What is change management? Why is it important? How do you become good at it? If you are just starting out or need others to understand more about change management, and why it is important to every organisation, then this is the blog post for you!

In this post we present an introduction to change management, including the key things you should know about this methodology, as well as how you can use it to benefit your organisation.  

Change v Change Management

On the surface, change and change management appear interchangeable. However, there is a significant and important difference between the two terms, as identified by Prosci®. 

Change is defined as the process in moving from a current state to a future state, while change management focuses on preparing, supporting and equipping employees who are impacted through the transition between these states.

Change happens all around us, sometimes planned, sometimes unexpected. Nevertheless, it is a movement from the current state, through a transition state, to a future state.  Change management is exceptionally important for this reason. Moving an organisation from a current state to a future state, ultimately impacts the employees within that organisation.  

By dealing with change and change management as individual, separate terms, you place yourself in a better position as a change management practitioner with a clear sense of direction and purpose. 

Why is Change Management important?

To survive and thrive during these times of great change, organisations must be able to successfully manage an increasing number of large, complex changes at increasingly rapid rates. 

Effective change management increases the likelihood of success - where success is defined as the achievement of tangible business results - as it considers the people who will be bringing these changes to life in their day-to-day work, your employees and managers.  It was found by Prosci that initiatives with excellent change management are 6 times more likely to meet objectives than those with poor change management. 

The Prosci ADKAR Model®

For an organisation to successful change, their employees need to change first. But how do you ensure that each impacted employee implements this change? The Prosci ADKAR Model®!

The Prosci ADKAR Model is the core of effective change management enabling you to sequentially facilitate change with an individual, create a common language for change throughout your organisation and feel empowered as a manager to better coach employees impacted by change. 

The Prosci ADKAR Model is an acronym for the following:

Expected outcomes of a project can only be realised when the critical mass of impacted individuals get to Ability, with the change sustained in the Reinforcement stage of ADKAR.

To gain a deeper understanding of the Prosci ADKAR Model and how you can effectively implement it into your change management strategy, download the full ADKAR eBook. 

The Results of Effective Change Management

The benefits and results of practising excellent change management are undeniable. With organisations 5x more likely to stay on or ahead of schedule, and 2x more likely to stay on or under budget, it encourages organisations with an embedded change management capability to be 2x more successful on projects.

Not only does it benefit an organisation, but with excellent change management, employees:

• Adopt changes faster, more completely and more proficiently
• Stay engaged in the organisation during disruptive change
• Understand why the change is happening
• Have the time and tools to get on board and feel heard and supported
• Contribute directly to the delivery of business results

Looking to learn more about change management? Download our Prosci Introduction to Change Management to learn everything you need to know about change management, what it means and the benefits you can derive from effective change management.

Start your change management journey

At CMC Partnership Global we deliver role-based change management training and solutions for executives, change practitioners, project managers, people managers and front-line employees to ensure you effectively apply change management.

We want your entire organisation to become successful at driving and delivering change. Our programmes are designed to enable you to develop an enhance perspective of how to drive best practice change management within your organisation.

Remember, sometimes all it takes is a single practitioner to light the change management match - learn more about becoming Prosci change management certified.

Not sure which course is right for you? Take a look at our solutions for individuals. If you 're still unclear on what solution is best for you, get in touch and we will be on hand to support you through your change journey.