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Every day, organisations face transformations that can either propel them forward or hold them back. The harsh truth? Around 70% of change initiatives fail due to underestimating one thing: people.
To help organisations place employees at the heart of change, below we discuss the ins and outs of 5 proven change management frameworks. These strategies, when paired with idea management tools like Sideways 6, help businesses to not only navigate change, but own it.
With smart idea capture, shortlisting and AI-powered categorisation features, Sideways 6 empowers leaders to embrace ideas from those who know the company best. When your people feel heard and well-supported they can become active drivers of change, all it takes is the right set of tools and the guiding hand of a proven change management framework.
Change management models are frameworks business leaders can use to guide employees through organisational changes.
Most models outline straightforward, repeatable steps that help turn basic plans into strategic visions, with the goal to support everyone involved in the change process through planning, preparation and delivery.
Think of them as recipe books; clear instructions to guide you step-by-step, turning ingredients (ideas and resources) into a fully-formed final dish (organisational change).
Whether you're approaching organisational change with a mostly-formed strategy in mind, or have little more than an end goal to work back from, proven change management models can help to guide your project towards a successful conclusion.
Change management frameworks are important because they add structure to potentially-complicated change initiatives.
Building on proven techniques, change management models address the practical and emotional sides of organisational change, helping to minimise disruption, maximise efficiency, and perhaps most important of all, support employees in making sure new processes stick after the implementation phase.
When using the right change management model, leaders can remove much of the guesswork from the planning and delivery of transformations, giving you more time to focus on supporting your employees.
By adding structure to your strategic vision, change management frameworks help to address common roadblocks to change like employee resistance, poor communication and resource unavailability, while also providing support in the form of repeatable strategies that help ensure your new status quo sticks.
In many ways, structure is the key to successful change management.
For a new process to stick, key stakeholders across your whole organisation need to know:
Change management models address all of these points in a structured, easily-digestible way, helping to communicate the benefits of change to all parties and defining the tools needed to make it happen.
Think of it like an instruction manual; a helpful guide that lays out clear, repeatable steps all employees can follow to better-understand, prepare themselves for and, ultimately, implement changed processes.
For deeper insight, explore our guide to Mastering Change Management: Key Principles for Successful Transformation
Examining the current state of change management further reveals the importance of these frameworks:
When structure is applied to transformations using a tried and tested change management framework, complex change processes can be broken down into more manageable tasks and repeatable strategies.
When leaders then use solutions like Sideways 6 to factor employee ideas and feedback into the mix, change initiatives become collective efforts to make businesses as efficient and effective as possible.
So, we've discussed the general benefits of applying structure to the change management process, but how can leaders know what types of guidelines, instructions and advice to include in deliverable plans?
Well, different types of change management models lay out effective frameworks for different types of change across varying types of organisations, all leaders need to do is find one that meets their needs.
Whether you need a strategy to help manage employees' emotional reactions or a framework to support staff through continuous improvements, one these 5 popular change management models will fit the bill.
The ADKAR model is a people-focused change management framework designed to help address and manage employee resistance to change.
By breaking up the process of change into five clearly-defined steps, the ADKAR change management model helps to sell the benefits of change to employees on an individual level, giving people the tools they need to accept, prepare for and implement new processes successfully.
The five stages of ADKAR model address:
The success of the ADKAR change management model relies on open communication between leaders and employees. Those involved in implementing change must be able to share insights and ideas about the project as it happens, with this information used to adjust and optimise plans to everyone's benefit.
Idea management programs like Sideways 6 allow teams to get the most out of the ADKAR model by helping employees engage with change initiatives. When employee ideas are worked into plans, desire for change success becomes a shared goal, with employees feeling a sense of ownership over change.
Lewin's change management model, developed by German-American psychologist Kurt Lewin in the 1950s, outlines three highly-adaptable steps for analysing and managing change.
The general idea is to break down proposed changes into three stages to help address challenges and implement improvements in a controlled and precise manner.
The three stages of Lewin's model include:
Lewin's change model is essentially a form of continuous improvement, empowering change teams to regularly stop, inspect and improve structured, linear processes like manufacturing or technology-based workflows.
Clear communication is, again, key to the success of this change model, particularly during the unfreeze stage.
Those closest to the process will be best-positioned to come up with actionable improvements, these insights must be shared with leaders, turned into plans, then communicated to wider employees to help them best-prepare for the change.
Ensuring accessible communication tools are in place is also important during the refreeze stage, where teams will need a reliable way to share key performance indicators and related optimisation suggestions with decision-makers.
If you're using a platform like Sideways 6, ideas and updates can be shared freely through popular tools like Microsoft Teams, Interact and Viva Engage, helping to keep active projects on track to support agile change frameworks like Lewin's change management model.
The Kübler-Ross Change Curve is another people-focused change management strategy that provides a framework for guiding employees through the emotional aspects of change.
Developed by the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in the late 1960s, this change management model is based on the perhaps more-recognisable Five Stages of Grief, with the goal to help leaders and staff acknowledge and address the emotional side of change.
The five stages of the Kübler-Ross Change Curve look to address:
One of the main strengths of the Kübler-Ross Change Curve is the model's flexibility, with employees able to approach and even repeat steps in any order to help them gradually accept change.
