Change is inevitable in any organization's journey toward progress and growth. Moreover, every business has grand aspirations and desire to witness substantial shifts and improvements.
However, the harsh reality is that only a handful of ventures truly manage to achieve the transformative changes they set out to accomplish.
The missing piece of the puzzle lies in the absence of a well-crafted change management plan. A study revealed that 47% of firms that embrace change management are more likely to fulfill their goals than the other 30% who do not.
A change management plan outlines how various business divisions will handle the innovation and transformation process. It translates your vision into workable procedures that drive change.
In this post, we'll look at how you can create practical change management plans for your business. We’ll also provide some professional and easily customizable templates to help you create your plans effectively.
A change management plan outlines the steps and strategy necessary for implementing a change(s) within the organization. It is often required for implementing significant changes that are likely to have a high degree of impact.
Examples of such changes include standard operating Procedures (SOP), updating personnel roles/responsibilities, tweaking the marketing approach or replacing those in leadership positions.
However, the change management plan does more than just list the actionable steps and processes that must be taken to bring about the change. It also covers the need for the proposed change, expected impact, procedures required and strategies to gauge the effectiveness of the change.
Below are some key purposes of a change management plan and why you should also consider creating one.
It is difficult for people to switch up or change their habits or routine abruptly. However, with a change management plan you can address resistance and inspire everyone (the employees) to adopt the new plan.
The process of creating the change management plan would necessitate the need to weigh the outcome or adjust plans if need be. Simply put, it's an easy way to brainstorm the quality of a plan.
Having a solid plan for innovation, growth and development can help your businesses stay ahead of the competition and remain sustainable.
Random implementation of change can adversely disrupt the operations of a business. However, with a change management plan, organizations can minimize the negative impact of change on workers. Also, they can prevent a total breakdown of their entire system of operations.
This is possible because a plan helps manage change efficiently, resulting in a smoother and more successful transition of different processes.
When change happens, processes change. Employees are also saddled with new responsibilities in the new direction the business is being steered.
Making a change management plan available to the whole organization ensures everyone knows the new direction. This fosters employee collaboration and guarantees a seamless pivot or transition.
These are several change management models you can incorporate. Let’s take a look at 5 of them.
The model is based on the work of Harvard Business School Professor John P. Kotter. It consists of eight steps that guide an organization through the process of implementing the desired change.
Lewin's Change Management Model, established in the 1950s by Kurt Lewin, consists of three pivotal steps aimed at helping organizations effectively manage changes. The three steps are:
The ADKAR Model was crafted by Prosci's founder, Jeff Hiatt. It offers a five-step structured approach to managing organizational changes efficiently. Each step offers a distinct, actionable goal that frames the change-management process; they include:
The Bridges Transition Model was developed by William Bridges. This framework focuses on understanding and managing the emotional and psychological transitions that individuals go through during a change. It consists of three stages:
This model helps analyze and improve the effectiveness of an organization by examining seven interrelated elements crucial for success. The seven elements are:
For every change process you wish to embark on, there must be an end game (what you seek to achieve).
Every effective change plan must include the measurable goals of the proposed project.
For example, if the goal of the change process is to facilitate gender inclusion and equity, this has to be clearly stated in the change management plan. These objectives provide a clear direction when implementing change.
Identify all the stakeholders who will be affected by the change and analyze their interests, concerns and influence. Understanding stakeholders' perspectives helps tailor communication and engagement strategies.
After defining the goal of your project, your next course of action is to outline the specific steps and timeline for implementing the change. You should also include responsibilities, resources, deliverables, performance indicators and key project milestones. This gives you an indispensable baseline to gauge your progress.
The plan also has to include the training process required to facilitate the necessary changes. From seminars to webinars and educational programs, each training process should be properly documented in your change management plan. This gives room for improvement and reduces unwarranted resistance to the proposed change.
Analyze the potential effects of the change on processes, roles and responsibilities, as well as any potential risks or challenges. Then, develop strategies to address and manage resistance to change. Addressing concerns proactively can improve acceptance and adoption.
Providing a means to collect feedback in your change management plan can help employees air their opinions and feel heard. You will be creating a platform to address their various concerns.
Not all of the feedback received would be positive since some people are naturally resistant to change. However, there may be a few valuable suggestions from the feedback that would reasonably improve the plans.
Collect feedback on your plan by using Visme's interactive form.
Here are eight easily customizable change management plan templates that’ll inspire you.
This template offers a comprehensive framework to assess needs, identify key stakeholders and communicate change management plans for maximum impact. With a focus on clarity, transparency and two-way communication, stakeholders are informed, engaged and supportive throughout the change journey.
You can easily replace the colors in the template with your company colors and add stunning photos to upscale your design. Take your designs a notch higher by creating highly realistic images using our AI image generator. Simply input your prompts and our AI tool will generate your desired image.
