Change Management Key Terms

Learning how to navigate change with a solid change management plan
By Trisha Schulz Change can be difficult. There's no doubt about that, especially when it comes to a business change. Perhaps you are contemplating a company culture shift, or you will be changing up your day-to-day operations. If that's the case, you'll need to come up with a change management plan to help lead your employees on the path to making that leap to permanent change with you. Learning some of the basic concepts and key terms in change management can help you start the process.

Change management

Change management refers to the structured strategy and process for managing change within a business or organization, and more importantly managing the reaction to change by employees.
Try:  Get a further definition of change management from Stratege, along with ways to implement change.

Communication plan

A communication plan is a change management tool used to spread the message to employees about the need for change. The communication plan should include why the company is undergoing the change and how the change will affect the day-to-day work flow. The plan will also include strategies on how to convey the message, tailoring it to a specific audience.
Try:  Check out step three in this Schuler Solutions article explaining effective change management communication techniques.

Resistance management plan

Identifying where resistance may come from and what it might entail and taking steps to take to prevent or reduce resistance make up a resistance management plan. Using a resistance management plan can help build support early and address potential concerns before change is implemented.
Try:  This Business Performance article explains how your employees may react to change and suggests ways of managing that resistance.

Transition state

The transition state is the implementation phase of change management, the "trying out" of the change and working out issues as they come up. Managers need to work in this state to minimize resistance and further change for quick adoption of new methods.
Try:  This MBA Boost information explains further the difference between current, transition and future states in the change management process.

ADKAR model

The ADKAR model is a goal-oriented change management model that focuses on five key areas: Awareness of the need to change; Desire to support the change; Knowledge of what the change means; Ability to implement the proposed change; and Reinforcement to solidify the change as common practice.
Try:  Tech-FAQ further explains change management and details the ADKAR model.

Lewin's change management model

Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed a change management model that has three stages: Unfreeze, Transition and Refreeze. The main theory behind his model is that any type of permanent change is a journey and takes an undetermined amount of time in each of the three stages.
Try:  Check out this explanation of Lewin's change management model from Bronwyn Ritchie's Pivotal Points.