The importance of securing buy-in for IBP
Securing buy-in from throughout an organisation can make or break the introduction of integrated business planning. A new study supported by Oliver Wight has noted five key steps to securing that support, and making the most of the methodology.
Definitions of integrated business planning (IBP) vary, depending on the kind of organisation it applies to – but broadly it is a method of translating desired business outcomes into financial and operational resource requirements. This is undertaken with the overarching objective of maximising profit and cash flow, while reducing the risk a company is exposed to.
By running an IBP, organisations can open themselves to a number of benefits, then. For example, they can gain the agility to process data quickly and make smart and informed decisions. In this way, they can move fast to adapt and disrupt changing markets.
However, as with any transformation, moving business operations to an IBP mode comes with distinct problems. Many point out that IBP needs to be ‘translated’ to fit with an organisational DNA, while it is also commonly agreed that bringing in expertise from other organisations will pervade the style of IBP a company ultimately takes on. For that reason, it is worth seeking out the right expertise when still in implementation mode.
Oliver Wight is a business improvement consultancy with over 50 years of experience, delivering results with clients around the world. And the firm has long been honing its expertise relating to IBP. Recently, this has seen the company produce a report highlighting what it takes to successfully implement and maintain IBP operations. In particular, the firm’s ‘Intent Group Guide 2024’ – produced in partnership with Intent Group and Board – found that firms were most concerned with one major hurdle to IBP adoption: ensuring buy-in across their organisation.
Find the value
Getting buy-in across an organisation was the most talked-about problem among firms polled by the researchers, when it came to bringing in IBP. And crucial to securing that at the top of a company, is proving the business case of the transformation. After all, executives are having to consider multiple priorities at any one time.
Setting out clear cases for value relating to a specific organisation – finding areas of weakness IBP can shore up, and calculating the savings or gains – can be a “burning platform” that makes all the difference. In this case, IBP advocates can secure sponsors from senior team members, to help “build the case for change”, according to the researchers.
Set realistic expectations
Even with senior support, finding the resources to get IBP off the ground can become a stumbling point. Firms face a myriad of other immediate issues at the moment – and need to do what is necessary to keep the lights on, before working to improve things.
To this end, setting realistic goals for timelines of when IBP can be implemented, and when value will be realised, is key to keeping executives on board. Setting unrealistic deadlines can quickly make IBP transformations seem like they are a bad fit for a company, and see them dropped as a priority when other crises emerge.
Engage widely
According to the report, “losing any level of buy-in can be fatal” to its implementation. To that end, IBP leaders must make sure that they maintain good relationships with all executives at a firm.
It would be a mistake to just think the CEO is the key to everything for example. The executive portfolio is divided across other roles which they oversee – but largely they delegate responsibilities. So, for example, the CFO is a key stakeholder as the CEO’s right-hand, and should you alienate the finance function, that can be enough to loose the executive team as a whole.
Assemble supporters
While this previous advice has emphasised the importance of executive support, the report adds that “IBP does not come from the top” alone. As is the case with transformations across the rest of a business, nothing will work if a firm cannot carry its workers from all of its departments along with the programme.
According to one leader interviewed by the researchers, two faculties are particularly important. Commercial and financial wings of a company are important, as they are core functions where those convinced of IBP changes can become ‘sponsors’ who champion the concept to other departments.
Prepare for change
Perhaps most importantly, though, the researchers and their subjects noted that firms must be flexible when undertaking IBP. After all, the best laid plans inevitably will go awry when other inevitable changes take place in the company, or in the wider economy.
Sponsorship can often become a problem when “business leaders have changed”, for example. Some of the best ways to plan for such shifts are accounted for in the previous advice though – as by spelling out the profitability benefits of the process thoroughly throughout the company, new inbound leaders are more likely to have already been convinced of IBP’s value.
