Change Management

Organisational change is a shift in how an organisation works: its strategy, structure, processes, technology, culture or people. Change management is the structured approach to preparing, equipping and supporting individuals so that the change is adopted and its intended results achieved.

Change and transition. William Bridges (Managing Transitions, 1991) distinguished change, the external, situational shift (a new system, structure or policy), from transition, the internal, psychological process people go through to come to terms with it. Many initiatives fail because they manage the change (plans, systems, go-live dates) but neglect the transition (loss, uncertainty, learning).

Types of change

Implementation versus adoption. Implementation is the formal rollout of a change; adoption is employees actually using the new system, process or behaviour, correctly and consistently. Organisations often declare success at go-live, but benefits come only from sustained adoption.

The performance dip. Performance usually falls temporarily after a change, as people learn new ways of working and deal with uncertainty, before rising above the previous level. Planning for the dip (extra support, realistic targets) prevents premature abandonment.

Change fatigue. When employees face too many initiatives in a short period, they become cynical and disengaged and resist further change. Managing it requires a portfolio view of all changes, prioritisation and pacing, and stopping some initiatives before starting others.

Common causes of failure: an unclear case for change; weak or invisible sponsorship; little involvement of those affected; insufficient communication, especially two-way; middle managers who are not prepared or not convinced; inadequate training and support; misaligned rewards and systems that reinforce the old way; declaring victory too early; and too many simultaneous changes.

What predicts success. Prosci’s long-running benchmarking research among change practitioners consistently identifies active and visible executive sponsorship as the strongest contributor to success, followed by a structured approach, employee engagement, frequent and open communication, and well-equipped middle managers.

Readiness assessment. Before launching, assess readiness: how clearly people understand the reason for change, leaders’ commitment, the organisation’s history with change, current workload and the capacity to absorb more change, and the strength of managers and change agents.

The change curve

Adapted from Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s model of grief (1969), the change curve describes common emotional stages: shock and denial, then frustration and anger, a low point of depression or disengagement, followed by experimentation, decision and integration. The practical use is timing: communicate early and repeatedly during shock and denial, provide support and listening during frustration and the low point, and provide training and quick wins during experimentation.

Bridges’ three phases of transition

Why people resist

People may also resist because they believe the change is wrong, and sometimes they are right. Resistance is information: it can expose design flaws, missing support or real costs to particular groups.

Kotter and Schlesinger’s six approaches

John Kotter and Leonard Schlesinger (Harvard Business Review, 1979) described six ways of dealing with resistance, each suited to different situations.

Lewin’s three-step model and force-field analysis

Kurt Lewin (1947) described change as unfreezing (creating readiness by challenging the status quo), changing (moving to new behaviours with support) and refreezing (stabilising the new state through systems, rewards and norms).

Force-field analysis lists the driving forces for a change and the restraining forces against it. Lewin argued that reducing restraining forces (fear, lack of skills, conflicting incentives) is usually more effective than increasing driving forces, which tends to raise resistance.

Example: introducing digital invoicing. Driving forces: cost savings, audit requirements, customer demand. Restraining forces: staff unfamiliar with the software, fear of errors, an approval process designed for paper. Actions target the restraining forces: training, a parallel run, a redesigned approval flow.

Criticism: “refreeze” implies stability that rarely exists today; later writers speak of stabilising or embedding.

Kotter’s eight steps

John Kotter’s article “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail” (Harvard Business Review, 1995) and book Leading Change (1996) set out eight steps, each addressing a common failure.

In Accelerate (2014), Kotter proposed running these steps concurrently and continuously through a volunteer network operating alongside the formal hierarchy, for organisations facing constant change.

ADKAR

Prosci’s ADKAR model, developed by Jeff Hiatt, describes five outcomes an individual must achieve for change to succeed: Awareness of the need for change, Desire to support it, Knowledge of how to change, Ability to implement the required skills and behaviours, and Reinforcement to sustain the change.

