How to up your ROI on internal initiatives
This too shall pass…
That’s what many of us think when the next “flavor of the month” initiative comes down from above.
“We’re all about innovation, or every voice counts, or work-life balance…” Whatever it is, if we just wait long enough, the organization will move on to the next.
Initiative fatigue is a real thing. Human wiring leads us to start things, not end them. Organizations are overrun with well-intentioned projects that consume time and energy but are destined to fizzle without creating lasting results.
Even worse, according to Atlassian’s 2024 State of Teams report, 50% of knowledge workers have worked on a project and only later found out that another team was working on the same thing. Stop the madness!
So what’s the secret to ensuring a meaningful ROI on internal projects? Here’s the recipe we’ve seen work:
1. CREATE A CHARTER
A robust charter outlines the objectives, assumptions, approach, and roles of an initiative. Without it, teams can easily veer from the original problem statement and end up wasting time and effort before they realize the mistake. It also serves as a forcing function for identifying interdependencies between your workstream and others occurring elsewhere.
2. FIND OUT IF SOMEONE ELSE HAS DONE IT ALREADY
While they often have different names, there are only a finite number of problems to be solved. And they come in waves. Before you launch another capability-building effort or process optimization, ask around. Someone has either done it before or is doing it now.
While you still may have work to do, starting from someone else’s blueprint is much more efficient. (Bonus: The charter is a good communication vehicle for seeking out related projects.)
3. USE EXPERTS, NOT AMATEURS
Contrary to popular belief, we are not all equally capable of designing a high-quality initiative. While it is worthwhile to give people the development experience of leading a cross-functional project team, it’s also expensive. This commonly leads to a protracted diagnostic phase where the broader organization is over-interviewed or over-surveyed just to confirm an already well-known problem statement.
Leveraging an external project expert will enable you to more efficiently get to implementing a solution—ultimately saving hundreds of hours of your internal team’s time.
4. BE BORING—REALLY BORING
Leaders tend to move on before half of the organization is even aware of the initiative. We coach leaders to stay on the same repetitive message two to three times longer than they are inclined to do so.
Think of it this way: People are drowning in information, so why would your one corporate email or intranet message break through that clutter?
5. CREATE A SHARED FOCAL POINT
Combat initiative fatigue by making the “why” behind your project crystal clear, including how it fits into the bigger picture. Connecting the dots between a few major initiatives and your organization’s strategic priorities creates the logic link individuals need to trust that there is a method behind the madness.
Internal initiatives may get a bad rap, but they’re usually spurred by real problems and good intentions. Next time, make sure yours ends as strong as it starts.