An agent of change?

S Cooper, P Corrie, SKM

SKM

1965 1975 1985 1995 2007

• Its the right thing to do

• Attracting and retaining staff– 60%+ of staff indicate it is important to their decision to be with SKM (2008)

• Remaining relevant and effective for our valued clients– 90% of Clients believe it is an important to very important issue (2009)

• Enhancing organisational strength– Sustainable organisations exhibit enhanced performance and resilience

• It’s a natural fit – Convergence of mega-trends that are driving fundamental change.

The business case

• Confusion about what sustainability means – as a term and in practice

• Generic, intangible concept – making it real and relevant to a group of problem-solvers and across all disciplines

• No burning platform for change (legislation, penalties)

• Hierarchy, inertia and resistance to change

• “Just give me the spreadsheet”

Challenges

That’s the international symbol for ‘don’t rock the boat’.

Recognise and work with the reality

The elephants in the room: • “It’s a greenie issue”• “It costs more”• “Our clients don’t want it”• “Its just a fad – won’t be around in 5 years

Organisational challenges• What is the right balance between technical content and general information?• What program design will really engage people and change thinking, behaviours?• When is a targeted approach best – instead of going broad and fully inclusive?

The 4 year journey (2009-2011)

From what and why.............................to howFrom awareness........................to application

Scale, regional diversity and roll-out10 countries, 4 languages, 3,400 staff in 9 months

Trained 56 of our own senior staff to facilitate

sessions (1.5 day training program)

Simple, practical ‘ready reference’Demystifies, simplifies

•7 steps•6 key questions to ask for every project

4 steps to apply into projects

(sustainability) Conversations with

clients

Adding value, not cost

‘soft’ as well as hard tools•How to make a conversation meaningful•How to structure a conversation•Using questions effectively

From awareness to application - Sustainability by design toolkit (any project, any scale)

Target the senior influencers

Apply to real projects, prospects

Enlist champions with clout

Makes it real Engages their expertise, experienceServes up a challenge – engages with problem solving

‘Hardwiring’ into the business DNA

• KPI’s for senior managers• Specifics into procedures,

processes, business systems• Rewards• Training• Roles

• Link into organisation and behaviour change principles and insights

• ‘Soft’ skills are vital - influencing, communicating, facilitating, convincing. Personal style and skills important – the ‘zealot’ creates problems

• Make it real (with the power of stories): a meaningful and relevant translation for the organisation

• Go to the heart of core business and activities (don’t get bogged down in tea-bag wrappers!)

• Think of it as a program – not a ‘one off’

• Targeted and focused (where to invest time and effort??)

• Need to transition from the what and why.......to the how

• Work with the willing and the influential agents of change

Final reflections