In an increasingly complex and dynamic business environment, and besieged by technological innovation, organizations are challenged to constantly change and adapt their activities to changing circumstances.
What is change management?
Adopting layman’s terminology, a change management process can be defined as a structured set of steps to move from the old to the new. It is a process that considers all the stakeholders, processes and systems that will be affected by that transition.
Whenever an organization plans to introduce a new information or knowledge management system, migrate to the cloud or to new software, move to a different organizational structure or even culture, it may initiate a change management process.
Why is change management a delicate process?
The difficulties that lurk in such a process lie first of all in the hostile material with which it has to deal, and which it must necessarily shape in order to hit its target: human behaviors.
Indeed, as organizational psychologist Kim Perkins points out, “Change management is about managing the chaos of moving from one habit to another”.
As is well known in psychology, the introduction and crystallization of a group’s habits represents one of the most complex and delicate processes to be carried out successfully, hence the problems and obstacles that any change management process inevitably encounters, exemplified by very unhappy statistics on the success of these processes.
Several studies, in fact, have shown that most organizational change initiatives fail , with an estimated failure rate of 60-70%¹. In the face of this data, a strong interest is naturally generated in understanding what the main difficulties or obstacles are within a change process.
This is a question that has at least two possible answers: a generalist one, which emphasizes the challenges inherent in any change process, and a more specific one, which refers to the obstacles specific to organizational change attempts.
The stages of change: the Change Curve
An initial generalist answer to this question is offered by the Change Curve model.
Consistent with our initial definition of change management, built around the theme of behavior, the Change Curve is a psychological model that describes the stages that people go through when facing major changes.
This model is commonly used in companies and organizations to understand the emotional and psychological reactions of employees or actors involved in a change process.
The Change Curve is based on the studies of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, initially developed to describe the stages of grief, then adapted to the organizational context as well. The model consists of the following stages:
- Information
- This stage occurs when the change is just announced. People are informed of the change, but the initial reaction is often to deny it, exercising the psychological mechanism of denial. They do not believe that the change is real or that it has an impact on them. Denial is a defense mechanism that helps protect against the initial shock.
At this stage, clear and transparent communication is crucial to provide all the necessary information. People need to understand what the change will mean for them.
2. Support
- After realizing the reality of the change, anger may set in. People begin to realize that the change will impact them and react with frustration, fear, or anger. They may blame others or refuse to participate in the process. Frustration may lead to conflict or active resistance.
During this stage, it is critical to provide emotional support. Management should listen to people’s concerns and give them space to express their doubts, offering reassurance and resources.
3. Exploration
- At this point, people begin to explore the new possibilities offered by change. They begin to understand that change is inevitable and open themselves up to new opportunities. Although there is still uncertainty, they begin to accept the transition and consequently experience new ways of working or thinking.
At this stage, direction and guidance are important. Management should provide clear directions, realistic goals, and training to help people adapt to the change.
4. Encouragement
- In the final stage, people fully accept the change. Morale levels and confidence begin to rise again, and people feel more positive about the future. They have learned to work in the new context and are motivated to make progress.
It is important to celebrate successes and encourage further positive developments at this stage. Management should reinforce the progress made and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
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The challenges of organizational change: a first analysis
A second answer to the question regarding the difficulties and reasons for the failure of organizational change processes is offered by an extensive study conducted in 2019 by Jenni Jones, Janet Firth, Claire Hannibal and Michael [².
The research, based on a qualitative meta-analysis of 200 case studies of change management projects, aimed to analyze the factors that influence the success or failure of organizational change.
Among the factors identified as most critical and responsible for the failure of an organizational change process, the authors included:
- Lack of communication
The absence of a clear and consistent communication plan of the different stages of the process was recognized as the biggest hindering factor. This finding is certainly not new, but it reiterates the importance of communicating the vision and landing point of change throughout the process, to all stakeholders involved.
- Employee resistance
Employee friction toward the process was mentioned as a significant problem, along with the recognition, that employees themselves and other key stakeholders needed to be involved and work together for the success of future change programs
- Leadership style
The need for a more effective leadership style was also seen as a major hindering factor. In particular, in several of the cases analyzed by the study, the need for a more distributed or relational leadership approach emerged, which would better encourage the involvement and engagement of relevant stakeholders.
However, according to the study other change programs have been successful when an autocratic or delegative style was adopted. These results potentially demonstrate that there is no single leadership style that always has a positive effect on the outcomes of a change process, and that perhaps a more blended approach is needed , in which different styles are needed at different stages of the change program.
In conclusion, dealing with organizational change is a complex challenge, but there are effective models, to which we will devote a forthcoming analysis, that offer structured support for dealing with the difficulties highlighted in the preceding lines, helping to define the steps to be followed as part of an organizational change process.
Notes:
[1] Jones J, Firth J, Hannibal C, et al. Factors contributing to organizational change success or failure: a qualitative meta-analysis of 200 reflective case studies. In: Hamlin R, Ellinger A and Jones J (eds) Evidence-based initiatives for organizational change and development. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2018, pp. 155-178.
[2] Jones J, Firth J, Hannibal C, et al. Factors contributing to organizational change success or failure: a qualitative meta-analysis of 200 reflective case studies. In: Hamlin R, Ellinger A and Jones J (eds) Evidence-based initiatives for organizational change and development. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2018, pp. 155-178.
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