Change from one situation to another is an inevitable aspect of life. Several factors are continuously in the interplay in the environment leading towards change. When change is structured it is a welcome but when it is introduced suddenly it may not be a welcome. This is more so in case of organizations. It has been found that people are often sensitive as regards their personal and professional lives. Any shift from the state of equilibrium is a much matter of concern for them.

Consider an organization. The new managing director is a young lad in his mid twenties armed with a degree in business management from a top notch business school with a dream to change the world in one go. His first target is the organization that he is supposed to manage. He is overwhelmed with fantastic ideas that would change the way things have been working. New technology are introduced and innovative ways in which company policies will be molded all aimed at generating rich profits. If all goes as per the scheduled plan it is anticipated that in two years time the company will fall in the bracket of top ten companies of the country. And very soon everything in the company is geared towards realization of the chalked course of action.

But then absenteeism, fast turnover, lowered productivity in the organization is reciting an all together a different story. It is as if the employees are not happy and do not want to participate in the change. The management is surprisedWhy? Do the employees not want the company to come up and bask in its rich dividends? Well! The answer to this is yes. Employees definitely want well for the company and also for themselves. But they are not sure whether the latter is true. More than anything else they are threatened and first thing they want to do is to flee the spot. Absenteeism and high turn over is the response to this. The young manager is a failure.

So what should managers do to introduce change amicable and simultaneously help employees place confidence in this change? Change is an altered condition from the original one. It should be unique, goal directed and be and also appear to be meaningful to everyone. People need to be communicated effectively about the need to change and what this change seeks to achieve. They should be addressed about how and why the new process, technology and policy formulation need to be introduced. Employees want their role to be made explicitly clear in the new setup.

Of the various models used to implement change, the most widely adopted one is the one formulated by Prosci and is popular as ADKAR model. It calls for keeping five points in mind while introducing change in order to reduce ambiguity and infuse clarity amongst employees in the organization going through the transition.

Awareness among employees about change and the need to change
Generate Desire in them to participate and support change
Knowledge about how to implement change in their expected roles
Ability to be able to inculcate new skills and expected behaviors in this context
Reinforcement to carry on with the altered status for times to come.

A change whether it in deemed to be introduced in an individual, team , society or an organizations bears desired fruits of success only when it is planned, structured and gradual. It should have the consensus of the people who are at the receiving end of change in order to ensure their participation and full hearted support. It helps if the services of an experienced change consultant is sought to implement and facilitate change.

Rosy Vohra works for online bookstore India