We’re all in the business of adding value. We might debate what we recognise as being valuable, but we all want more of it. Which brings us to benefits and the topic of Benefits Management.

Projects, programmes, business change initiatives, are all selling* complex products and services to complex clients. The idea of giving the client what they want is easier when they fully understand the benefits they can have.
Imagine that your clients know that they are:

• Making the right choices
• Getting the most out of their investments

This means managing the benefits. You and they understand why the right benefits were chosen and how they will come about.
You and they have made sound connections between the objectives they desire, the benefits they need and solution that will get them there.

*Even if you provide in-house services, you must still ‘sell’ them to your bosses and colleagues to persuade then to invest. They will still be spending money, even if they don’t give it to you.

A benefit is a result that a stakeholder perceives to be worthwhile.

And behind that simple statement lies all the complexity that comes with differing stakeholders and what they believe is valuable to them.

Benefits Management asks two fundamental questions of any business change: “Who is it all really for and what do they actually want?” The questions may sound dumb, but you can’t afford to have dumb answers. Good benefits selection takes effort and specialist support.

“Benefits Management, it’s not rocket science.”

You might think that Benefits Management isn’t rocket science. True, but it’s nearer rocket engineering. It requires proper planning, meticulous effort, an understanding of the materials and careful monitoring of performance if it’s to be done well.  

Benefits Management is the best application of scarce resources to select and deliver appropriate benefits to identified stakeholders. It’s your initiative giving what they actually want to the people that it’s all really for.

That means understanding your business environment to set sound, strategic objectives. Working out who your project is really for and what they actually want. Designing a feasible effective and economical solution that achieves the results you want. Planning, effort, understanding and monitoring; it’s not trivial but the rewards are well worthwhile.

Sometimes, you need to bring in a specialist to help you through all this.

Contact me. I can help you

I bring the Benefits Management subject matter expertise to making business choices and the experience of seeing how it’s been done before.

It’s still your business, you understand what you are about, you make the decisions on what you want to change, and your people do the work to change it. My role is to take you through the process of making those decisions so that you choose the best option and take the optimal route to business success.

In Keldale I’ve been fortunate to do some interesting things:

• Assist customer strategies – Public Policy Forum thought leadership, Ambulance Service restructure
• Develop future markets – Identity management, PACS x-ray digital imaging
• Solution design – Working Time Directive, Long Term Conditions, Public Sector Mobile Services
• Solution development – Local Development Authority project £1M Social Housing Alarms
• Understand the customer’s ‘RoI’ – Highways Department PFI preparation
• Improved win-rate – Local Authority / Private Partnership Local Govt preferred bidder £150M, Local Govt partnership £220M
• Successful customer change management – Diabetes Contact Centre, Govt Dept Intranet Requirements Capture consultancy,
• Requests for BM assistance – Local Development Agency, NHS, Police

And I’ve worked with some big and interesting organisations.