In my previous article 'Change Management : Part I,' I introduced the topic and its connections with HR management. If you haven't read it already, I suggest that you should before getting started on this one.
In this article, I will be taking you through a 5 step guide to the change management process, by Harvard Business School Online. Let's dive right in.
At the outset, the 5 steps are;
1. Prepare the Organisation for Change
2. Craft a Vision and Plan for Change
3. Implement the Changes
4. Embed Changes Within Company Culture and Practices
5. Review Progress and Analyse Results
- (Miller, 2020)
Let's delve deeper into each step and its relevance to HR professionals.
Step 1: Prepare the Organisation for Change
“We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.”
- Sheryl Sandberg (Goodreads, 2023)
At the starting point of managing change, it is a pre-requisite to have an awareness of the ongoing and emerging changes within your sector or industry (nationally and internationally), as well as a recognition and comprehension of the need for change. In the context of an organisation, this means both a cultural and logistical preparation (Miller, 2020; Burt, 2022).
As I said in my previous article, HR professionals have a crucial role to play in change management, and it begins in this 'preparation phase.' They must take steps to assist employees in, becoming more aware of the challenges and issues facing their organisations; understanding the need to change the existing processes, products, services, or approaches; and garnering the participation and input from employees from the very beginning (Miller, 2020). Such a course of action will clear the blind spots, making it less likely for employees to resist change (Lawrence, 1969).
Essential attributes that HR professionals should possess at this point are, strategic thinking, transparency and openness, effective communication, an engaging and collaborative nature, patience and good listening skills, along with change management expertise.
Step 2 : Craft a Vision and Plan for Change
Having recognised the changes and their impact, our next step should be to draft a vision, and a roadmap achieve it.
What does it mean to draft a vision statement?
"A vision statement describes what a company desires to achieve in the long-run, generally in a time frame of five to ten years, or sometimes even longer. It depicts a vision of what the company will look like in the future and sets a defined direction for the planning and execution of corporate-level strategies" - (CFI Team, 2023)
Now that you have articulated your vision statement, we must attempt devising a strategy to realise it.
Harvard Business School writer - Miller denotes 4 elements that should be included in the plan for change: Strategic Goals, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); Project Stakeholders and Team; and Project Scope (Miller, 2020).
Source: (Miller, 2020)
With these at the base, organisations are free to add more elements to make their plans more comprehensive. For example, a financial institution looking to embrace blockchain technology as a part of their change management strategy may include elements of Risk Assessment and Reporting. The plan should be well-structured but also be capable of flexibility and agility.
Key qualities that HR professionals must exhibit here are keen analytical skills, strategic thinking, innovativeness, futuristic mindset, agile mindset, organisational skills, transparency, unambiguous nature, and being articulate.
3. Implement the Changes
"It always seems impossible until it's done." - Nelson Mandela
This step is all about action. It is the culmination of your planning efforts. The focus here is on achieving a seemingly unattainable objective, implementing a change agenda, and forging ahead.
Having a structured plan in place would make implementing the change a less daunting task.
Necessary qualities that HR professionals need to possess at this point include, empowering employees to take appropriate measures to achieve the ultimate vision for change; celebrating the wins (big or small); being proactive and working to prevent obstacles; providing constant reminders of the need for change and the vision; being supportive and working collaboratively.
4. Embed Changes Within Company Culture and Practices
The penultimate step in change management is about preserving the status quo and guaranteeing the continuity of the changes made.
In other words, after the change agenda has been implemented and completed successfully, HR professionals who I will at this point call 'change managers' must act to prevent a relapse to the prior state (Miller, 2020). This is because, your hard work can be easily undone, if you fail to take care of what you have built (Burt, 2022). Therefore, a plan that embeds the changes within the company's culture, organisational structures and controls, and reward systems for instance, is needed at this stage (Miller, 2020).
