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Summary: Change management is overseeing and facilitating change at any level where it occurs.
Change management is critical to business success. Here we cover key principles and best practices.
Change Management
Change management is the activity of managing change in an organization. While this may sound simple, change is most often painful and challenging. At the same time, change is often essential, and well-managed change can produce a lot of rewards. Change management can relate to the processes, goals, technologies, or human resources of an organization. It can be found on the level of individual activities up to large, organization-wide projects.
The purpose of change management is to create and put into place strategies that control change and its effects by helping stakeholders adapt to it effectively. Changes can involve developments that improve how an organization functions, transitions that see an organization moving from some old to new ways of functioning, or complete transformations that fundamentally change critical aspects of an organization. Change management is usually led by management teams however, successfully navigating change typically requires attaining the support of all employees in an organization.
Key Principles of Change Management
There are many different ways to manage change and multiple frameworks that organizations can select to direct their efforts. Successful change management requires data about the context, relevant actors, and key areas of support, as well as the time, skills, facilities, materials, and funds or other non-monetary resources necessary to get the job done. Goals need to be defined and plans must be defined.
One common framework used for individual change is the ADKAR model, named after its five building blocks:
- Awareness of the need for change
- Desire to support the necessary change
- Knowledge of what to do during and after the change
- Ability to implement the change
- Reinforcement to maintain the results of the change
A popular framework for leading change is the 8-Step Process for Leading Change created by Harvard professor John P. Kotter:
- Create a sense of urgency about the change
- Build a guiding coalition to lead the change
- Form a strategic vision and create initiatives
- Enlist the people needed to carry out the change
- Remove barriers to change
- Take small steps toward the goals
- Sustain the momentum of the change
- Institute the change
In all instances, it’s crucial to define the roles and responsibilities of the people involved in the change. Change is normally led by management but will fail to succeed if managers can’t secure the buy-in of all employees who will be involved in and affected by the change.
Challenges in Change Management
Change is rarely easy and the concept of change management arises from the need to smooth out the challenges to change that typically occur. These common challenges include:
- Resistance: Both managers and employees will often resist change because they tend to perceive it as requiring more work and learning new things, which can be difficult. It’s important to address these emotional responses to change and demonstrate how the new system will be worth the work involved in changing.
- Finding resources: Change can require human resources, funds, equipment, and technology. These may be scarce, so a plan needs to be put into place to make the maximum use of the limited resources available.
- Communicating clearly: Poor communication often results in poor or incomplete implementation of new systems and can also increase resistance to change or confusion about what’s needed. Change leaders need to communicate clearly at every step of the process to help a change implementation run more smoothly.
Best Practices for Successful Change Management
The purpose of change management is to create a greater alignment between the change that is desired and what actually gets implemented. It helps stakeholders better understand the reasons for the change to garner their support. It also helps to identify what can be updated or altered to create greater efficiency or effectiveness in an organization.
Some tips for successful change management include:
- Don’t wait too long to change: Some organizations try to avoid changes even though they know they’re necessary. Take AB InBev, for example. This global beverage giant hadn’t updated its general systems hardware and software since 2009. When it chose to do so in 2024, it found that the changes were going to be hugely disruptive and would take the company offline for days. If it had updated incrementally over the years, this change would have been a lot less painful and costly.
- Leverage influential people: People often resist change so it makes sense to leverage those people who can influence others to accept and even appreciate changes. Find people that others trust and respect and have them help to communicate the benefits of the change to others.
- Set clear goals: The target of any change has to be specifically defined. This creates a target that all involved can direct their efforts toward. It also means that the success of the change can be measured as it relates to key performance indicators (KPIs).
Change management
Change management is the process of making changes as painless and effective as possible. While change often creates resistance, managing changes with a sound plan that takes people’s concerns into account and delivers clear end benefits can build clear advantages for organizations.
FAQ
Change can make people feel nervous, stressed, and insecure. Employees typically become entrenched in the systems, methods, and tools they become accustomed to using and tend to dislike having to learn new things. Change management aims to make change as painless as possible by establishing clear rewards for making changes and addressing people’s concerns throughout the process.
For change management to be successful, change situations have to be properly identified and clear, measurable goals. Addressing stakeholders’ concerns and getting full buy-in from everyone involved is crucial to successful change.
Andrew (Drew) joined the Remote People team in 2020 and is currently Director, Regulatory Affairs. For the past 13 years, he has been a trusted advisor to C-Suite executives and government ministers on international compliance and regulatory issues. Drew holds a law degree from the University of Otago, a PhD from the University of Sydney, and is an enrolled Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.