Change Management - Enhanced integration with project management. I have always felt that even though these are two disciplines, there are great synergies that result in working together. PM's and Change Practitioners who work to integrate their plans show better results! 

What would you do differently on your next project? Prosci research says the #1 thing is planning and strategizing your approach to managing change and preparing your leaders for it! Guess what #2 is?Ensure leader involvement! Yep.