Fundamental characteristics that HR professionals must possess at this step are, consistency, proactiveness, dedication to the vision, resilience, effective communication skills, leadership, a collaborative nature, and emotional intelligence to empathise with employees and understand their needs and wants in the new status quo.
5. Review Progress and Analyse Results
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."
- Churchill (Tredgold, 2021)
- Churchill (Tredgold, 2021)
Success is not just about completing the steps of the plan for change. It is about achieving the desired outcomes and goals. This is why Miller says a 'project post mortem' is in order (Miller, 2020).
It would help gain perspective on where the organisation stands in terms of the outcomes set forth in the plan initially. A review would also help identify shortcomings, lessons for improvement in future efforts, and indications of which actions can be replicated by evaluating what went wrong and what should have been done differently.
Necessary qualities that HR professionals need to possess at this point include, the ability to think retrospectively, insightful thinking, attention to detail, analytical skills, self-awareness and accountability, thirst for improvement, and innovativeness.
Conclusion
By now, it should be clear to you that within the process of change management, HR managers play a dual role, as initiators of change and facilitators of change (SHRM, 2022).
As such, having a thorough understanding of this process, irrespective of the terminology used by various scholars on the topic, and their role at every stage is crucial for HR professionals.
Reference Links
Burt, E. (2022) What is change management? 5-step process and guide. [online] LogRocket Blog. Available from https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/what-is-change-management-process-guide/#a-5-step-process-for-change-management [Accessed 5 April 2023]
CFI Team (2022) Vision Statement. [online] Corporate Finance Institute. Available from https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/vision-statement/ [Accessed 5 April 2023]
Lawrence, P. (1969) How to deal with resistance to change. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available from https://hbr.org/1969/01/how-to-deal-with-resistance-to-change [Accessed 5 April 2023]
Miller, K. (2020) 5 Critical Steps in the Change Management Process. [online] Available from https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/change-management-process [Accessed 4 April 2023]
SHRM. (2022) Managing Organizational Change. [online] Available from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managingorganizationalchange.aspx#:~:text=By%20championing%20change%2C%20HR%20can [Accessed 4 April 2023]
Tredgold, G. (2021) 15 Change Management Quotes That Inspires. [online] Available from https://blog.empuls.io/change-management-quotes/ [Accessed 4 April 2023]
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/749772-we-cannot-change-what-we-are-not-aware-of-and
Good article. I particularly like how you have commented on the qualities that HR professionals are expected to have at the different steps. Easier to understand.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind feedback. Yes, I hoped to make it more relatable to HRM, without discussing change management by itself. Glad it made sense to you.
DeleteThis is a well-written article and provides a great overview of the subject matter. I really agree about the vision statement being important. I do wish insiders like you would also stress the crucial need to make this statement strong, coherent, memorable and, above all, short!
ReplyDeleteThis is like the one line everyone can unite behind, and often times companies tend to have vague vision statements or ones that are so long that even the person who came up with it probably doesn't remember it.
The importance of a uniting ethos, such as through a strong vision statement, is often understated, and to the detriment of organizations.
I couldn't agree more. The vision statement is key as it sets the tone for everything that an organisation sets out to do, and eventually becomes. Like you've said, it needs to be coherent, unambiguous and memorable. Great observation. Thank you for contributing your valuable input and kind feedback here.
DeleteThe article discusses a 5-step guide to change management process, as per Harvard Business School Online, and its relevance to HR professionals. The 5 steps include preparing the organization for change, crafting a vision and plan for change, implementing the changes, embedding changes within company culture and practices, and reviewing progress and analyzing results. The article highlights the essential attributes and qualities that HR professionals need to possess at each step of the change management process.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to read my article, Hansika. You should know that there are slight variations to this process. Different authors and scholars present various takes on it. A good way to understand it well, is to read as many interpretations of it as possible and come up with your own guide.
