3. Stages of change management

Change management is a process that can be broken down into distinct steps. There are many ways of doing this. For example

  • Analysis - identify what changes, if any, are required.
  • Decision - given the analysis, a decision needs to be made to authorise a change (and set a budget for it).
  • Agreement - convincing everyone involved that the change is necessary. These people are called 'stakeholders'.
  • Planning - Set out a comprehensive plan for the change and a timeline.
  • Implementation - carry out the change.
  • Assessment - is the change successful, does anything need fixing or require further change.

As you can see, change management is an orderly process that seems easy on paper. But change is often very difficult for a number of reasons which will be discussed later.

Larger companies often hire consultants that are specialists in the various stages of change management. An objective 'outside' view is often helpful to help convince people within a company that change is needed.

 

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