Change management

Meaning & Definition

Change Management

Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals or organizations from the current state to the desired state. Companies stay ahead of the game when they think ahead about how they can manage the introduction, implementation, and consequences of major organizational changes. And, change management is a way in which an organization empowers its people to adapt to certain changes. For instance, if a team were to switch to a more cross-functional way of working, there would be technological and organizational changes to deal with. And, for this, a change management strategy would be imperative.

Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of an organization's goals, processes or technologies. The purpose of change management is to implement strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping people to adapt to change. Such strategies include having a structured procedure for requesting a change, as well as mechanisms for responding to requests and following them up.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

  1. What is Change Management?

    Change management is a systematic approach followed by the people of an organization where they have to deal with a significant transition or a transformation of some kind. A whole change management strategy helps the org implement these changes in a gradual and manageable way.

  2. What are the 3 levels of Change Management?

    The 3 stages or levels in change management are:

    1. Enterprise Level: To round up all the organizational changes and implementation of adaptation.
    2. Project Level: To bring more value to the project by implementing an air-tight change management strategy.
    3. Individual Level: To bring about change implementation on the individual level.
  3. What are the basics of Change Management?

    Here are the 4 principles that make up the basics of change management:

    1. Understand: The changes and the impact.
    2. Plan: Determine a course of action to implement a strategy
    3. Implement: Implement strategies to help your team adapt to changes
    4. Communicate: Communicate and propagate the changes and implementation strategies
  4. What are the 7 R's of change management?

    There is a list of R’s that one needs to determine and consider when one wants to implement a change management strategy. Here are the 7 of them:

    1. Who Raised the change?
    2. What is the Reason for the change?
    3. What Return can be expected from the change?
    4. What are the Risks involved in the change?
    5. What Resources are required to deliver the desired change?
    6. Who is Responsible for the “build, test, and implement” portion of the change?
    7. What is the Relationship between this change and other changes?
  5. Why is change management difficult?

    Essentially, change is hard to accept. And, thus driving and managing change is tough. Here are some problems one can face with change management:

    • People might not be open to change.
    • Not everyone will be onboard with the change implementation approach.
    • Picking up a smart implementation process can be a hassle.
    • Not enough data to base your change management process and strategies on.
  6. What is an example of change management?

    A great change management example can be seen through the story of Netflix. From providing DVDs to people through the mail, it went from having monthly subscribers who can receive movies through the airwaves. This disruptive change called for an effective change management strategy. And, that effective, and successful strategy is the reason why we get to stream The Office day in and day out. Netflix grew from 23 million subscribers in 2011 to 137 million in 2018.

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