“The only constant in life is change”
Though this quote from Heraclitus is over 2,000 years old it is still so relevant today.
One thing that the last few years have shown us is the need to be able to adapt quickly – like a hamster going round on a wheel, or the world turning on its axis.
No matter the size of your organisation you will need to be able to manage change.
In this new series of things that HR professionals are talking about we are going to be looking at the key principles of change management; the impact it can have on the organisation and also the people that work there.
What is it?
It is quite simply the management of change and development within a business or similar organisation.
Every change that needs to be made should be planned; delivered and implemented carefully. If this does not happen it can have an impact on peoples experience in the organisation, productivity, wellbeing, and engagement which may lead to people wanting to leave the organisation as well as not advocating the organisation as a great place to work.
Change management theories
There are many different models that can be used to help an organisation to manage change; some more appropriate than others, depending on what it is you need to manage.
1. Lewin’s model
In the 1940’s, Kurt Lewin developed a three staged model. Although this is over 80 years old, it is something that is still useful today. The model is known as unfreeze – change – refreeze.
Think about change as a large cube of ice, but you want it to be a cone. First you have to melt the ice to make it amenable to change (unfreeze). Then mould the iced water into the shape you want (change), and then solidify into the new shape (refreeze). By looking at it as distinct stages, you can plan how to manage the transition.
Unfreeze
The first stage involves preparing the organisation to accept that the proposed change is necessary:
- Develop a message that shows why the existing way of doing things cannot continue
- Use stakeholder analysis and stakeholder management to identify the key people in the organisation who need to be involved.
- Frame the issue
- Use vision and strategy as supporting evidence
- Communicate the vision in terms of what is required
- Emphasize the why
- Remain open to concerns and address them in terms of the need to change
Change
The next stage is the part in the process where people begin to resolve their uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. Depending on how people manage change, this transition part of the process will not happen straight away. Related to this is the Kubler-Ross change curve. In the 1960’s, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross developed a curve which showed how people manage grief. The model has proved useful in an organisation’s change perspective, and so it is helpful to use at this part of the Lewin process.
Time and communication are the two most important elements in this stage. People need time to understand the changes, but they also need to feel connected to the organisation:
1. Clear communication which is frequent, is needed throughout the planning and implementation
2. Dispel any rumours. Answer questions openly and honestly, deal with problems immediately relating to the need for change
3. It is helpful to involve people in the process as much as possible. As we know involvement is one of the five key enablers of engagement.
Refreeze
This is the last stage in the process. Once things are taking shape and people have embraced the new ways of working, then the organisation is ready to refreeze. Signs that the change has been implemented, include a structured organisation chart and job descriptions for example.
It is important to ensure that any change has the chance to embed before moving onto the next one.
As part of the refreeze, make sure you take the time to celebrate the success which will help people find closure and paves the way for future change being successful.
There are some steps that you can take to anchor the changes into the team or organisational culture:
- Identify what supports the change
- Identify barriers to sustain it
- Ensure leadership support it
- Reward system supports it
- Feedback system supports it
- Keep people informed and supported
- Celebrate success
Kotter’s 8–step model
A slightly more modern model was introduced in 1995 by John Kotter in his book “Leading change”.
This eight-stage process will help you to manage change in your organisation.
Stage 1 – create urgency
- Develop a sense of urgency around the need for change. This is not about poor sales or competition. Open an honest conversation about what is happening
- Identify threats and what could happen in the future
- What opportunities are there?
Stage 2 – form a powerful coalition
Managing change is not enough – you need to be able to lead it
- Identify the true leaders in your organisation as well as key stakeholders
- Get commitments from these people
- Work on team building within the change team
- Ensure you have a good mix of people from different departments and different levels
Stage 3 – create a vision
A clear vision will help everyone to understand what and why you are asking them
- Determine the values that are central to the change
- Develop a short summary that captures what you see as the future of your organisation
- Create a strategy to execute that vision
- Ensure that all members in your coalition can describe the vision in five minutes or less
- Practice your vision speech often
Stage 4 – communicate the vision
Communicate it frequently and powerfully and embed it into everything you do. Do not call a special meeting to communicate your vision; instead, take the chance to talk about it at every opportunity
- Talk often about your vision
- Address concerns
- Apply the vision to all aspects of the business
- Lead by example
Stage 5 – Remove obstacles
You are halfway through the process, and by now are having regular conversations about the change. But is anyone resisting? Is anything getting in the way?
