Learn to Customize Your Change Process
As we’ve seen together throughout this course, change is the only constant in our world. So, there’s no doubt you’ll continue to face situations and projects in your life that require a change to move from their current state to a future state.
By applying one of the frameworks we’ve seen to your personal life, you might have noticed that managing “a little change” can actually be quite easy. Maybe you’ve found a framework that you think works particularly well for you. But in reality, change can be very complex. Whether you are responsible for a classic project or a change project in which you organize, plan, and communicate on your own, you can always deploy the framework you find the most appropriate to help you. McKinsey might be too complex for one person to handle, while Kübler-Ross could seem too one-sided.
Most people don’t just use one approach, and since frameworks overlap, it’s a good idea to combine approaches from different frameworks and find your own style. Be flexible. Follow guidelines and concentrate on activities that come easily to you to make changes. Maybe you’re great at coaching or communicating, for example.
A perfect way to customize the approach to your own needs while still keeping it structured is the Krüger five-phase model, developed by Wilfried Krüger, a professor of organization, management, and human resources.
In contrast to the other frameworks that’ve been in use for many years, this approach is a bit more recent. Nevertheless, it shows that approaches to change are constantly evolving. You can perhaps consider it something of a meta framework on top of any other change framework you use. Originally, the model was based on Kotter’s eight-step plan, but divided into just five phases:
Initialization
Conception
Mobilization
Implementation
Continuation
Meet Your Team at RoadTrip Automotive
Imagine you are a middle manager at a medium-sized automotive supplier, RoadTrip Automotive, that has grown steadily in recent years, both through organic sales growth and through the acquisition of smaller companies. Although expectations were high, sales figures hardly increased in the last financial year. You are responsible for a quality management team of 10 people and report directly to the CEO of the company, Yussef.
Because of the various mergers, you have people with different backgrounds in your team. Hana, for example, a quality manager responsible for audits, is a young computer-savvy woman who’s always enthusiastic about new tools and gadgets. Peter is a customer service representative, processing customer and supplier complaints. He’s a rather old-fashioned guy who struggles with change, especially when it comes to new software and devices. Some people have been with the team for years, while others are new. Niklas, for example, joined as a customer service representative with the latest acquisition. You don’t know much about him or his working style yet.
Initialize the Change
Framework | Aspects covered |
Kübler-Ross Curve | Prepare for resistance. |
ADKAR | Raise awareness for the change. |
Kotter | Create a sense of urgency to motivate people. Build your change team with leaders and change agents of various skills and departments. |
McKinsey | Analyze some internal and external systems. |
In order to initiate a project at all, the need for change must first be determined. During the next management meeting, the market situation is discussed again. Yussef, the CEO of our company, comes prepared.
He explains:
It’s time to let more people in on the plan. Several competitors have moved to the cloud already to increase performance through better collaboration, and hence increase profits.
He presents the results of some analysis carried out by an external agency, identifying some challenges that have been neglected until now due to the company’s rapid growth in recent years. Yussef also feels that the company has to pay special attention to maintaining employee engagement, which suffered during the pandemic period when everyone was working remotely.
Yussef proceeds to present the new company goals identified by the board for the organization.
In order to get the transformation going, Microsoft cloud technologies Office 365, Teams, and SharePoint should be introduced, followed by setting up an internal web portal that should serve as a “one-stop shop” for company information and processes. At the same time, the new CRM tool will be deployed.
A first glance shows that in addition to data migration, new tools, procedures, and work processes must be introduced, which will also present all employees with new ways of working.
After his explanations, Yussef announces that he would like to invite more people to take part in this change and form a task force. So, he asks his direct reports (like you!) to actively get involved and support this transformation project, while he will act as the sponsor during the whole project.
Let’s say that since you have just completed a change management course, you agree to actively drive the change process in your department and join the task force. 😉 Congratulations!
However, some managers are holding back and would like to take a closer look at the matter first. They have questions about the timeline, budget, and resources. Eventually, Yussef wants to get all managers on board. So he answers some questions and gives them time to think about it.
Moreover, he asks them to identify change agents in their individual teams to expand the task force and help design the concept and plan for implementation.
At the end, Yussef is satisfied with how the meeting went, but would have liked more participation and support from his immediate team. You’re glad that you’ve volunteered. We really need more change agents.
This means that the task force needs to keep working towards greater awareness by communicating the need for change continuously.
If you were in Yussef’s position, would you prepare better for employee resistance (for example, by sending an engagement survey before the kickoff to evaluate how employees feel in the workplace)? Would you communicate the benefits of change more clearly to engage more people in the task force?
Let’s Recap!
In the initialization phase, the need for change must be determined and a team of people designated to lead the change effort.
You can prepare information and scenarios to show the sense of urgency.
Resistance is to be expected everywhere and must be prepared for, especially when informing the rest of the company.
Awareness of change must be continuously raised to increase acceptance.
So now it’s finally out in the open—the project is announced, and the core team has grown. Isn’t it great to see how the activities map to some aspects of the different frameworks? For example, as you’ve seen from the different reactions to the news, there are always those who’ll be for change and those who’ll be against it. Just like any other employee, managers do not necessarily accept change from the start. Now it’s time for the next step to prepare the concepts and see how real life events reflect our change frameworks.
