Change management (people)

Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. The current definition of Change Management includes both organizational change management processes and individual change management models, which together are used to manage the people side of change.

Individual change management

A number of models are available for understanding the transitioning of individuals through the phases of change management and strengthening organizational development initiative in both government and corporate sectors.

Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze

An early model of change developed by Kurt Lewin described change as a three stage process. The first stage he called "unfreezing". It involved overcoming inertia and dismantling the existing "mindset". Defense mechanisms have to be bypassed. In the second stage the change occurs. This is typically a period of confusion and transition. We are aware that the old ways are being challenged but we do not have a clear picture to replace them with yet. The third and final stage he called "freezing" (often called "refreezing" by others). The new mindset is crystallizing and one's comfort level is returning to previous levels. Rosch (2002) argues that this often quoted three-stage version of Lewin’s approach is an oversimplification and that his theory was actually more complex and owed more to physics than behavioural science. Later theorists have however remained resolute in their interpretation of the force field model. This three-stage approach to change is also adopted by Hughes (1991) who makes reference to: "exit" (departing from an existing state), "transit" (crossing unknown territory), and "entry" (attaining a new equilibrium). Tannenbaum & Hanna (1985) suggest a change process where movement is from "homeostasis and holding on", through "dying and letting go" to "rebirth and moving on". Although elaborating the process to five stages, Judson (1991) still proposes a linear, staged model of implementing a change: (a) analysing and planning the change; (b) communicating the change; (c) gaining acceptance of new behaviours; (d) changing from the status quo to a desired state, and (e) consolidating and institutionalising the new states.

Kübler-Ross

Some change theories are based on derivatives of the Kübler-Ross model from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's book, "On Death and Dying." The stages of Kubler-Ross's model describe the personal and emotional states that a person typically encounters when dealing with loss of a loved one. Derivatives of her model applied in other settings such as the workplace show that similar emotional states are encountered as individuals are confronted with change.

Formula for Change

A Formula for Change was developed by Richard Beckhard and David Gleicher and is sometimes referred to as Gleicher's Formula. The Formula illustrates that the combination of organisational dissatisfaction, vision for the future and the possibility of immediate, tactical action must be stronger than the resistance within the organisation in order for meaningful changes to occur.

PCI (People Centered Implementation)

PCI is a change management methodology developed by Changefirst, which has been continuously improved since the 1990s. It has been applied in the field of people change management by organizations and their change agents in over 35 countries around the world.

PCI describes the six critical success factors that must be managed to build commitment to change initiatives and create behavior change.

1. Shared Change Purpose - create and share a powerful case for change in the organization
2. Effective Change Leadership - develop strong change leadership for the initiative
3. Powerful Engagement Processes - build and deliver plans to engage people in the change
4. Committed Local Sponsors - build understanding and commitment of middle and front-line managers
5. Strong Personal Connection - create commitment and behaviour changing actions for front-line people
6. Sustained Personal Performance - support people as they learn to adapt, managing their resistance sensitively and empathetically.

ADKAR

The ADKAR model for individual and organizational change management was developed by Prosci with input from more than 1000 organizations from 59 countries. This model describes five required building blocks for change to be realized successfully on an individual level. The building blocks of the ADKAR Model include:

1. Awareness – of why the change is needed
2. Desire – to support and participate in the change
3. Knowledge – of how to change
4. Ability – to implement new skills and behaviors
5. Reinforcement – to sustain the change

Organizational change management

Organizational change management includes processes and tools for managing the people side of the change at an organizational level. These tools include a structured approach that can be used to effectively transition groups or organizations through change. When combined with an understanding of individual change management, these tools provide a framework for managing the people side of change. Organizational change management processes include techniques for creating a change management strategy (readiness assessments), engaging senior managers as change leaders (sponsorship), building awareness of the need for change (communications), developing skills and knowledge to support the change(education and training), helping employees move through the transition (coaching by managers and supervisors), and methods to sustain the change (measurement systems, rewards and reinforcement).

