As of right now, many companies have one or more people in Finance Transformation (FT) roles but still many people would ask, “So… what do they do?” The funny thing is that you will likely hear very different answers from the people in those roles.

If you ask me, the answer is very simple, FT is like a sparkplug, its purpose is to ignite the engine of change. I like that analogy because the sparkplug may be fundamental to start the engine, but it should not be required for the engine to continue to run once it has started. In other words, FT needs to be a catalyst for change to happen, but in such a way that the changes stick and without FT hand-holding teams forever. Another important objective for FT is to not drive changes for the sake of changing; the targeted improvements need to aim to make our careers, processes and tools the best they can be for the service of the whole organization.

Going back to the sparkplug analogy, if the FT people are needed to keep the new stuff running, what happens when they are redeployed? You’ll likely realize that not much has changed. For changes to stick, they need to be ingrained within the organization, and for that, you need to get people on board, which is usually where it gets tricky.

•I think it’s safe to say that most (if not all) significant proposed changes are often met with different f lavors of resistance. You might hear stuff like:

•“It’s not great but, we know it works”

•“We tried that before and it didn’t work”

•“Now is not the best time, let’s wait for things to be calmer”

•“That might work great in company X, but we are different”

Most companies would then try to address this through a big announcement or extensive supporting information to reinforce that the changes make sense and are made for the better. Unfortunately, this generally doesn’t do the trick.

Our brains are very efficient organs (that is not the same as saying we always work efficiently), so they tend to stick with what is habitual since it requires less cognitive effort. To effectively drive change, you will have to first help people undo those habits and then create new ones and that happens over time. Like going to the gym, the game is not about intensity but frequency and consistency.

Even when you create a plan with multiple touchpoints over time, there is a bit about making it relevant to people. A good friend of mine often says “People are not against you, they’re for themselves." That’s an important thing to keep in mind when planning for change; you’ve got to make it easy, even attractive to people to make the move, and you can only do that by considering things from their perspectives.

“FT needs to be a catalyst for change to happen, but in such a way that the changes stick and without FT handholding teams forever”

One of the most common issues I’ve seen getting in the way of this is what is known as the “Marathon effect," which is when you have a group of leaders so actively engaged in the rationale behind proposed changes that they might not realize that it will take time to assimilate them for those who not involved in the discussions.

I’m not trying to say you shouldn’t try to change things for the better, what I’m saying is that if you want to make sure you are effective at changing things, then there are a few things you can do to help your initiatives land in the best possible way:

•Identify what will be the potential barriers to the change – why would people resist the change?

•Can you enlist some of the people to help define aspects of the initiative? By giving them a vested interest in the project, they are more likely to push for its success.

•Use every communication channel to reinforce the message often and consistently. And I do mean every channel, town hall, team meeting, email, and informal conversation, when you are getting tired of saying the same thing, only then people are starting to get it.

•Lean on key people in your organization to give strength and reach to your message. Who are those team members who know people everywhere and can reach multiple teams? What about those SMEs and their recommendations that everyone stops and listens to? Do you have people that are naturally able to sway others’ thinking? Find them and make them your allies.

Even when you do those things, changes will not always be easy, but chances are they will more likely last longer.