Welcome to the latest issue of our newsletter, where we continue to explore the effective application of the ADKAR model in driving sustainable change within our projects. Building on our previous discussion about assessing team readiness, this edition introduces a practical tool for applying these insights: a detailed mapping matrix.
In our last newsletter, we discussed how targeted questions could assess where teams or individuals stand within the ADKAR framework. This understanding allows us to customise our support to meet specific needs effectively. Now, let's take a closer look at how we can operationalise this knowledge.
We've developed a matrix that maps each team’s journey through the ADKAR model, enabling us to:
This approach ensures that our strategies are not only thoughtful but also grounded in the practical realities of our project's needs.
Before we dive into the matrix, here's a quick overview of the ADKAR Model stages:
Using the insights from our exploratory sessions, we have a clearer picture of where each team fits within the ADKAR model, which guides our strategy development. Below is a theoretical construction project table listing key teams and their determined location within the ADKAR model.
We've charted the key teams and identified their current stages within the ADKAR model. This initial mapping suggested an even distribution of team readiness across the model, but further analysis was needed to align this with project-specific sustainability requirements.
At a glance, there is a reasonably even distribution across the model, which suggests that an even distribution of sustainability team resources to the implementation process is appropriate.
However, let’s now evaluate the project in terms of sustainability requirements and assign a Project impact weighting to each team. This is determined by evaluating the impact of that team on the sustainability outcomes of the Project. For instance, if emission reduction during the construction phase is a priority, the delivery team’s role becomes critical. We assigned impact weightings based on theoretical project-specific requirements, which reveals that the top three teams represent 75% of the project's sustainability impact. Each of these teams is currently at the Knowledge stage or lower. Notably, the Delivery team, which has been allocated 30% of the project's impact weighting, is only at the Awareness stage—a major concern.
On the other hand, teams like Commercial, HSE, and Stakeholder Engagement, despite operating at higher levels of awareness and engagement, have a comparatively lower impact on the overall project outcomes. While this does not mean their contributions are less important, it does influence our strategic approach to engagement and resource allocation.
From this, we can also provide an indicative overall rating for the project, effectively showing how ready the project is to respond to our sustainability requirements. With a score of 5 representing an ideal outcome (all teams at the Reinforcement stage and across all things sustainability under their control), we can see that our project is positioned in the middle of the scale with an outcome of 2.275.
This rating underscores areas needing focus to elevate our project's sustainability alignment. This enables us to develop a tailored strategy, maximising our resource use and providing the team with clear guidance and clarity regarding the targeted outcomes.
From the insights gained through the matrix, we can now set SMART goals for each team that reflect the above outcomes. For example, The Delivery team outcomes would be a clear priority, so we might aim to advance the delivery team from Awareness to Reinforcement by the end of Q3 2024 while goals associated with teams with a lower impact weighting may have longer delivery times . Setting clear, actionable goals ensures that every team knows what is expected, provides clear guidance for our sustainability teams and senior leadership and can enable progress to be tracked against the goals.
In the next edition, I will provide a specific strategy derived from our matrix, complete with action items for each stage. This will share specific action items for each team with timelines based upon our matrix outcomes above. Follow-up editions will continue this journey, exploring the implementation of this approach for consultants to the construction industry, such as architecture firms, and also those organisations responding to evolving ESG requirements at a corporate level.
If you're interested in discussing how to apply these strategies within your organisation or if you have suggestions for future topics, please drop a comment below or schedule a 15-minute chat with me. Together, let’s shape a sustainable future.
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