The role of the sponsor in a major business transformation is vital and as this episode of the Horizon CIO Podcast reveals, not always well understood or specified by the business. To get some insight into the role of the sponsor HR transformation specialists Joe Ales and Jason West of Underscore Group described how they help organisations get the most from sponsorship.

“Sponsors are the most critical role in a business transformation, they define what the transformation is going to achieve and what the end state will look like,” says Ales on the podcast for business technology leaders. Challenged on whether a sponsor should be from the technology leadership team if there is an IT element to the transformation, Ales says: “They have to be close to the activity that the programme impacts and a leader that can articulate what the future will be.”

West agrees: “Being the sponsor is a critical role because the vision comes from the sponsor and they have to know what the future state looks like, but they cannot be dogmatic as the vision will change,” he says in regards to change that may be outside of the control of the business, such as technology developments or new regulations.

The duo have delivered a number of business transformations in a wide range of vertical markets and tell the CIO Podcast that it is vital that the requirements of the sponsors role are clearly defined by the business, especially if the sponsor is not from IT, but the change programme has a large technology element to it.

“No one describes what the role of sponsor actually is in a lot of cases, yet there is a level of risk associated with it both for the sponsor and the organisation,” West says. He adds it is important for the sponsor to be a good user of data to understand where the business is and the reasons for the change programme. In both West and Ales’ experience sponsors need to be able to make quick decisions.

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Download your copy of the Underscore Transformation Scoping Checklist here:
https://www.underscore-group.com/insights/white-papers/

This white paper is the first of a series, looking at the four phases of a successful transformation programme: Scoping, Build, Transition, and Sustain. In the Scoping Checklist, we explore the 10 critical success factors to scoping a successful transformation programme, covering everything from requirements gathering, through to how to write an effective business case.

CIO Podcast: The important role sponsors play in business change