Every business needs to evolve as the world around it changes. In a landscape of rapidly advancing technology, many businesses find themselves lagging with legacy systems that cause headaches and prevent growth.
In these scenarios, digital transformation or modernisation projects are crucial to introducing innovation, gaining a competitive edge and improving efficiencies.
However, these projects are an investment of time, money and effort. You also need to get buy-in across the business to start one, which can be a challenge in itself.
Due to the hard work that goes into a change project, you want it to be successful when you commit. You also want long-term results, so you don’t need to fund another anytime soon.
This is why an evergreen approach is crucial. We explain what it is and our top tips for implementing it in your project.
What is an evergreen approach?
An evergreen approach is a strategy that focuses on creating projects that remain relevant, valuable and effective. Evergreen projects are designed to withstand the test of time, even as trends evolve, by adapting to changing circumstances and maintaining their core benefits.
An evergreen approach should be:
- Timeless: Aim not to rely on solutions related to time-specific trends or pains, so the project remains relevant over years.
- Adaptable: Evergreen project and solutions can be modified or updated to accommodate new developments or changing preferences.
- Scalability: Evergreen solutions can be easily expanded or scaled to meet growing demand or changing needs.
- Sustainable: They are designed to be long-lasting, with no need to redo the project for a very long time (making it more time efficient).
- Continuous improvement: Evergreen solutions are regularly evaluated and refined to ensure they remain effective and relevant, even as the outside world changes.
By adopting an evergreen approach, organisations can create projects and solutions that provide enduring value, reduce the need for frequent updates and foster long-term success.
Why is an evergreen approach crucial?
There are several benefits to employing an evergreen approach to your business change projects.
Firstly, and most importantly, it enables you to get long-term return on investment. The time, money and effort you put in will bring rewards that serve your business over time. These rewards often including improved cost-efficiencies and better revenue, allowing you to get back beyond what you’ve invested.
If a project isn’t done effectively the first-time, it can require a redo or additional projects to make necessary adjustments. This can drain resources and budget within your business, while also causing staff burn-out, making it harder to secure buy-in and delaying the results you want. An evergreen approach avoids this.
It also requires careful planning and management, which can help to reduce project risks. It focuses on aligning the project solution closely to your business needs, so it’s more likely to deliver the results you need. Risk assessment is another core part of an evergreen approach, helping you to predict obstacles and overcome them before progress is derailed.
Finally, an evergreen approach can make a project more successful. Common benefits of successful projects include increased customer satisfaction, agility, competitiveness, efficiencies, collaboration and so on. By making the project evergreen, you can experience these results for longer.
This will drive lasting change to create the foundations for consistently exceptional performance. It will also fuel your business growth and make it easier to weather incoming storms.
Our top tips for applying an evergreen approach to your project_
It’s clear that evergreen is the way to go for any project if you want results that last. We’ve put together eight tips on how to apply the evergreen approach to your projects.
1. Conduct thorough research and planning_
Evergreen thinking starts at the very beginning of your project. You’ll need to invest time in comprehensive research and planning to ensure the project addresses your long-term goals and drives lasting change.
Consider where you want your business to be in five or even ten years, and aim to find a solution that supports you in achieving that vision.
Try not to get too tied to current trends or challenges, and instead focus on the underlying issues affecting your business. This may mean speaking with different teams within your business or analysing data to uncover root causes that need to be addressed.
Part of your research should also involve competitor research. This can help you to uncover the threats and opportunities available within your market, so you can futureproof your business and ensure you are maintaining your competitive edge.
In some cases, looking at successful competitors and how they do things can also inspire your own transformation.
2. Engage stakeholders early_
A project will only deliver long-term rewards if everyone adjusts to it as intended. For example, if you implement a new IT system and nobody uses it properly, it’s unlikely to drive results.
It’s crucial that the project brings a solution that fits everyone’s needs and reduces barriers to adoption. The best way to guarantee this is to engage key stakeholders early so their feedback is heard.
Examples of stakeholders might include people who will be directly impacted by the project or leaders who need to sign it off. You should gather their thoughts at the beginning of the project (including challenges they face) so you can ensure the outcomes align to their needs.
Then, keep them involved throughout the project. This keeps any developments aligned to their needs, while also encouraging them to feel more involved, which will improve their adoption and approval later. User testing is ideal for this.
3. Invest in effective technology_
If your project requires new systems or other tools, it is vital to invest in effective solutions. While technology can change rapidly, an evergreen solution should provide consistent value and allow you to adapt to new trends.
Effective technology shouldn’t be built in response to the latest fad. It should be something that addresses the underlying issues in your business, as this will drive long-term change. You should also seek tools that can be adapted or built upon, such as through regular software updates or customisation options.
Most crucially, you need to check it fits your needs completely. Reviews and case studies can help you to understand what benefits other businesses have received to your your expectations.
In some cases, you might also want to invest in expert support. While this is an additional cost to the project, an experienced consultant can assist in and even deliver part of your project management. They can help you find ideal solutions, but also guide you through the process to create strong foundations and evergreen results.
4. Remember it’s a sprint, not a race_
When pursuing a change in your business, it’s natural to want results as fast as possible. But rushing a project can lead to errors and shortcuts which cause trouble later. Aim to navigate each stage of your project thoroughly, even if it takes a little longer.
By being patient, you can spend time on the things that matter, such as planning or solution design. It also gives you the opportunity to prepare for the next stage correctly and get feedback before you go further.
