Change management: How can it help your company?

Change management is one of the most impactful things you can do to improve your company. I know because I’ve seen it work in my years as a lean management consultant. Whether it was a struggling manufacturer or an underperforming tech company, effective change management improved productivity, employee engagement and results.

You’ll learn how to execute change, how to address resistance and how to measure results. This is a hands-on resource that will give you the tools you need to drive significant change within your company.

Change Management Fundamentals

Change management is a structured approach to help individuals, teams, or organizations move from their current state to a future desired state. It’s one of the most important processes for businesses that want to change and survive in today’s fast-paced business landscape.

The essential ingredients of successful change management are:

1. A clear vision and strategy
2. Strong leadership
3. Stakeholder involvement
4. Communication
5. Training and support
6. Monitoring and measuring

Change management is critical to organizations because it makes the transition easier, minimizes pushback, and helps stakeholders realize the full benefits of the change effort. Here are the main benefits of effective change management:

• Higher probability of project success
• Increased employee commitment and happiness
• Better organizational culture fit with new processes
• Less stress and worry among the employees
• Higher production levels during the transition
• Faster benefits realization from the change efforts

An organization will experience different forms of change, whether it’s a structural change (i.e., reorganization), a strategic change (i.e., entering a new market), or a technology change (i.e., a new software system).

I’ve also witnessed how effective change management can drive massive success for a company going through a transformation. For example, when I was a consultant, the manufacturing plant I worked with was implementing a new lean production system. The plants that invested in comprehensive change management programs saw significantly better adoption and results than those that didn’t.

Change Management Process

Change management also requires a systematic process, and here’s a step-by-step process you can use:

1. Assess change need.
2. Create vision and plan.
3. Establish change management team.
4. Engage stakeholders.
5. Create communication plan.
6. Implement change.
7. Provide support and resources.
8. Monitor progress.
9. Adjust.
10. Reinforce change.

It generally follows these three primary phases:

Planning and preparation: During this phase, you assess the organization’s change readiness, identify likely barriers, and create a detailed plan.

Implementation: This phase focuses on executing the change. You implement your plan, provide training and support, and solve any issues that arise.

Reinforcement and sustainability: This last phase aims to ensure the change sticks. You gather feedback, make necessary tweaks, and celebrate wins.

Throughout the entire process, you must constantly monitor and evaluate your progress. This allows you to catch problems early, make necessary changes, and collect data to judge the change initiative’s success.

In my experience, the planning phase is often overlooked. For example, I watched a company begin implementing a new ERP without properly planning it out. The result was mayhem and significant employee resistance. They had to halt the entire project and start from scratch, with a more detailed planning phase.

Popular Change Management Frameworks

There are a few established change management frameworks. Here are some of the most popular:

Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change

• Create urgency
• Build a guiding team
• Create a vision
• Communicate for buy-in
• Remove hurdles
• Create wins
• Sustain the change
• Anchor it

ADKAR Model

• Awareness
• Desire
• Knowledge
• Ability
• Reinforcement

Lewin’s Change Management Model
Unfreeze Change Refreeze

McKinsey 7-S Framework

• Strategy
• Structure
• Systems
• Shared values
• Style
• Staff
• Skills

These frameworks are helpful to manage change. However, they’re not a one size fits all solution. In my consulting, I often mix and match different frameworks to use the best of each model to create a custom solution that fits the organization and its unique culture best.

Strategies for Effective Organizational Transformation

Having a strong vision is critical to effective change management. The vision should be a clear, inspiring description of the future state and the reasons why the change is needed. Use various channels and formats to communicate the vision to all stakeholders.

Assembling a strong change management team is also important. This might be a cross−functional team if the change impacts multiple departments, or it could just be a change coalition. These individuals will be change champions who help drive the initiative forward and handle objections within their specific areas.

Getting stakeholder buy−in at all levels is important. This means involving stakeholders in more than just communication. Ask for their input, involve them in the planning process, and make sure to promptly resolve any objections.

Have a detailed change management plan with specific actions, timelines, and responsible parties. The plan should also be agile enough to adapt to any challenges that come up during execution.

Ensuring that you have resources and support is the most important part of proper execution. This could be a change management tool or technology, more headcount, external consultants, etc. Make sure that your employees have the resources and support necessary to actually execute the change.

For example, I remember a specific project where we were rolling out a new quality control system in a factory. Initially, the company tried to cut corners and did not offer enough training and on−site support. This resulted in incredible frustration from the workers and, ultimately, very poor adoption of the new system. However, when we finally convinced the company to invest in the necessary training and have a few people on−site for support, the project turned around completely.

Overcoming Resistance to Change

Employee resistance to change is a reality because it’s a natural human response. Employees resist change for a variety of reasons, including:

• Fear of the unknown
• Loss of control or job security
• Not understanding why the change is necessary
• Previous negative experiences with change
• Belief that the change will create more work for them
• Organizational politics or conflicts

To address resistance, start by understanding why employees are resisting the change. Listen to their concerns and validate their feelings. Then, provide clear, rational information about the change and involve them in the change process to make them feel heard and involved.

Empathy is also key to overcoming resistance to change. Put yourself in your employees’ shoes and truly understand why they’re resisting the change. This will help you communicate and support them through the change more effectively.

Change champions are also very effective at minimizing resistance to change. These are respected employees in your organization who support the change, and who have influence over their peers. Identify these individuals as early as possible and arm them with the information and resources they need to support the change within their peer group.

