Successfully managing change within organizations is foundational to keeping processes and projects on track and generating strong positive outcomes. Change is challenging for many people, as disruptions to common practices require extra work, resulting in short-term efficiency losses that cause stress and frustration as new systems are adopted.
People will accept and more smoothly adapt to change if they have been listened to, understood, and had their needs addressed in a meaningful way. The change should demonstrate at least some significant benefit to the people involved. Public agencies that take the time upfront to fully understand the needs and current work processes of staff facing change will be better prepared to communicate and deliver the benefits of those changes in a way that is well received by those impacted.
Change Model
Common change models derive from Kübler Ross’ Change Curve Model. This model looks at emotional reactions to change in stages to help managers prepare for and mitigate the negative consequences of change.
Change curve models, applied to organizations, seek to group reactions to change and their effect on confidence, morale, teamwork, effectiveness, and quality of work. In one common and useful model, reactions to change are grouped into 4 buckets - shock, anger, acceptance, and commitment. As a person encounters change, they may be shocked and angered, which reduces productivity and quality. As the change becomes more common practice, people begin to accept the change and finally commit to it, increasing productivity and quality of output again.
If the acceptance and commitment to change fail to increase productivity, quality of output, and a positive organizational culture similar to before the change began, the change has been a net negative. The key is to work to address early and often elements of change that provoke shock and anger, thereby reducing the impact of the change on productivity and quality over the entire period of change to acceptance.
In most cases, people will accept change faster and more fully if they have been listened to, understood, and had their needs addressed in a meaningful way. Additionally, the change should have at least some significant benefit to the people involved.
Preparing for Change
We need to anticipate change and prepare the core team and wider stakeholders as to why the change has emerged, how it addresses concerns, and what it means for their lives on this project. Then, we need a plan to manage the implementation, which typically involves a timeline we adhere to, advance training, and support during the transition.
The management team responsible for implementing the change should be fully versed in its details, be able to fully articulate this to the team, and be able to anticipate and handle responses to the change.
Management should understand:
- Who initiated the change?
- What is the rationale for the change?
- What are the benefits expected from the change?
- What are any risks or compromises involved in the change?
- What resources are required to implement the change?
- Who is responsible for all phases of implementation - building systems, testing, and roll-out?
Management should be clear with the team on how folks will be informed, and how best the team can provide feedback during the process. Where management needs to consult with team members to make course corrections - they should set expectations appropriately so staff understand if they will be expected to weigh in on the changes occurring along with when and how.
Adjusting to the Change
Management should be clear with the team on how folks will be informed and how best the team can provide feedback during the process. Where management needs to consult with team members to make course corrections, they should set expectations appropriately so staff understands if they will be expected to weigh in on the changes occurring, along with when and how.
It is critical to maintain support and feedback loops over time so that people affected by the change are included in this process and don’t revert back to prior less efficient systems. Management should be clear and transparent about the effects of change - sugarcoating reality rarely leads to positive outcomes and can instead cement the team into less effective work habits for the long term.
There are cases where change management is on the individual level and others that are more systemic - where the project itself faces change. While a lot of change can be anticipated and proactively identified (and thus successfully managed), sometimes change is a surprise. It is critical to be upfront about this - set expectations that there could be unforeseen challenges and, when they hit, acknowledge them right away, listen to feedback, and deliver a plan to move forward.
People who are respected and engaged in change processes tend to more readily understand that plans are just that - plans - and are not set in stone.
Working with your team, we will tackle change together to come out the other side with a very strong and well-fit solution.
Tools for Managing Change
Management should seek out tools that help to proactively identify changes coming, as well as respond quickly to unexpected changes. A strong practice in managing change is to communicate clearly and in visual ways.
Flowcharts and process maps are effective for visualizing workflows. It can be very effective to show side-by-side processes. For example, comparing the old and new processes in one visual display helps teams to quickly identify where the change will take place and helps to facilitate efficient conversations about how to manage that change.
A Gantt chart is a terrific tool for showing the project visually at a glance and, if consulted regularly, can help highlight where changes in timeline and work focus may be approaching.
Documentation - in written, annotated screen captures and video - helps to inform teams of changes in workflows and features of new systems. One-page reference sheets and contextual help developed right inside the technology system are fast to use for answering common questions.
Celebrate Small and Large Victories
Changes, especially in technology projects, often come in stages. Launching the change is not the only victory - there should be many other milestones that provide opportunities to identify how far the change has come. We typically see technology projects with conceptual stages, research, definition, architecture, design, development, revisions, and rollout. Identify in the project plan specific places where the team has input and how that input will be processed.
Make sure to schedule updates that also celebrate team input - places where the contributions of the team are seen as having positively impacted the project. These celebrations do not need to be extravagant - it is much more important that they are meaningful and truly reflect the effective input of those facing the change.