5 Levers of Change Management

Five levers in change management offer a holistic framework for businesses and companies to deal effectively with changes. The five levers comprise sponsorship roadmap, training, coaching, communication, and resistance management. Every lever has its own customized tools and strategies to meet the unique needs and demands of the change project. Today, we’ll discuss 5 levers of change management; historical background, five levers in detail, examples, and their advantages and disadvantages.

Historical Background of 5 Levers

A renowned change management consultancy firm Prosci recognized the fact that change management plays a key role in the growth of businesses and companies; if the business environment is changing constantly. Change management comprises planning, implementing, and analyzing the changes in a structure and systematic method to reduce the impact of changes on systems, people, and processes. However, effective change management ensures that individuals adapt to changes so that the company reaches its goals and objectives.

5 Levers of Change Management

Let’s discuss the 5 levers of change management; they’re as follows;

Sponsorship Roadmap

Sponsorship is the method of supporting and financing the change project within the company. The sponsors are the company’s senior leadership and they provide the necessary resources for the change project. However, sponsorship is much more than approving the changes, rather it needs proactive engagement and commitment to make the change initiative successful.

It is significant to mention here that sponsorship plays a key role in the success of the change project. It would be highly difficult for companies to have the support and access to resources without sponsorship. The sponsors effectively communicate the significance of changes to the stakeholders, offer support and resources, and manage resistance.

Roles and Responsibilities of Sponsors

• Envisioning the future and giving direction to the change project
• Explaining the significance of change to the stakeholders
• Providing necessary support and resources for the change project
• Recognizing and addressing any barriers to the change project
• Analyzing the change progress and making necessary adjustments

Example of Sponsorship Roadmap

The senior leadership of the company recognizes the need for change; sponsors the change initiative, develops the roadmap, and allocates the roles and responsibilities of the change project. A series of actions would lead them to support the changes.

Communication

Communication is the method of sharing information and messages among individuals, people, and groups. In the change project, communication comprises of exchange of information about the changes among stakeholders and collecting the of feedback and input.

However, the communication planning comprises setting a comprehensive communication plan for the change project. It comprises the following;

• Recognizing the key messages that you are going to communicate
• Employing the right communication channels
• Developing the time and frequency of communication
• Recognizing the stakeholders who you are going to communicate
• Adjusting the communication message relevant to their needs and requirements

Effective Communication Tips

• Proactively listening to the feedback and concerns of stakeholders and appropriately responding
• Promoting two-way communication and making informed decisions
• Employing clear and concise communication message
• Collecting feedback from stakeholders to refine the communication
• Timely and consistent communication with the stakeholders to offer updates

Coaching

Coaching comprises offering guidance, support, and feedback to the employees and team members to improve their performance. It helps them to adapt to the changes and improve their skills and expertise to effectively deal with changes. However, it focuses on offering support and addressing concerns that would help companies to manage any type of resistance.

Coaching Planning

• Recognizing employees and team members who are looking for coaching and support
• Finding their specific coaching needs and demands
• Developing a plan for coaching

Effective Coaching Tips and Strategies

• Proactively listening to the needs and demands of team members and appropriately responding to them
• Offering constructive feedback to improve their performance
• Offering emotional support to employees to manage change
• Setting goals and objectives to reach them
• Monitoring growth and progress and supporting them when needed

Training and Learning

Training programs offer employees and team members an opportunity to improve their knowledge, skills, expertise, and capabilities to perform their roles effectively. The training program would help employees to build their needed knowledge and expertise.

Developing Training Plan

• Recognizing targeted employees and team members who need educational support
• Finding and specifying the training and education needs
• Developing a training and education plan
• Recognizing trainers and subject specialists who have the capability to offer support
• Crafting training schedules and analyzing progress

Training and Education

• Offering supporting and relevant content to meet the needs and demands of stakeholders
• Providing learning opportunities to the team members to build their skills and expertise
• Employing multiple training and learning styles like kinesthetic, auditory, and visual
• Offering supportive resources to the employees to improve their learning experience
• Analyzing the effectiveness of the training program to ensure that it satisfies the needs of the individuals

Managing Resistance

Resistance management comprises recognizing, addressing, and managing the resistance to the change project. It happens at every stage of the change project and multiple factors impact them like losing control, limited comprehension, and fear of the unknown.

Types of Resistance

• Active resistance is when employees oppose and reject changes and intentionally sabotage the change project
• Passive resistance is when employees hesitate to adapt to the changes and it slows down their adaption rate
• Compliance is when employees are moving forward to accept the changes, but they don’t fully accept it

Resistance management strategies

• Open communication and explaining the reasons and benefits of the change project and how it benefits them
• Connecting and engaging with employees and team members in the change process to collect their feedback
• Conducting training programs for employees to improve their knowledge and skills relevant to the changing business environment
• Offering incentives and rewards to boost their morale to adapt to the changes
• Providing emotional support to the employees and team members to explore the changes

Advantages of 5 Levers of Change Management

Some of the main advantages of the five levers in change management; they’re as follows;

• Offers you a comprehensive framework to cover a wide area of change management like coaching, communication, sponsorship, training, and resistance
• Increasing the adaption rate of the change project by offering them support and necessary resources
• Efficiently utilizing the resources to increase the adaption rate by focusing on various areas.
• A well-planned strategic approach would help companies achieve the reach the desired goals of the change project.
• Connecting and engaging with employees during the change project to boost their morale and job satisfaction level

Disadvantages of 5 Levers of Change Management

Some of the main disadvantages of the five levers in change management; they’re as follows;

• Highly complex and time-consuming process and requires a lot of coordination among various stakeholders and departments
• Employees would resist the changes causes delays and increasing the cost
• Expensive and costly because it requires a lot of resources and support
• Limited flexibility and it is not suitable for all types of change projects
• High reliance on the methods, processes, and procedures at the cost of creativity and flexibility

Conclusion: Five Levers of Change Management | Five Levers in Change Management

After an in-depth study of 5 levers of change management; we have realized that five levers offer a comprehensive set of tools and resources. If you are learning about the five levers of change management; then you should keep in mind the abovementioned components, benefits, historical background, advantages, and disadvantages.