Dynamic conservatism

This model by Donald Schön explores the inherent nature of organizations to be conservative and protect themselves from constant change. Schön recognises the increasing need, due to the increasing pace of change for this process to become far more flexible. This process being one of 'learning'. Very early on Schön recognised the need for what is now termed the 'learning organization'. These ideas are further expanded on within his frame work of 'reflection-in-action', the mapping of a process by which this constant change could be coped with.

The role of the management

Management's responsibility (and that of administration in case of political changes) is to detect trends in the macro environment as well as in the micro environment so as to be able to identify changes and initiate programs. It is also important to estimate what impact a change will likely have on employee behavior patterns, work processes, technological requirements, and motivation. Management must assess what employee reactions will be and craft a change program that will provide support as workers go through the process of accepting change. The program must then be implemented, disseminated throughout the organization, monitored for effectiveness, and adjusted where necessary. Organizations exist within a dynamic environment that is subject to change due to the impact of various change "triggers", such as evolving technologies. To continue to operate effectively within this environmental turbulence, organizations must be able to change themselves in response to internally and externally initiated change. However, change will also impact upon the individuals within the organization. Effective change management requires an understanding of the possible effects of change upon people, and how to manage potential sources of resistance to that change. Change can be said to occur where there is an imbalance between the current state and the environment.

Decision Downloading

Often changes are initiated at a very senior level in the organization without input from others. For example, mergers, layoffs, and company acquisitions rarely involve input from employees at any level but the most senior. In fact, most employees are kept in the dark. These situations require special types of change management practices. As the decisions get "downloaded" to the rest of the organization there is a high probability that misunderstandings, angst, and anger will surface.

Researchers have determined that employee "buy-in" can be hastened by robustly downloading the decision. Executives who use a robust style of downloading or announcing the decision include the following points in their message: a) how the decision was made b) why it was made c) what alternatives were considered d) how it fits in with the organizational mission e) how it impacts the organization f) how it impacts employees.

Executives who use this more robust approach to communicating double the rate of acceptance when compared to more impoverished methods.

Change Management on the level of society

Mats Larsson, in the book Global Energy Transformation (2009), argues that change management will become necessary on the level of society in order to transform energy systems on a large scale. Transforming global systems of transportation, energy supply and industrial processes, is an undertaking that will require large investments, change in individual behavior and company routines on a large scale and during a short space of time. This effort will also require the cooperation of many companies, public organizations and individuals. In order to achieve this on the scale of nations and regions, government financed programs will become necessary. Larsson outlines how the management principles and tools of change management could be applied in large scale national programs.

Larsson uses as examples previous large scale change and development programs in the United States, in which many tools that are now used in corporate change management projects have been developed and used. These programs are the transformation of US industry to war production during The Second World War, The Marshall Plan and The Apollo Program. Each of these programs have different focuses and management mechanisms, but they are examples of successful large scale change management efforts on the level of society.huhu

