Making project managers fit for change management

The innovations division of a leading German logistics group wanted to hold a training programme for its experienced project managers to improve their change management skills and as a result guide more large projects to success in time & budget.

IFOK was handed the task of creating a tailored training programme for experienced project managers who have a decisive effect on the company’s sustainability because they develop important process and product innovations in a highly competitive environment. The aim of the programme was to increase the implementation success and speed of various (large) projects. IFOK’s concept quickly moved away from the traditional training approach. Participant teaching was accompanied by providing advice to executives and actively integrating them in the learning process. The stakeholders were also integrated early on and initial optimisation measures were already being implemented in parallel to the learning phases. Decisive elements of the IFOK approach were a consistent (learning) process over six months, focal points for training identified on a customer-specific basis, the communication of methods to sustain learning in the process, and the formation of “transfer groups” in which the participants work together independently, even after project conclusion. Improvements in day-to-day project work were achieved quickly. Today, the project managers are applying both change management methods and technical project management methods with equal aplomb. The transfer groups have become firmly established, are used as cooperative places of learning, and continuously provide the impetus for improvements. Executives actively support the changes, the way they cooperate with each other and with project managers has improved, and an understanding of how “soft factors” can affect project success has increased.