Your teams’ ability to adapt to change has a direct impact on your business’s bottom line. Show
The thing is, there’s no unique way to embrace change. The change management program you are about to implement depends on your industry, the company’s culture, as well as the business goals you’re trying to achieve. 📚Master the art of communication with our article on Interpersonal Communication and Must-Have Skills. In this blog post, we will go over some of the most popular change management models you can consider for your business. Are you ready? Let’s dive in! Why Choosing the Right Change Management Model Is ImportantDriving and inspiring change is a challenge that most organizations are facing today. The times when stability and predictability were the main business priorities are over! Market transparency, labor mobility, globalization, instantaneous communications and constant access to information force us to get out of our comfort zones and make changes within our organizations. 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. With the emergence of the current pandemic and the rise of remote work, change management has become one of the main priorities for businesses across the world. 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. So let’s take a look into a few change management models for you to consider. Top 5 Change Management Models to Consider for Your BusinessIn order to implement changes such as digital transformation or smoothly transition during mergers and acquisitions, it is important to effectively plan ahead and structure the whole project. In order to do so, it is useful to follow existing change management models. Let’s take a look at the 5 most popular change management models. 1. Kotter’s Change Management ModelKotter’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.
🧡 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 ModelMcKinsey’s 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:
🧡 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 ModelADKAR 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 the ADKAR model focuses on business-oriented goals, it can be very useful to support employees to more easily go through the process of change. ADKAR Model stands for:
🧡 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 ModelThis model is different from the others in the sense that it 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.
🧡 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 ModelLewin’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.
🧡 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. The Example of Using the McKinsey 7-S Change Management ModelEarlier in this blog, we have defined and explained the components of the McKinsey 7-S Change Management Model. Let’s now apply it to the real-world situation – the current COVID-19 pandemic. Increase urgencyEmployers are responsible for creating urgency about the change. In this situation, urgency around following safety guidelines, new policies, procedures and tips for working from home is important for employers to ensure business continuity. Build the team in charge of driving changeDepending on a situation, change teams may include different departments. However, getting internal communications departments on board is not an option, it is an absolute must! In this case, other members of the team should include change management teams, crisis management and communications teams, leaders, managers and HR departments. They are all responsible for ensuring that employees stay connected, inspired and productive even when they may be physically separated and dispersed. Align your employees with your visionYour change communication plan should have a clear vision about the change. Furthermore, it should include clear goals in order for employees to understand how to work together towards those goals. Setting the clear vision is the only way to get employees’ buy-in and align them with the ultimate business objectives. For example, one of your change management goals right now may be around how to ensure that employees return to work safely. Communicate your change management strategy to your employeesOnce your define your vision and goals, it is crucial that you communicate them frequently, transparently and openly with your entire workforce, even when you don’t have the best news to share. Many organizations are now undergoing significant cuts and employee lay-offs as the consequence of the current world situation. Instead of leaving your employees in the dark, you need to make sure that they have access to the important information and updates. Regardless of the change management model you use, communicating the benefits and consequences of change should always be your priority. Here are a few questions your change communication plan should include:
Get things movingWhen implementing change, it is important to continuously support your employees in order to mitigate their resistance and remove the roadblocks. Today, the best support you can give to your employees is by keeping them connected and enabling them to share their voice via two-way communication channels. Allow your employees to ask questions, raise concerns and join daily company conversations. Don’t just send them a mass email announcement and hope that they will read your messages. These are the times when many employees are experiencing extensive information overload. Hence, also be careful about only sending relevant and personal information in order to get your employees’ attention. Include short-term goals in your change management plan as wellInstead of just setting the final goal of your change initiative, set smaller, short-term milestones so that your employees stay motivated throughout the entire process. For example, if you are planning to keep remote work practice at your workplace, communicate the remote work goals in chunks. Give your employees a way to easily reach and celebrate their success. Also, encourage them to publicly celebrate their success and the success of others. Use your internal communications solution to share their inspiring success stories with the rest of the workforce. Incorporate changeAny changes happening within organizations also need to be complemented with a significant cultural transformation. Again, proper internal communications is crucial. This is why IC departments are now becoming some of the most important strategic business partners who are also driving organizations to become more adaptable and agile. Don’t give upRemember that change won’t happen overnight. The process of change management actually never stops. So, no matter which change management model you chose to use, you need to make sure to continuously encourage and empower your employees to stay aligned. The current situation is the perfect example to illustrate this point. We all know that COVID-19 is nowhere close to end and be done. It will also have a significant impact on the businesses across the world in the near future. 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:
Employee Communication Is the Keystone of Every Change Management ModelWithin 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. Make Change Management More Successful with Haiilo StoriesAs improper employee communication is one of the main reasons why change management projects fail, companies now have to reconsider their internal communications efforts and switch to new employee communication solutions. Haiilo is designed to help organizations be more effective in change management. Think about it: during change management processes, organizations mostly struggle to deliver relevant information to their employees at the right time and to always keep them connected. With Haiilo Stories, you can reach your workforce in a timely manner, store all the crucial information in one place, personalize your employees’ news feeds based on their roles, interests and location as well as keep track of employee well-being and general mood in the company. Haiilo Stories’ mobile-first approach and its user friendliness are just some of the reasons why enterprise companies use it as their primary mean of internal communication during change. In essence, Haiilo Stories helps you to:
What is the first step in organizational change?The first step in any change process is clearly understanding the current state of the organization. That information will help managers decide on the project's starting point, strategy, and action plan, among other things. Assessments can include: Gap analyses.
What is the most important key to successful organizational change?Communicate: The most important factor in changing anything within a business, small or large, is to communicate the change, and its many factors, to the key stakeholders within the organisation – staff, first and foremost, but also outside stakeholders like shareholders and consumers.
What should be strategy for organizational change?What Are the Best Change Management Strategies?. Plan Carefully. ... . Be as Transparent as Possible. ... . Tell the Truth. ... . Communicate. ... . Create a Roadmap. ... . Provide Training. ... . Invite Participation. ... . Don't Expect to Implement Change Overnight.. What are the 4 major components of organizational change?For successful change implementation in organizations, there are 4 main components serving as pillars holding up the change. These pillars are various distinct phases of change – planning, leadership, management, and maintenance of change.
|