Other approaches to managing change

• Appreciative Inquiry, a collaborative approach to organizational change, is partly based on the assumption that change in a system is instantaneous ('Change at the Speed of Imagination')
• Scenario Planning: Scenario planning provides a platform for doing so by asking management and employees to consider different future market possibilities in which their organizations might find themselves.
• "Organize with Chaos", by Robin Rowley and Dr. Joseph Roevens. Essentially, change-efficiency can improve greatly when management realise that "People do not resist their own ideas". Open, information-sharing teams and networks, knock power hierarchies flat when it comes to rapid innovation and change. The authors describe Change as a creative cyclical process where some events can be managed, but others must be deliberately 'under'managed and left alone to self-organize, ripen, and eventually improve the business naturally. By looking at how things change in Nature, the authors observed that major changes in the environment can precipitate a ubiquitous process of transformation. Essentially the system moves away from efficient Control and refinement and disintegrates into creative Chaos. As all the various dormant mutations and experiments begin to assert themselves in the evolutionary soup, many fail, but a few of them 'fit' successfully and may reproduce. Thus, they move through a transformational phase, back into a higher level type of Control. Watching the system as a whole, it appears to move through four distinct cyclical phases, which run like this: ENHANCE / PERTURB / ATTRACT / EXCITE. In practice, Management can ENHANCE (a response to events shifting in the environment, or the "change field"). PERTURB (self-organising perturbations occur spontaneously; old ways disintegrate, etc.) Under-management and executive silence reigns here if the natural process is not to be prematurely collapsed. The system then moves into a creative, 'free for all' state of Chaos. ATTRACT (eventually new people, groups, ideas and/or actions emerge, cluster and maybe resonate. EXCITE (time, energy, resources and management can now be applied to enable the new systems to synergise and develop. Profits occur as higher order control and efficiency rule temporarily. Then, depending on the stabilty of the environment, or market competition, it all starts over again as a continuous cycle of change.
• Theory U of Otto Scharmer who describes a process in which change strategies are based on the emerging future rather than on lesson from the past.
• The Solution focused brief therapy approach to change, developed to assist individuals, is equally useful for organizations.
• The Closework theory of intervention says change is driven by the champions, be they internal project teams or consultants, working alongside the delivery team, individuals and management in the places where the work gets done. Champions should get involved rather than instruct and bring practical and implementable ideas.

The constructionist principle

The map is not the territory: The map/territory relation is proven by neuroscience and is used to signify that individual people do not have access to absolute knowledge of reality, but in fact only have access to a set of beliefs they have built up over time, about reality. It has been coined into a model by Chris Argyris called the Ladder of Inference. As a consequence, communication in change processes needs to make sure that information about change and its consequences is presented in such a way that people with different belief systems can access this information. Methods that are based on the Map/Territory Relation help people to:

• become more aware of their own thinking and reasoning (reflection),
• make their thinking and reasoning more visible to others (advocacy), and
• inquire into others' thinking and reasoning (inquiry).

Some methodological frameworks that are based on this principle are:

• Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), an eclectic school of modern psychotherapy developed by Richard Bandler, John Grinder, Robert Dilts, and others;
• Circular Questioning and other techniques basically developed in Systemic Family Therapy;.
• Gestalt Psychology, a theory of mind and brain that proposes that the operational principle of the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies;
• The concept of the Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge and other management thinkers
• Scenario Thinking, a method that helps people to create stories about the future

See also

• List of human resource management topics
• Strategic change for change theories in strategic management
• Force field analysis
• Change management process and AccuRev
• Business Technology Optimization
• Decision Downloading

Further reading

• Gibson, E., & Billings, A. (2003). Big Change at Best Buy, Davies-Black, Palo Alto, CA.
• Worren, N. A. M.; Ruddle, K.; and K. Moore. 1999. "From Organizational Development to Change Management: The Emergence of a New Profession," The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 35 (3): 273-286.
• Beckhard, R. 1969. Organization Development: Strategies and Models, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
• Hiatt, J. 2006. ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government and the Community, Learning Center Publications, Loveland, CO.
• Kubler-Ross, E. 1970. On Death and Dying, Macmillan Company, England.
• LaMarsh, J; Potts, R. 2004. Master Change, Maximize Success, Duncan Baird
• Schön, D. A. (1973) Beyond the Stable State. Public and private learning in a changing society, Harmondsworth: Penguin
• Beitler, Michael 2006. "Strategic Organizational Change, Second Edition." Practitioner Press International.
• Carter, L. & Goldsmith, M. (2001) Best Practices in Organization Development and Change, San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
• Rogers, E. M., (2003). Diffusion Of Innovation, New York: Free Press
• Tabrizi, N. B., (2007). Rapid Transformation, Harvard Business School Press.
• Nelson, K and Aaron, S (2005). The Change Management Pocket Guide, Change Guides LLC.
• Hiatt, J. 2003. Change Management: the people side of change. Learning Center Publications, Loveland, CO.
• Greenfield, A 2008. The 5 Forces of Change - A Blueprint for Leading Successful Change, Management Books 2000, England.
• Clampitt,P. & Williams, M.(2007)Decision Downloading, MIT Sloan Management Review, Jan 1