Changes are inevitable in any business. It is the way companies grow and scale. However, the way businesses deal with these changes can affect their operation and employees in many ways. Change management frameworks are designed to make changes that occur in businesses easier to implement and handle and to solidify the changes as the new norm.
Change management models are concepts that involve a detailed approach to organizational change. These models aim to provide a thorough guide for businesses to making changes, going through the transformation process, and making sure that all changes are accepted and put into practice successfully.
Some examples of these changes include new hires who are learning about a business’ processes, department-specific changes or changes involving internal tools.
The type of model a company implements depends largely on its industry, the company’s culture, as well as the business goals it wants to achieve.
Why Understanding Change Management Models Is Valuable
The average business goes through around five major changes in just three years. Change is part of every business. But it is never easy and the bigger the group being affected by the change, the more complex and lengthy the implementation.
Change can seem overwhelming in the minds of those who need to implement change. Therefore, leaders have to find ways to make change approachable both for themselves and the communities they serve. Ideally, they should incorporate two key concepts into their change strategies.
- They must understand that the management of change is never a one-time event, it is a process.
- Changes will only succeed when an effective change model or strategy is set in place.
The last point is particularly important because it helps leaders guide the change process. Therefore, they must understand how and why change management models work.
When leaders have comprehensive knowledge about these models, they can choose the right model for their business’s specific needs and unique employee setup.
In turn, when businesses implement the right change management model, they can enjoy some valuable benefits, which include:
- Effectively preparing for the change well in advance
- Notifying all stakeholders about the change
- Responding faster to employee feedback and questions
- Helping to align existing resources within the business
- Assessing the overall impact of a change
- Implementing change without negatively affecting the day-to-day running of the business
- Maintaining efficiency by acknowledging the concerns of employees
- Providing a way to anticipate challenges and respond to them fast and efficiently
- Reducing the time needed to implement change
- Containing the costs associated with the change
- Reducing the possibility of unsuccessful change implementation efforts
Why Choosing the Right Change Management Model Is Important
Choosing the right model for a business is an important part of the management process of change. The right model can be the difference between a smooth and easy transition and one that causes challenges and conflict within a business. Usually, a business wants to consider the needs of the company and its employees to determine which type of model will work best for everyone involved. The best model is typically one that can be customized to fit a business’s needs and addresses the particular concerns of the various people within the company.
The advantages of implementing the right model can include:
- Driving more successful change
- Handling the amount of change transpiring
- Addressing the costs of poorly managed change
- Balancing organizational practice with organizational values
- Preparing the organization for the future
- Creating consistency and efficiencies in approach
- Creating valuable internal capabilities
About the Top Change Management Models
Following a proven method for establishing a change in a business can increase its success rate. Today, a variety of models exist. The challenge, however, is to find one that works best for a specific situation.
Some models are better suited to large-scale, organization-wide changes, which can involve moving customer management or IT professional teams from different programs into a centralized system. Smaller changes, for example altering the format of a client’s monthly progress reports, are typically better suited to a more basic model.
• McKinsey 7-S Model
This is often seen as one of the more complex models. The model’s seven elements are designed to be assessed by how they influence each other so that challenges can easily be identified. It is essential to keep all the elements in accordance by analyzing how they work together or affect each other. The seven elements include structure, strategy, shared values, systems, staff, style and skills.
This model is often used when a business knows there is something wrong within the company, but they’re not sure how to address the concern. Once management has identified which changes must be made, the elements work as a guide to keep the company and its employees in balance. The McKinsey model can help businesses identify misalignments and help them navigate the implementation of the necessary change.
• Lewin’s Model
This is one of the most popular models accepted. It is designed to help businesses better understand organizational and structured change. The model is made up of three stages which include:
- The unfreeze stage: This is a preparation stage where employers get prepared for change. The goal here is to overcome employees’ resistance to change.
- The change stage: During this stage, change gets implemented.
- The refreeze stage: During this stage, change is accepted and employees return to their routine.
Many businesses choose to follow this model when implementing change because of its simplicity.
• The ADKAR Model
The ADKAR Model focuses on business-oriented goals and can be very useful to support staff to go through the process of change more easily. It is designed to put the focus on the people behind the change.
Each letter in the acronym ADKAR represents a goal to be reached as a business:
- Awareness
- Desire
- Knowledge
- Ability
- Reinforcement
By putting the focus on employees, the model helps to limit resistance and speed up implementation. The ADKAR model values the input of employees. It helps businesses to start a conversation to make employees aware of the need for change and how they will benefit from it.
• Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model
This model also focuses more on the people experiencing large changes rather than the changes themselves. The model involves eight steps, which include:
- Creating a sense of urgency
- Building a powerful coalition
- Forming a strategic vision
- Getting everyone to agree
- Enabling action by eliminating barriers
- Generating short-term wins
- Sustaining acceleration
- Instituting the change
This model is designed to turn possibly opposing individuals into active participants through transparency and trust.
• The PDCA Model
The PDCA model is a cyclical process for continuous change and improvement. It is an acronym for Plan, Do, Change and Act. This model helps businesses make improvements by following a simple but effective process:
- Devising a plan
- Testing the plan
- Implementing the plan
- Evaluating the plan’s success
- Making the necessary changes
This change management system works best on a small scale, testing changes on one team or department and tracking results before executing changes throughout the company.
• The Nudge Model
This model guides or suggests users make a change without very strict enforcement or punishing non-compliance.
It shows how businesses should present the change as a choice and remove as many obstacles as possible to make it more likely for employees to comply. It involves the following steps:
- Defining the change
- Considering the point of view of the impacted stakeholder
- Developing a change roadmap with key decision points and transparent data
- Engaging the impact in the decision-making process
- Listening to feedback
- Reducing obstacles
- Keeping momentum with small wins
Many businesses have found success in using the model to encourage more employees to take part in changes. However, when dealing with more complex changes, businesses may need a more structured framework.
• Bridges Transition Model
This model places emphasis on the emotional transition people go through when experiencing a change. The model includes three stages businesses should help guide employees through:
- The “ending, losing and letting go” zone: To avoid any resistance marked by fear and discomfort when change is involved.
- The neutral zone: When the change is starting to take place, some stakeholders may get stuck between letting go of the old and welcoming the new.
- The new beginning zone: If handled well and the new change is in place stakeholders will enter the stage of acceptance with the new way of doing things.
Choose Success with Change Implementation
Change is an inevitable aspect of any growing business. But it can be a challenging situation for everyone involved. Change management models are designed to be compasses that help businesses navigate through difficult transitions and guide them and their teams towards the adoption of changes. When choosing the right change management model, businesses can enjoy many benefits and implement change successfully.