DeleteGood job on explaining the 5 step guide to the change management process and its relevance to HR professionals. The article is well-structured and informative, highlighting the essential qualities that HR professionals should possess at each step. My question for you is, how can HR professionals measure the success of change management efforts, and what metrics should they use to analyze the results?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind feedback Eashan. Excellent question and one that I have not yet gone into under this topic. It can be suggested here that the metrics HR professionals use to measure the success or failure of change management efforts can be looked at through the organisation's perspective, as well as the perspective of individuals. As such, we can divide the metrics into organisational and individual performance metrics (Prosci, 2022).
DeleteAt the outset, the organisational performance metrics would be, performance improvements; adherence to project plan; business and change readiness, project KPI measurements; benefit realisation and ROI; adherence to timeline; and speed of execution, to name a few.
Individual metrics would include, adoption metrics; usage and utilisation reports; compliance and adherence reports; proficiency measures; employee engagement, buy-in and participation measures; employee feedback; issue, compliance and error logs; awareness and understanding of the change; observations of behavioural change; employee readiness assessment results; employee satisfaction survey results, again to name a few.
All of the above metrics were extracted from the article 1. referenced below. Follow the links to find out more. It is pretty self-explanatory, and mentions metrics that we are quite familiar with, although not in this exact terminology.
Reference links:
1. https://www.prosci.com/resources/articles/measuring-change-management-effectiveness-with-metrics
2. https://www.migso-pcubed.com/blog/change-management/value-of-change-management-metrics/
Part 1 and part 2 are well connected and provided a good brief about change managemebt. I really like the area where you mentioned that success is not about changing but it's about achiving the goals. It is important to keep the mind open for changes and improvements, even if a company doesn't achive the full goal or objectives after changes, the journey will teach us lesson to further move.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind feedback. Glad the articles made sense to you and that you were able to stay connected to the content in both.
DeleteThis article is well-written and gives a thorough summary of the topic. Parts 1 and 2 are closely related. What method do you think the government institute should use to implement the changes?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback, Lasitha. Interesting question. Irrespective of the sector, I believe the process will remain the same. The only factor to consider would be to pay more attention to the red tapes associated with the governments of any given jurisdiction. This is because government institutions are directly affected by them in comparison to private sector organisations. I hope this answers your question.
DeleteI was waiting to read this after following the previous article Thanuki. I think that the 5-step guide to change management process by Harvard Business School Online can be applied in the Sri Lankan context, as it provides a general framework for managing change that can be adapted to fit the specific needs of an organization or context. While there may be cultural or contextual differences that require modifications to the process, the fundamental principles of creating a sense of urgency, building a coalition of support, developing a clear vision and strategy, communicating the vision and strategy, and creating short-term wins are universally applicable to change management efforts. It is important for organizations in Sri Lanka to consider the specific cultural, social, and economic factors that may impact their change management efforts, and adapt the 5-step guide to fit their specific needs and circumstances. For example, organizations may need to pay attention to cultural norms and values, as well as the political and regulatory environment, in order to effectively manage change in Sri Lanka. Overall, while some modifications may be necessary, the 5-step guide to change management process by Harvard Business School Online provides a solid foundation for managing change that is applicable in the Sri Lankan context. Do you have any different thoughts on this?
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that I have managed to keep you interested in my articles, Lasni. I completely agree with your observations regarding being able to implement this 5 step guide, with a few tweaks in the Sri Lankan context as well.
DeleteEach change management process, irrespective of the organisation, the industry, the sector, or the country it is implemented in, will have to adapt to the nuances of each. The foundation inherently stays the same. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Widely discussed article on 5-step guide to the change management process. Malik, P. (2021) identified some common barriers to a successful change initiative for an organization. Such as Lack of Clarity, Ineffective Change Communication, Strategic Shortcomings, Change Resistant Culture, Change Fatigue & Lack of Governance. And to overcome these challenges she has given 6 tips Strategize with the ADKAR Model, Create a Communication Plan, Involve Your Employees, Prioritize Well, Highlight the Disadvantages of Legacy Processes, Focus on Training & Support.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback, Janaka. Yes, I did come across the AKDAR model when reading. I feel that both these models overlap in some way or the other. What do you think?