- Identify or hire change leaders whose main roles are to deliver the change
- Look at the organisations structure, job descriptions, performance, and compensation systems to ensure they are in line with the vision
- Recognise and reward people for making it happen
- Identify people who are resisting and help them see what is needed
- Take action to remove barriers
Stage 6 – Create short term wins
Even if the change to be implemented is a long-term vision; within a month or so you will want to have some quick wins that people can see show tangible evidence that the change is needed and working
- Choose short term targets; small targets that are achievable with little room for failure
- Look for sure fire projects that you can implement without help from any strong critics
- Do not choose early targets that are expensive
- Analyse the pros and cons of your targets
Stage 7 – Build
Every success that you have as part of the journey towards your vision will be able to be built upon
- After every win analyse what went right and what needs improving
- Set goals to continue building momentum
- Learn about continuous improvement
- Bring in change agents and leaders for your change coalition
Stage 8 – Anchor in the organisational culture
To make changes stick they need to become a core part of the organisation
- Talk about progress every chance you get – tell success stories
- Include the values and ideals when hiring new people
- Recognise publicly key members of the coalition and new members
- Create plans to replace key leaders as they move on to ensure their legacy is not lost or forgotten.
Key principles in change management
In their article Mindtools helpfully set out the four change management principles:
- Understand change
- Plan change
- Implement change
- Communicate change
Understand
To be able to communicate and engage people with the benefits of the change, you need to be able to understand them yourself.
Some things to think about here are:
- Why you need it?
- What will the benefits be to the organisation?
- How will it impact people positively?
- How will it affect the way that people work?
- What will people need to do to successfully achieve it?
Plan
Whether you choose to follow a rigid change methodology or be more flexible in your approach, it is important to consider the following when planning change:
1. Sponsorship
How will you secure, engage, and use high level support?
2. Involvement
Ensure you get the chance to involve as many people as possible in designing and implementing the change. Depending on the size of your organisation you may be able to get feedback to amplify employee voice, and then have a team to develop the change
3. Buy in
How are you going to be able to win support from the organisation? Are there any early adopters or champions that can be nurtured to support you from the ground up?
4. Impact
What will success look like? How will you measure the impact ? Also, consider conducting a people impact assessment alongside an equality impact assessment, to understand how people will be impacted by the change.
Implement
Choose the right model. We have looked at two in detail but of course there are others. Look at this alongside the change curve to help you:
- Ensure that everyone involved understands what needs to happen
- Agree success criteria
- Involve key stakeholders
- Identify any training or re-skilling that is needed
- Appoint champions or advocates to help you put the new principles into place
- Find ways to change people’s habits so that the new becomes the norm, and avoid slipping back into the old ways
- Make sure people are engaged and supported throughout the process
Communicate
Communication is the most important elements. You have to set the right tone and ensure the communication is clear and delivered at the right time:
- Link the changes to the organisations vision or mission statement to help people see the bigger picture, clarify meaning as well as involved people so they can see the impact
- Use stakeholder management to ensure the right people get the right message at the right time
- The ADKAR model is a useful tool to help you communicate:
A – Awareness (of the need for change)
D – Desire (to participate in and support the change)
K – Knowledge (how to change)
A – Ability (to change)
R – Reinforcement (to sustain in the long term)
Which leadership style works best?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach, so there is no ideal leadership style. In general, successful change leaders tend to demonstrate the following characteristics:
- Inspire trust
- Build strong teams
- Have excellent communication skills
- Emotional intelligence that can read emotions and notice resistance
- The ability to think strategically and link it to the purpose of the organisation.
Finally, if managed successfully, you will be able to maintain and improve levels of engagement that people have with the organisation overall.
It will give people a better experience, meaning they are more likely to want to stay working for the organisation, or advocate it as a great place to work.
If you want to chat to us more about this topic, please do contact us and say hello
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