Its main use is diagnosis: identify the first element that is weak for a person or group (the “barrier point”) and address that before moving on. Example: supervisors know how to use a new attendance system (Knowledge) but do not want to (Desire) because it exposes overtime practices they benefit from. More training will not help; the issue of desire, through consequences and incentives, must be addressed.

McKinsey 7S

Developed by Robert Waterman, Tom Peters and Julien Phillips (1980), the 7S framework describes seven interdependent elements: hard elements (strategy, structure, systems) and soft elements (shared values, style, staff, skills), with shared values at the centre. It is used to check that a planned change is aligned across all seven, since changing one element affects the others.

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry, developed by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva (1987), builds change on what already works rather than on problems. Its 4-D cycle: Discover (identify strengths and peak experiences), Dream (imagine what the organisation could become), Design (co-create the structures, processes and behaviours to get there) and Destiny or Deliver (implement and sustain through shared ownership). It is most useful for culture change, engagement recovery and rebuilding trust, and less suited to urgent, compliance-driven or cost-reduction change.

Choosing a model

Models are complementary: an organisation might use Kotter to lead a programme, ADKAR to track adoption by group and Bridges to support people through losses.

The sponsorship spine. Change is reinforced through a chain: sponsor → senior leaders → middle managers → employees. A weak link, such as an unconvinced middle manager, stalls the change for everyone below.

Stakeholder analysis. A power–interest grid classifies stakeholders: high power, high interest (manage closely and involve), high power, low interest (keep satisfied), low power, high interest (keep informed and involved), low power, low interest (monitor). A commitment curve tracks movement from awareness to understanding, acceptance and commitment.

Principles. Explain why the change is necessary before what will change; answer the personal question of what it means for me (job, pay, location, skills); communicate early, even when not all details are known, to prevent rumours; repeat key messages through several channels, since people absorb change messages slowly; make communication two-way (questions, feedback, forums); and use managers as the main channel for personal implications, since employees prefer to hear these from their own manager.

A communication plan lists each audience (by function, location, level and union status), the key messages for each, the channels (town halls, manager briefings, gate meetings, intranet, WhatsApp groups for shop-floor staff), the messenger, the timing and how feedback will be collected. In plants, use local languages and face-to-face sessions on the shop floor.

Notice of change. Under section 40 of the Industrial Relations Code (formerly section 9A of the Industrial Disputes Act), an employer that proposes to change workers’ conditions of service on matters listed in the Code’s Third Schedule must give notice to affected workers and may not effect the change within 21 days of the notice. The listed matters include wages and allowances, contributions to provident fund or pension, hours of work and rest intervals, leave and holidays, starting or changing shift working other than as provided in standing orders, classification by grades, withdrawal of customary concessions or privileges, new rules of discipline, rationalisation, standardisation or improvement of plant or technique likely to lead to retrenchment, and increases or reductions in the number of workers. Changes are also restricted while conciliation or adjudication proceedings are pending.

Settlements as change vehicles. Major changes on the shop floor, such as new shift patterns, multi-skilling, revised manpower norms or automation, are typically negotiated in long-term wage settlements, in which the union agrees to productivity changes in exchange for wage increases and sometimes job-security commitments (Chapter 10).

Example: Tata Steel. Between the early 1990s and the mid-2000s, Tata Steel reduced its workforce from roughly 78,000 to about 44,000 while increasing output, largely through voluntary separation schemes with generous terms negotiated with the Tata Workers’ Union, without major industrial conflict. It is often cited as an example of negotiated, humane restructuring built on long-standing trust.

Indian examples. The consolidation of ten public-sector banks into four (2019–20) required integrating different pay settlements, seniority lists and systems. The merger of HDFC Ltd into HDFC Bank (2023) combined a mortgage company’s and a bank’s cultures and policies. The Air India–Vistara merger (completed November 2024) involved integrating a full-service carrier jointly owned with Singapore Airlines into Air India, with pilots’ seniority and pay harmonisation among the most contested issues.