IT Transformation: 4 Tips to Keep Stakeholders Engaged and Innovation on Track

A leading cause of IT transformation failure is lack of stakeholder support. Often, there is a lack of alignment between IT leaders and business leaders. For instance, only 22% of software engineering leaders say they work closely with business leaders on ensuring software is designed to resolve their challenges and achieve their business outcomes.**

Even if the proposed transformation is truly innovative, cost-effective and supports business outcomes, if you fail to communicate and collaborate with stakeholders effectively, the whole project can derail.

• Decision Makers-can reject your proposal outright
• Shareholders-can remove their support from the project or even the company
• Clients and communities-can lose trust in the organization
• Employees-can resist change and prevent the project from succeeding

With so much at "stake", here are 4 tips that will help ensure IT leaders "hold" on to these varying groups:

Tip # 1: Ensure Value Alignment

Before you begin trying to sell your project ideas, find out what factors will be important to each relevant stakeholder group. Some of them might care about cost and revenue, others about risk or the organization's brand image. Employees care about job security and that their work will be easier; clients like new features and efficient service delivery.

The next step is to communicate those values clearly to the respective groups. Show them how the project will deliver on their desired goals.

Taking the time to understand and convey what matters most to each stakeholder builds trust, streamlines collaboration, and lays the foundation for long-term support. It will also reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings early on and down the road.

Tip #2: Seek Collaboration

It can be tempting when approval has been granted to a project to race to the finish line before anyone can change their minds. You might assume that stakeholders do not want to be bothered with the granular details of implementing change.

This is not the case. What most reinforces buy-in and acceptance is collaboration. Engage stakeholders in a phased process of change, to build understanding, ensure alignment, and demonstrate how each stage contributes to their objectives.

By seeking your stakeholders' participation and taking the path of transparency, you foster a shared sense of ownership in the transformation. This increases the personal investment of each stakeholder to see the project through to success.

Tip #3: Build Feedback into the Process

As your changes are implemented, gather feedback at every stage to identify what is working and what isn't. There are always surprises when a project leaves the sandbox stage. Something may not work as expected and you may have to engineer additional software to bridge an unforeseen gap. Use the information you receive to make effective adjustments, saving time and resources by taking care of issues when they first arise.

Regular input also reinforces stakeholder engagement and ensures the transformation stays aligned with evolving needs.

Tip #4: Broaden the Definition of Success

Often, the success of a project is determined at the end, when a system goes live. However, as the transformation progresses, try to highlight successes at every stage, in terms that speak to each stakeholder interest. Actions taken are just as impactful as objectives achieved. Take note not only of the progress of implementation, but the progress of company culture and delivering on values. It's not just about the numbers.

Recognizing progress at every stage helps maintain momentum and reinforces a culture of continuous improvement.

Taking this approach to transformation, with transparent communication and a clear picture of the end goals, you'll have a better chance of getting and keeping your stakeholders on board; and when every one of those stakeholders is invested, your transformation will achieve its goals.

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*Infographic: How to Increase Stakeholder Adoption of R&D Innovation, Gartner Research and Development Research Team, August 25, 2023

**How to Get Derailed Agile Transformations Back on Track, A. Hodgkins et al, Gartner Research, August 12, 2024