The 5 Steps Of Change Management

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
- George Bernard Shaw

In this post, we will dwell into the details of how a simple framework can be used to track the progress of change at the individual level, and understanding the possible steps required to inspire the next phase of change. As expressed by George Bernard Shaw, the desire to change must start from within. Let’s find out how we can achieve this using the ADKAR model!

What Is ADKAR

ADKAR was introduced by PROSCI, a global leader in change management strategies. Their methodologies and best practices were developed using decades of practical experience and research in the industry. Distilling all the know how into a simple 5 step process, ADKAR stands for: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.

Image 1. The five stages of ADKAR. (Source: freepik)

Awareness – Realising the benefits, the urgent need to change and the negative consequences of failing to do so.

Desire – Understanding and valuing the personal benefits that one stands to gain. Thus, having the organic motivation to participate in the change without the need for external encouragement or effort.

Knowledge – Developing a thorough understanding of what the change is about, and the essential steps/know-how necessary for one to assimilate with the change.

Ability – Acquiring and fine-tuning the practical expertise required to carryout or participate in the change.

Reinforcement – Creating conditions that encourages the continuation and optimisation of the new practices, preventing reversion.

ADKAR is a sequential model that tracks the progress of change for an individual. Hence, for transformation to occur organically and be sustained, each of the 5 stages must be fulfilled in the correct order. Should competencies at any of the stages be low, it would be very difficult to proceed onto the next stage.

How To Use ADKAR

Let us refer back to the example of the DSLR and digital camera mentioned in my previous post, to illustrate how the ADKAR model can be utilised.

The first stage is awareness. Imagine that we are running a casual photography business, looking to expand our line of services into fields such as wedding shoots, sports and nature photography. We noticed that the capabilities and functions of a digital camera just doesn’t cut it. As a result, the photo quality isn’t satisfactory and heavy editing is required to enhance our photos. We find it hard to expand our business as clients opt for other photography service providers with higher quality work, and our productivity remains low as more time and effort is required at the editing phase. At this juncture, we are aware that our work equipment is in need of an upgrade, and some research needs to be done to find a suitable alternative for our digital cameras. Assuming that we are unaware of the negatives of our current work situation, there won't be any initiation to improve the way we work.

The next stage, is desire. We are aware that there are several business cases to justify the upgrading of our digital cameras. However, do we as an individual want to change or do we prefer to stick to what is already familiar and has been working well so far? It may be clear that upgrading to a DSLR makes a lot of business sense (better photo quality, higher productivity, increase in revenue), but there could be very different reasons why you and I would want to participate in the upgrade. For example, you might value more on the preservation of the natural conditions of your work rather than to rely on excessive editing. As such, having a DSLR that offers more customisation of its photo taking settings can help you achieve that. Whereas my motivation might be to reduce the time spent on editing, so that I can spend more time on the process of taking photos, instead of spending long hours editing at the computer.

Very often, change initiatives in a large organisation are stuck at the desire stage because it is very difficult to elaborate how the specific transformation can address each individual’s needs and values. Again, if the individual doesn't see why he/she has to change, it is unlikely to observe any progression beyond this stage.

Suppose our team of photographers are aware and convinced of the personal benefits they can achieve with the adoption of the DSLR, we move on to the stage of knowledge. We want to use the DSLR but first, we need to learn about the different functions and how they will affect the quality of the photos taken. In an ideal situation, having a complete understanding of the DSLR’s capabilities allows us photographers the maximum creative bandwidth to brainstorm ways to convey our intended messages or to portray the natural beauty of things through the photos we take. Realistically, the commonly used settings and functions ought to be understood first in order to have the relevant background information and confidence to have a go at experimenting with the camera itself.

This leads us to the ability stage. This is the practical side of things, where individuals interact physically with the change itself. In our example, our team of photographers could be guided by professionals experienced with using the DSLR in a classroom setting, or to simply learn at our own pace using online tutorials. The main objective is for individuals to apply the knowledge gained from the previous stage, to materialise the benefits of using a DSLR. Therefore, ability development is extremely important as this is the stage where most of the additional value is created arising from the change process.

The hands on process should be done at a managed pace with sufficient resources and guidance provided so that individuals don’t get discouraged and opt out of the process. The moment individuals lose the motivation to learn and to practice the use of the DSLR, they will revert back to their familiar ways of doing things (digital camera). Just like how we learn to cycle or swim, the early stages are tough and require an experienced person’s helping hand to ensure we stay on track. Once sufficient expertise has been developed, we then become independent enough to explore and fine-tune on our own.

Lastly, we arrive at the final stage called reinforcement. This stage focuses on creating conditions that will encourage the individuals to continue using the newly introduced systems or to remain engaged in the new process. Coming back to our team of photographers, although we have become proficient in using the DSLR, there could be instances where we might revert back to using our digital cameras. It could be for convenience (since the DSLR can be rather bulky and heavy) or simply because the quality of the digital camera is more than sufficient to get some of the job done. In such cases, there could be incentives put in place to promote and showcase quality work among peers as a way to create friendly competition at the work place. This might encourage the continuous use of the DSLR for their work. Sometimes, the solution can be as simple as providing proper bags to carry the DSLR out into the field, which reduces the inconveniences our team of photographers will face.

It all boils down to having a clear understanding of the obstacles individuals will face, then providing them with the necessary resources and motivation to stay committed to the new way of doing things.

Concluding

Now that we have gone through the 5 stages involved in a change process, it does give us an impression that inspiring and pushing for change at the individual level is very straightforward - identify the ADKAR stage we are at, implement actions to get us to the next stage. Unfortunately, transformation isn't a linear process! There can be times where progress cannot be achieved due to a wrong diagnosis of the problem, raising the need to revisit the previous ADKAR stage for a reevaluation. Change also doesn't end at the reinforcement stage! In fact, I would reckon that the process is more like a cycle, bringing us back to the awareness stage. In order to remain competitive and sustain a competitive advantage over your competitors, it is necessary to stay vigilant and up to date with the market advancements and new developments.

In the next post, let me illustrate to you why change isn't a linear process as I walk you though a personal experience of mine using the ADKAR model. Stay tuned!