DeleteHi Thanuki, your blog post provides a clear and concise overview of the 5-step change management process as outlined by HBS, well done!
ReplyDeleteGiven your interest in change management, I think you should also check out Kurt Lewin’s Three Stages model, which is considered a seminal work on change management, Three Stages are namely Unfreeze, Change (Transition) and Freeze (Refreeze). (Lewin, 1947).
To briefly outline the 3 stages as per (Juneja, 2022)
Stage 1 - Unfreezing: This is the first stage of transition, It involves improving the readiness as well as the willingness of people to change by fostering a realization for moving from their existing comfort zone to a transformed situation.
Stage 2 - Change: This stage can also be regarded as the stage of Transition or the stage of actual implementation of change.
Stage 3 - Freeze (Refreezing): The stage of Refreezing is the ultimate stage in which people accept or internalize the new ways of working or change, accept it as a part of their life and establish new behaviors.
All the best! - Nithila
References
Lewin K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics: Concept, method and reality in social science; social equilibria and social change. Human Relations, 1, 5-41
Juneja. P, (2022) Kurt Lewin’s Change Management Model: The Planned Approach to Organizational Change (no date). Available at: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/kurt-lewins-change-management-model.htm (Accessed: 10 April 2023).
Thank you for your kind feedback, Nithila. I appreciate your contribution to this dialogue with Lewin's Three Stage Model. I will surely read on it and consider writing an article about it next. Let's see what I can uncover about it. Excited about it already.
DeleteActually Thanuki after coming across Lewin's Change management model I decided that it would be an interesting topic to cover in my blog, please feel free to check it out https://shrm-beyond-covid.blogspot.com/2023/04/adapting-lewins-change-theory-model-to.html
DeleteYou might also want to check out Jeff Hiatts ADKAR Change Model which I also found quite fascinating (https://www.mindtools.com/aou2mjr/the-adkar-change-management-model)
Good article, Thanuki.
ReplyDeleteConflicts of interest may arise when HR managers attempt to serve as both initiators and facilitators of change. For example, they may hesitate to implement changes that could adversely impact their position within the organization.
My recommendation would be to initiate the change through HR and facilitate such change through an independent team, either with a broader knowledge of the business or via third-party consultants with experience in such a process.
What is your view on the same?
Thank you for engaging with my article, Nadeer. Very interesting perspective regarding my point on the dual role played by HR managers in change management. I am of the view that change management should be first and foremost the result of a cultural change from within the organisation, and as such involving third parties/ outsiders in the process at the outset could prove to be counter-productive to the change we hope to achieve within the organisation and its sustenance in the long run.
DeleteGreat article! It's good to see a practical guide to change management that is tailored to HR professionals by engaging in ongoing training and development initiatives, and conducting regular performance evaluations to ensure that employees are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the changing demands of the organisation. Overall, effective change management requires a strategic and collaborative approach, with HR professionals playing a critical role in guiding and supporting the organisation through each stage of the process. By leveraging their expertise in areas such as communication, organisational culture, and performance management, HR professionals can help to create a culture of change readiness and build a more agile and responsive organisation that is better equipped to succeed in today's fast-paced business environment. Do you have any tips on how to overcome resistance to change in an organization?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind feedback and for leaving behind some useful insights based on your reading of this article. I appreciate how you've termed the role of HRM as helping to create 'a culture of change readiness.' I couldn't have said it better.
DeleteIn terms of your question on tips to overcome resistance to change in an organisation, I believe that if the HRM professionals were to follow the steps I have provided in this article, by preparing the organisation for change adequately, at the very beginning, resistance can be overcome. Moreover, embedding the changes within the organisation's structure and culture helps to sustain it by normalising it. This too can help to overcome resistance to change.