When addressing resistance to change, I’ve found that meeting it head on is more effective than pushing through it. For example, at one company, a group of long-time employees was resisting a new workflow system. Instead of forcing these employees to use the system, we allowed them to be influential in the design and implementation process. As a result, not only did the system improve, but these employees became the strongest advocates for the system inside the company.

Strategies for Communicating Organizational Shifts

Building a thorough communication plan is essential to successful change management. Your communication plan should outline what messages need to be delivered when how and by whom.

Customize your message for different stakeholder groups. What the C-suite needs to know about a change may be very different from what a front-line employee needs to know. Put yourself in their shoes and consider what questions they might have.

Select the best communication channels based on your audience and the message you need to deliver. This might include team meetings email updates intranet posts video updates or one-on-one conversations. Leveraging multiple channels is beneficial to ensure your message reaches everyone.

Consider the ideal cadence and timing of communication. Consistency of routine updates helps to maintain momentum and prevents rumors from filling the information void. Additionally, consider highlighting the major milestones of the change process through more robust communication.

Establishing a feedback loop is a key aspect of change communication. Implement mechanisms to gather feedback from stakeholders, such as suggestion boxes town hall meetings or anonymous feedback forms. Then, make sure to communicate your response transparently and promptly.

I’ve rarely seen a situation where someone over-communicated during a change management initiative. In fact, some of the most effective change initiatives I’ve been part of had communication plans that we initially thought were overkill. However, this approach ensured everyone was aligned and engaged throughout the entire process.

Change Leadership Skills

There are a few key characteristics of effective change leaders:

• Vision and strategic thinking
• Strong communication skills
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Resilience and perseverance
• Emotional intelligence
• Decision-making ability
• Collaborative attitude

Emotional intelligence is one of the most important skills for change leaders to develop. This includes the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and recognize and influence the emotions of others, which is critical for managing the complex human dynamics of change.

Change leaders must strike a balance between assertiveness and empathy. You need to be assertive enough to drive the change forward, yet empathetic enough to understand and address the concerns and needs of impacted stakeholders.

Leading by example is one of the most powerful things you can do as a change leader. If you’re asking employees to adopt new behaviors or mindsets, make sure you’re modeling those behaviors yourself. Your actions will always speak louder than your words.

Continuous learning and adaptation is crucial for change leaders. Each change initiative presents new challenges and opportunities to learn. Take time to reflect on your experiences, seek feedback, and be willing to adapt your approach.

Throughout my career, I’ve seen many leaders struggle with the emotional side of change management. The ones who excel are often those who can connect with their teams on a personal level while still providing a clear vision and direction for the change.

Change Management Tools and Technologies

There are a few different tools and technologies that you can use to facilitate change management:

Project management software such as Microsoft Project or even Trello helps you plan, track, and manage change initiatives. These tools allow you to create timelines, assign tasks, and track progress.

Collaboration and communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams enable real-time communication and information sharing among team members. These tools are particularly helpful if you have a distributed team.

Data analytics tools allow you to measure the impact of change initiatives. Tools like Tableau or Power BI help you visualize data and identify trends or problems.

Change readiness assessment tools help you determine how ready your organization is for the change at hand. This might be specific software or even just a well-designed survey.

Training and e-learning platforms like Coursera for Business or LinkedIn Learning help you develop skills during change initiatives. These platforms offer a range of flexible learning options that you can tailor to your organization.

In my work consulting with businesses, I’ve found that using the right tools can make change management much more efficient. However, keep in mind that tools are only facilitators. They can’t make up for a lack of solid strategy, leadership, and communication.

Measuring Change Management Success

Measuring the success of your change management efforts is essential. Here are some common Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• Adoption rate of new processes or technology
• Employee engagement scores
• Productivity metrics
• Customer satisfaction scores
• Financial KPIs
• Time to proficiency with new skills
• Turnover during and after change

Use a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. Surveys, interviews, focus groups, and performance data are all effective sources of data.

Be sure to establish baseline measurements before the change initiative. This enables you to accurately measure the impact of the change.

Use data from measurement to continuously improve. If a particular area of the change isn’t hitting its KPIs, analyze why and adjust your strategy.

Regularly report and communicate change management results. This helps keep stakeholders engaged and supporting the change management process. Share successes and challenges, as well as what you’re doing to pivot when something isn’t working.

Some compelling statistics illustrate the importance of effective change management:

• Seventy percent of change initiatives fail (McKinsey)
• Organizations with excellent change management are 6 times more likely to meet objectives (Prosci)
• Ninety-three percent of projects with excellent change management met or exceeded objectives, compared to only 15% of poor change management

These stats clearly demonstrate why investing in change management is so important. In my experience, companies that overlook change management often fail to maximize the full benefits of their change initiatives. On the other hand, companies that prioritize change management from the beginning almost always achieve better results.

Remember, change management isn’t a one-time event. It’s a never-ending journey. By continuously improving your change management strategy through measurement and feedback, you will make your organization much more adaptable and successful in an ever-evolving business environment.

Final Thoughts

Change management is essential to organizational success. I’ve personally witnessed the impact of effective change management strategies on turning around businesses. The secret is careful planning, effective communication, and good leadership. Don’t forget to proactively deal with any pushback and track your results.

With the proper strategy, you can effectively manage change and move your organization to the next level. Also, continue focusing on improvement and evolution. You will become a more efficient organization and your employees will be happier.