What Is the ADKAR Change Management Model?

Transcript

[Presenter] To manage any kind of change, you need to communicate effectively at every stage and with everyone involved. The ADKAR Change Management Model helps you to do just that.

It gives you a clear communication goal for each part of your change project. And by focusing on how to achieve these goals, you can get everyone on board and make change happen in the way you want.

According to the ADKAR Model, for any change to succeed, there are five knowledge-sharing goals you need to fulfill, and they have to be done in the right order.

Awareness

The first is awareness.

Make all your stakeholders aware of the need for change. Think about what different people will have to know, understand, or experience in order to buy into your plans.

Be clear about your vision for change, and give people access to all the information they need to understand this vision.

Desire

Next, you need to create desire for the change.

What will make people want to support the change? And what might make them resist it? The more you understand these factors, the better you can calm people's fears and fire up their enthusiasm!

It may not be possible to get everyone on board, so think about who the most important or influential stakeholders are and start with them.

Knowledge

K stands for knowledge. You need to help people to learn how to deliver the change you want.

A Training Needs Assessment can be useful here to identify the skills people may need to develop. Explain to different stakeholders what they need to know and why.

Then decide how you're going to achieve it. For instance, will you need to provide training workshops, mentoring programs, or organize on-the-job training?

Ability

Now, you need to give people the time and space to try out their new ability and skill.

Provide any extra support required. Coaching and mentoring can be particularly helpful in encouraging people to get used to this new way of working.

As people start to become more familiar with the new process, unforeseen problems may crop up. Listen to people's concerns and feedback, and keep your lines of communication open so that everyone can get involved in finding the right solution.

Reinforcement

Finally, R is for reinforcement. What will embed this change? Could you, for example, use reward and recognition schemes to celebrate change champions?

Keep communicating your vision, and be sure to underline the benefits of the project as they become clear. This will help everyone stay focused and committed to the new way of working.