Change management

The thing is, there’s no unique way to embrace change. The change management program you
are about to implement depends on your industry, company’s culture, as well as the business
goals you're trying to achieve.
Change management is the process organizations launch to improve current
performance, seize new opportunities or address key issues. A change management process
includes a plan, projects and initiatives. 
These efforts often require changing the current business processes, job roles, and organizational
structures as well as updating the technologies used in the organization.
Even though different groups within organizations may look at change management differently,
it is extremely important to always address the human side of change in organizational
contexts.
But remember that employee communication is the key to driving change. 
Indeed, your employees may at first resist change. To make sure that they're aligned with your
strategy, you need to make sure they have a great understanding of the process, the reasons why
you're driving change as well as how it may impact their work
As companies are constantly changing their policies, procedures and business processes, it is
crucial to properly manage and communicate them in the entire workplace. 
Since every organization has different company values, culture, goals and change objectives,
not every change management model fits all. 

Top 5 Change Management Models to Consider for Your Business

1. Kotter’s Change Management Model

Kotter’s change management theory is one of the most popular and adopted ones in the
world. 
This model has eight stages and each of them focuses on employees’ response to change.
  Increase urgency – Creating a sense of urgency among employees may be the best way
to motivate and engage them during the process.
 Build the team – Determine the right set of skills and personalities for the team that will
be responsible for driving change within the organization. 
 Get the vision correct – Take into account not just the strategy, but also employees'
creativity, emotions and project's objectives.
 Communicate – Be transparent and frequently communicate with people about the
changes being implemented.
 Get things moving – Get support, remove the roadblocks and collect feedback in a
constructive way.
 Focus on short term goals – Don’t just focus on the end result. Set small goals and
recognize small achievements during the process to boost employee morale.
 Incorporate change – Reinforce and make change a part of the workplace culture. Help
employees adjust, and reward them for the new behaviors. 
 Don’t give up – Changes don’t happen overnight, and obstacles are unavoidable. Be
persistent while the process of change management is going on, no matter how tough things
may seem.
Why we like this model
Kotter’s change management model is pretty easy to follow and incorporate. Our favorite part of
this model is that it focuses on preparing employees for change rather than change
implementation itself.  
The focus on employee experience and proper workplace communication is one of the reasons
why this is one of the most commonly used change management models. 

2. McKinsey 7-S Change Management Model

McKinsey 7-S framework or model is one of the longest lasting change management models
out there. 
This model consists of 7 crucial categories that companies should be aware of when
implementing change:
 Strategy – Strategy is the change management plan that should consist of a step-by-step
procedure or future plan.
 Structure – This factor is related to the structure in which the organization is divided or
the structure it follows.
 Systems – This stage focuses on the systems that will be used to complete day-to-day
tasks and activities.
 Shared values – Shared values refer to the core or main values of an organization
according to which it runs or works.
 Style – The manner in which change is adopted or implemented is known as ‘style’.
 Staff – The staff refers to the workforce or employees and their working capabilities.
 Skills – The competencies as well as other skills possessed by the employees working in
the organization.
Why we like this model
Unlike most other models, this model focuses on all the important factors that change may
impact.
While most other models represent some kind of a process or workflow, McKinsey’s model
simply reminds us of all the business aspects that should be defined before the change strategy is
implemented.

3. ADKAR Change Management Model

ADKAR model can be used by Change Managers to find out various gaps in the process so that
effective training can be offered to the employees. 
Even though ADKAR model focuses on the business-oriented goals, it can be very useful
to support employees to more easily go through the process of change.
ADKAR Model stands for:

 Awareness – of the need and requirement for change

 Desire – to bring and be part of change
 Knowledge – of how to drive change
 Ability – to incorporate the change on a regular basis
 Reinforcement – to keep it implemented and reinforced later on as well.
Why we like this model
This change management model is a great solution for companies that are trying to look at
both the business and people dimensions of change.
Unlike other change management models, this model focuses on the identification and
evaluation of the reasons why change is working or not, and why desired results are not
being obtained.

4. Kübler-Ross Five Stage Change Management Model

This model is different from the others in a sense that is 100% employee-oriented. The model
can also be applied to other life situations such as loss of job, changes in work and other less
serious health conditions. 
This model helps employers understand better their employees and empathize with them.
This model consists of five stages through which your employees may be going during
organizational changes.  
 Denial – In this stage, employees are not willing to or unable to accept change. This
happens because most people show resistance towards change and may not want to believe
what is happening.
 Anger – This model assumes that when the news first get absorbed, anger follows.
Denial converts into anger when employees realize that the change is actually happening. 
 Bargaining – During the bargaining stage, employees try to get to the best possible
solution out of the situation or circumstance. Bargaining is a way for people to avoid ending
up with the worst case scenario.
 Depression – When employees realize that bargaining is not working, they may end up
getting depressed and may lose faith. Some of the symptoms include low energy, non-
commitment, low motivation and lack of any kind of excitement or happiness.
 Acceptance – When employees realize that there is no point in fighting change any more,
they may finally accept what is happening and may begin to resign to it. 

Why we like this model

We love this change management model because of its focus on employees, their feelings,
concerns and needs. 
Organizations that manage to understand their employees are much more likely to eliminate
some of the biggest barriers towards successful change management. 
Because most employees go through the above mentioned feelings, it is extremely important to
keep employees informed and to have an effective business communication strategy. 

5. Lewin’s Change Management Model

Lewin’s Change Management Model is one of the most popular accepted, and effective change
management models.
It helps companies better understand organizational and structured change. This model
consists of three main stages which are: unfreeze, change and refreeze. 

 Unfreeze: This is the preparation stage where employers must get prepared for change.
The crucial step here is to enhance open employee communication explaining why change is
necessary. The goal is to overcome employees’ resistance to change as much as possible. 
 Change: This is the stage in which change gets implemented. Continuing on the first
stage, good leadership and effective employee communications are crucial here. 
 Refreeze: This is the stage in which change is accepted and employees go back to their
routine. This stage should be considered as almost ever-going. Leaders should make sure
that changes are adopted and used even after the change management objectives have been
achieved.
Why we like this model
Lewin’s change management model describes in a very simple way the main 3 stages that every
change management process has to go through: pre-change, during change and post-change. 

Because of its simplicity, many organizations choose to follow this model when implementing
change.

Why Do 70% of Change Initiatives Fail?

The Harvard Business Review found that most change management projects —70% —fail.

Yes, that's right, 70%.
So, how can we explain that?
An interesting research by PMI found that only 14% of business leaders said that change
failures can be chalked up to company's inability to cope with technology.
The other 86% of failures are related to these challenges:
 Improperly defined objectives (17%),
 Unfamiliar scope (17%),
 Lack of effective communication (20%) and,
 Poor project management skills (32%)

Employee Communication Is the Keystone of Every Change Management Model

Within organizations, change initiatives mostly come from the top down. However, ultimately, it
is the employees of your organization who have to change how they do their jobs. 
If these individuals are unsuccessful in their personal transitions, if they don’t embrace change
and learn a new way of working, the initiative will fail. 
On the other side, aligning employees with your business goals is not an easy task.
As we saw from the above mentioned models, employee communication is the central part of
every change management model. 
If your employees are not on board, implementing change will be extremely challenging.