By ensuring you have conducted each project step carefully, you are more likely to do it right. This means the end results will be better aligned and implemented for lasting advantages.
5. Invest in training_
When implementing any change across a business, it’s unfair to expect everyone to instantly adjust. It can take time for behaviours to change and for people to get used to a new way of working.
Training can speed up the process. It encourages people to use new processes or systems correctly, which in turn leads to greater results both for them and the wider business. It will also promote long-term usage.
When delivering training, you should also consider having ‘super users’ or ‘internal trainers’ within the organisation, alongside comprehensive training materials. This will enable any new recruits to be sufficiently trained, which allows your solutions to bring value even as your business changes.
6. Invest in easy-to-use fixes_
Whatever the outcome of your project is, it should be as easy to use as possible. This means simple processes and user-friendly technology.
There are many ways this can make your project evergreen.
Firstly, it means people are more likely to transition to the change, encouraging faster ROI and enabling you to get the results you hope for.
Secondly, it makes the solution easier to manage. The less complicated something is, the more likely you’ll reduce barriers to use and facilitate long-term management.
When dealing with technology, this means avoiding complex systems that feature advanced customisation. While it may look great when demonstrated by experts, these tools often are difficult to adapt and can date faster.
This could lead to headaches later, which result in you once again needing new systems. So, invest in solutions you believe your business can manage ongoing, without too much difficulty.
7. Aim for incremental fixes, often_
‘Evergreen’ doesn’t mean your solution never evolves. An evergreen solution is adaptable, meaning it can be adjusted easily as priorities change.
As part of an evergreen approach, aim to make small adjustments, often. As your business changes and outside factors take effect, look to address these so your solutions are constantly optimised.
You’ll also want to stay on top of your data and outside trends. For example, regularly ask if the solution is meeting your needs or if new issues have emerged. Check the latest business technology trends and if your existing systems have those capabilities (or can be extended accordingly).
Some providers, like Microsoft, offer regular updates across their software solutions, which can introduce improvements and advanced features. By utilising updates, you can allow your tech to evolve.
The alternative to this to letting legacy systems or outdated processes grind your progress to halt, until you must run yet another project to replace them. In the meantime, you miss out on the efficiencies you brought the original project in for.
By focusing on incremental improvements, you can stay up to date with changing tides without overwhelming your business or having to invest great sums.
8. Measure and track long-term outcomes_
You’ll only gauge the success of your project and whether it is truly evergreen through careful tracking.
When you begin the project, you should set KPIs that show success to your business. This might be things like cost reduction, delivery times, revenue increases, employee satisfaction scores and so on.
These KPIs should be revisited once the project is completed and beyond to understand whether it’s having the intended impact.
It’s also worth looking at broader analytics regarding your project, such as usage metrics and efficiencies. This can help you to identify areas for improvement, so you can optimise for greater results.
As your project moves into the future, monitoring data can also uncover when new challenges have emerged or if the solution needs to adapt to meet patterns. You’ll then quickly be able to evolve to continue getting consistent performance, before you fall too far behind.
What does an evergreen approach look like at Infinity Group?
So, what does an evergreen approach look like in real-life? We aim to be evergreen across our client projects at Infinity Group, helping businesses to get lasting change from their new technology solutions. This is how we do it.
Firstly, we use our unique PIONEER methodology across every project, which embodies evergreen principles. Each phase of this process focuses on building the right foundations to drive long-term results, with ample time given to do things properly. This also allows us to deep dive into business needs and respond to emerging obstacles effectively.
User feedback and robust testing is also implemented at every stage, offering a constant feedback loop. This enables us to address issues for a greater chance of success upon launch. We continue to test and experiment beyond go-live to keep the solution evolving.
The initial step of our projects is by building lasting relationships between our team and the client, making sure to engage all key stakeholders. This brings the right people on the journey, which helps to align the project to their needs and encourages long-term buy-in after go-live.
We dedicate a lot of time to research and planning, with careful analysis and discussion to uncover operational issues and opportunities for improvement. This enables us to connect the solution better to the root problems the client is facing, so there is a greater impact on the business that delivers consistent rewards.
When deploying new solutions, we seek to minimise complex customisations where possible. By doing this, we simplify implementation and long-term management, with less chance of complicated integrations or coding that becomes outdated or limiting over time.
While we still tailor our solutions to the specific needs of the client, this is done through integration and custom apps, eliminating the need for complex code.
Finally, ongoing support and training is provided across every project. This encourages a smooth transition internally, while allowing businesses to continually use their new solutions with minimal barriers. Training also empowers people to gain more value, bringing enhanced rewards.
This project approach has been specifically designed to increase the lifespan of the solutions we deliver and encourage businesses to get ongoing value.
Get evergreen results with Microsoft_
If you are looking for evergreen technology to drive long-term results in your business, Microsoft are the market leaders. They offer innovative technology that can offer consistent results and bring your business into the modern age. Plus, they offer twice-yearly software updates to offer you latest functionality and features, helping you to unlock new value regularly.
However, the key to successful evergreen Microsoft transformation is a winning business case and reliable project plan. This needs to be set around reasonable goals, proven ROI and stakeholder engagement.
Our upcoming digital event ‘Cut the crap: how to build a no-nonsense business case’ will give you the tools for a winning formula for long-term change. Sign up for your free access now.