This model works well when supported by an empathetic leadership style, helping to reduce levels of resistance by communicating to employees that their feelings and ideas are acknowledged and heard.
While this change management strategy can help guide employees through losing and letting go of old habits and practices, it's not so well-suited to managing large-scale organisational change. For the best results, Kübler-Ross' change model should be worked through with small groups to address change at a personal, individual level.
Bridges' Transition Model is another popular change management framework that helps to guide people through the emotional side of transformations.
Developed by William Bridges in the early 1990s, the strategy differs from other models slightly in that it focuses on the transition process more than the change itself, framing change as something that happens to people and guiding people through coming to terms with this.
Bridges' Transition Model is broken down into three stages:
Bridges' change management model can provide additional emotional support to employees alongside a more workflow-focused framework like Lewin's change model, helping leaders to equally address both the practical and emotional sides of large-scale organisational change.
For this change management model to be effective, leaders must demonstrate to employees that their shared values and genuine desire to improve the workplace for all parties is the driving force behind the change.
Employee ideas and feedback should be used to guide each step of Bridges' process. For best outcomes, pair emotional frameworks like the Bridges' model with an idea management platform so employees feel involved in the process and empowered to support successful change implementation.
Nudge theory outlines a gentle approach to change management that focuses on instilling a mindset of flexibility and agility in all members of an organisation.
The idea behind this change management theory is that a subtle, hands-off approach to change helps employees feel more in control of the process, acting to increase engagement and foster a clear sense of ownership over change.
While nudge theory doesn't have a strict structure, its basic principles cover seven elements:
This change management theory works best when applied gently over an extended period of time to give employees ample opportunities to embrace the change and come up with their own improvements.
A platform like Sideways 6 can help to run successful change initiatives guided by this framework, with employees provided a continuously-accessible way to share ideas about the change as and when they come, helping to build excitement, increase engagement and foster a sense of ownership over change.
Where this change management theory can struggle, however, is when applied to changes with a sense of urgency, as for nudge theory to be effective, people need time to gradually accept the benefits of the change on their own terms.
Given that change is such an important aspect of running a business, it's no surprise that there are far more than 5 tried and tested change management frameworks for leaders to consider.
If none of the above change management models seem the right fit for your team or your leadership style, it may be that one of the following further theories is the best change management model for you.
The McKinsey 7-s model is a fairly complex change management model designed to help organisations best-navigate large-scale transformations. Its 7 steps cover both hard elements of change (strategy, structure, systems) and soft elements (shared values, style, staff, skills) to help guide successful initiatives.
Here are the seven elements in a little more detail:
The Satir change model isn't strictly a business-focused change management framework, being initially developed as a strategy to guide families through relationship changes. However, similar to the Kübler-Ross Change Curve, its principles can be effectively deployed to help manage the emotional side of organisational change.
The five stages of the Satir change model include:
Developed by Harvard professor John Kotter, Kotter's 8 step theory focuses on supporting the people directly involved in implementing change. This change management model is designed to navigate the psychological aspects of change, providing support to change leaders through structure and resources.
Idea management software can play an important role in the delivery of Kotter’s 8 steps by giving change leaders an accessible and responsive way to share feedback and request the resources needed to make change happen.
The eight stages of Kotter's change model cover:
Every type of change management model has its own pros and cons, with some being more appropriate for small changes and others excelling at the management of large-scale transformations.
Before deciding which strategy to apply to your own change initiative, it's important to consider the unique needs of your employees and structure of your organisation. To help guide this process, below are some proven best practices to help you find the right change management framework for your team.
The structure of your organisation and the nature of your proposed change will help to define what type of change management models are best-suited to your team. During the planning stage of your project, take the time to investigate and consider the following factors:
While there are intricacies to be found in all types of change management models, for the most part, they can be sorted into two categories; emotional (soft elements) and practical (hard elements).
If the main barriers to change in your organisation relate to employee resistance, emotional strategies like the ADKAR model or Kübler-Ross Change Curve may be more effective. If practical elements like structure, systems and hierarchies are more of a focus, McKinsey or Lewin's models might be better.
A lot can be learned from the success of, or challenges faced during, previous changes. Review records of past changes and ask employees for feedback on what could be done better. Sideways 6 makes this process both simple and engaging, granting employees the freedom to share ideas about improvements directly within familiar tools like Microsoft Teams, while also organising submitted ideas clearly for leaders.
Ultimately, the success of any change management framework comes down to one thing; how engaged employees are in its delivery. Consider the values and skills of your team to help highlight a model that's likely to meet their needs, and ensure their insights and ideas are factored into all stages of the process.
Whether you're making a small-scale change or implementing continuous improvements, choosing the right change management framework can add structure to your plans and provide support to your key stakeholders. However, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to change, meaning success will ultimately depend on your ability to listen to employees and factor their ideas into transformations.
No single framework suits every organisation, but one factor always ensures success, actively involving employees. Platforms like Sideways 6 help businesses collect, manage and implement employee ideas seamlessly to make change not just manageable, but truly impactful, while helping businesses of all sizes save time, money and essential resources.
Empower your employees to engage with and take ownership of change initiatives by managing their ideas through Sideways 6. See how it fits for you by booking a free demo today.
