What is Change Management

In the business world, there are times when one style of conducting things becomes obsolete. When this happens, it begins to cost the company more money to run things the same way that they are, so they have to conduct what is called a change management. A very simple definition of a change management is a planned approach to transition teams, peoples, and organizations from one state to a more desirable state.

There are numerous different models of how to implement a change management. However, two of the more prominent ones are PCI and ADKAR. Each one is broken down into a series of points that create a step-by-step method in which management can make the necessary changes without there being a catastrophic loss. First, PCI will be explained:

· Shared Change Purpose: Explain to the organization why this change is a good idea.

· Effective Change Leadership: Get the correct leadership to guarantee the change works effectively.

· Powerful Engagement Processes: Prepare plans to stimulate the people that are involved in the change.

· Committed Local Sponsors: It is important to teach and train the front-line management to become committed to the process.

· Strong Personal Connections: Now that there is a strong front-line management, create commitment for the front-line people.

· Sustained Personal Performance: With the change having been made, support and sympathetically empathize with their resistance as they learn the new system.

PCI was developed by a collection of organizations in a collection of about 35 different countries. This has continued to develop because it is always important to ensure that the most current method of change management is done as effectively, quickly, but also compassionately as possible.

The other method that was developed was ADKAR. This method had contributions by a considerably large pool of organizations in comparison to PCI. Over 1000 organizations from over fifty nations sat down and put together their plan of what would work most effectively. They put together a five step plan that they felt would work best to guarantee the change management. Here they are:

· Awareness: It is important to the people that are a part of an organization to understand why this change is necessary. Let them know.

· Desire: Make the people in the organization want to be a part of this change. Create that desire to help the organization grow.

· Knowledge: Saying you want to change is one thing. Having the understanding of how to effectively change is what this step is all about.

· Ability: Now that there is knowledge of what needs to be done, in this step, all the changes are implemented.

· Reinforcement: Finally, it is important to continuously support those that have had to change so that they don’t fall back into old ways.

Whether an organization subscribes to PCI or ADKAR, there are two very necessary things to keep in mind. First and foremost, the people that are a part of the organization have to understand why this is necessary. If it is purely for profit of the higher echelon, the average employee won’t care. However, if there is really a good reason for this that will benefit everyone, they’re more likely to participate. Secondly, it is important that the organizations don’t stop halfway through. If they do, they’ll fall back to the original state and would have wasted a considerable amount of money.

From time to time, it becomes necessary and important to change the way things are done in an organization. One way might have worked for years, but as time goes on, they do become obsolete. Therefore, by effectively running a change management, the company can move to a new, acceptable method. It is just important to follow the steps and have a very good structure. If they do, things will work out how they planned…For the most part.