Change management ensures that organizational initiatives—from simple process changes to major initiatives like culture or system changes—are implemented fully and efficiently, achieving the desired results. Change management does that by analyzing and addressing the potential impacts of a project from a user’s perspective, i.e. what people will need to do differently because of the change, using a structured approach.
When change sponsors who are already “believers” accept that they must convince people to change, they examine factors they might otherwise gloss over. What they learn through that process is the hidden value of change management.
Because change is complex and multifaceted, only a comprehensive and disciplined approach can move the organization and its employees from the current state to a desired future state. Fortunately, a number of methodologies and related tools, templates, and guides exist to strategize, plan, implement, and communicate all aspects of change.
The benefits of using a structured approach include:
- Comprehensiveness. Given the numerous activities encompassed by change management, the use of a high-level methodology or framework ensures that all activities are planned, interdependencies and prerequisites are identified, and every step is accounted for.
- Consistency. Applying the same general approach throughout the organization—albeit customized for stakeholders and circumstances—delivers reliable results. As modifications are made and documented, the organization develops a repeatable process that enhances its ability to produce successful change in the future.
- Visibility. Integrating change management activities into the project early and scheduling them periodically throughout each phase makes it clear to the organization and its employees that change is a priority and increases the probability of the initiative’s success.
- Efficiency. Working with existing frameworks, templates, checklists, and guides takes advantage of expert knowledge, allowing the change team to modify rather than build from scratch and freeing up resources for hands-on, face-to-face activities.
- Refinement. Established methodologies and tools have been tested and fine-tuned over a large number of projects, so that the “bugs” have been worked out.
- Compatibility. Elements and tools that have been developed using the same “change language” will work together to support each other and produce the best results.
Although the advantages of using a professional change management approach are clear, choosing the one that will work best for a specific organization can be tricky. According to Prosci, the methodology should be easy-to-use, scalable, supplemented by certification or training, and compatible with the company and culture, as well as credible, well known, and recognized. One summary, prepared by Change Activation, compares fifteen different change management methodologies. All are built on phases, ranging from three to as many as nine, each with specified activities and tasks. Typically, tools follow the methodology, i.e. the activities require forms, guides, and templates to communicate needs, define steps, and document discussions and results.
To illustrate this concept, consider the SteelBridge Solutions model, which has five phases:
Phase 1: Plan. Understand the current state and the future state, the gap between the two, and what must change.
Phase 2: Design. Establish a roadmap to get to the future state, using various assessment tools.
Phase 3: Build. Design detailed activities and tools to support the change plan.
Phase 4: Test. Use the materials with end users to make sure they work and modify them as required.
Phase 5: Launch. Introduce the change to the organization.
In the example above, Change Management work is focused in four work streams across the project phases. The work streams and the activities within them are customized based on a number of factors, including project reach, organization readiness for change, and impact of the change, along with project vision, goals, and success criteria. These work streams—and related activities—are:
- Stakeholder Engagement. The Change Management Team appointed by the Project Steering Committee agrees on activities, schedules, and budgets designed to prepare for, manage, and embed change in the organization. They identify roles and responsibilities and select the tools that will be used to identify, map, and profile stakeholders. Interview guides, focus group scripts, and surveys are among the tools that support assessments of change readiness in the organization and various stakeholder groups. The results provide change champions and leaders with insights into special needs as well as areas of resistance. Additional activities in this work stream include measurement and leadership alignment.
- Communication. Beginning with a strategy developed early in the project, this work stream creates messages that are (a) linked to major tasks and milestones and (b) designed to raise awareness and build support long before the change takes effect. Details such as frequency of communication, who will communicate, and how—e.g., email, newsletters, the company intranet, face-to-face meetings, webcasts, and videos— are tailored to different audiences based on their role in the change.
- Training. This includes a comprehensive plan that defines training audiences, activities, media, and materials such as course outlines, facilitation guides, presentation slides, activity materials, and handouts. Based on feedback from user testing as well as learning from other work streams, materials are revised during the project so that they are most effective when it is time for training delivery. Classes, workshops, online modules, individual coaching, and other alternatives ensure that various types of users—and learners—are equipped to make the most of the new system.
- Organization. This work stream assesses the ability of the existing organization structure to support the initiative. It identifies adjustments to tasks, workflow, responsibility, and authority that are made necessary by the change. Individual roles may be created or revised, work groups and teams may be altered, and management routines and reporting relationships may be modified to support the change initiative.
Organizations that do not wish to engage a change management consultant have other options for achieving a structured approach. One is to develop a homegrown methodology, or to piece one together from elements of others’ processes. However, doing so can be time-consuming and may result in a less than optimum collection of phases, steps, and components. Another option is to work with a provider that specializes in change management training and/or certification, thus building, over time, a cadre of internal change management experts. Prosci, the recognized leader in this category, provides research reports, toolkits, and diagnostic models as well as a certification program and do-it-yourself options carried out through licensing arrangements.
So what is the big deal about change management?
Whether your organization uses a consultant, moves forward on its own, or chooses a course somewhere in between, the message is clear: In a world where change is constant, an organization’s ability to adapt is more than a significant competitive advantage—it is table stakes in the game of survival. Yet a surprising number of leaders pursue initiatives to transform their culture or their business, seemingly ignorant of one simple truth: Organizations can’t change unless individual employees change their behavior, and people don’t change unless they want to.
When organizations accept that they must convince employees to change, they get serious about building a compelling case. Forced to be crystal clear about the need for change and its benefits, they scrutinize factors that they—as “believers”—might otherwise gloss over. They conduct assessments of culture, organization structure, and leadership, revealing issues that, if left unexplored and unrestrained, could derail any change.
Taken as a whole, the rich insights that result from a disciplined changed management process have an impact that extends well beyond the life of an initiative. An organization that becomes skilled at managing change comes to “know itself” far better than an organization that simply lets change happen in a haphazard way. Integrating the lessons learned from change ensures that strategy, structure, and culture are aligned—the essential condition for organizational success.