Change Made Easy: Applying Practical Change Management Phases
Whether it’s adopting new technologies, responding to market shifts, or restructuring internally, organizations are continuously changing. But let’s face it, managing change can often feel overwhelming. The good news? It doesn’t have to be. With the right change management process steps, navigating change can be straightforward and even empowering.
But how do you manage change management? In this post, we’ll dive into a practical change management procedure that makes transitions easier, helping your organization stay resilient and agile. You’ll also discover a comprehensive software with built-in change management steps to follow.
Think of this change management steps as your roadmap for change. It’s designed to take the stress out of the change and change management process, focusing on clear communication, strategic planning, and active engagement from everyone involved. By breaking down the management of change process into simple steps, we’ll show you how to turn potential disruptions into opportunities for growth.
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The Management of Change Process
Irrespective of the type of change that a company is implementing, it is the employees, front line managers and impacted stakeholders that have to embrace and adopt the change. Unfortunately, it is standard human nature not to like change. An employee’s comfort with the current status is extraordinarily powerful, and the uncertainty of change creates anxiety, resistance, and stress.
Why is it important to use OCM change management models for change and change management? Change management methodologies provide a structured roadmap to implement change consistently project by project. Without this foundation, it’s easy to get things wrong.
A successful project implementation for any change impacting people, includes well-proven project change management process steps that can be applied to successfully move employees from their current state to the future business state.
Many organizations try to do change management ad hoc, without any organizational change management methodology. They make the mistake of not having a clear definition of change management. This leads to several problems, such as:
- Inconsistent results
- End-users being confused about what is expected
- Difficulty tracking change management deliverables
- Inability to compare KPIs across multiple projects
Using the OCMS five change management phases provides a solid and proven process to implementing change management that is scalable and repeatable. In the following sections, we’ll discuss what these phases of change management are and explain this popular OCM change management process.
Please let us know if you have any questions about managing change management, the change management phases mentioned in this article or would like to see a project change management process example. We’ll be happy to help.
OCM Framework: 5 Key Change Management Steps
According to the OCMS change governance framework, the organizational change management process steps are divided into five phases.
- Phase 1 – Assess: Assess and understand the project and its impacts on the organization.
- Phase 2 – Develop: Develop detailed change management strategies & plans.
- Phase 3 – Deploy: Deploy change management plan to prepare the organization for the change.
- Phase 4 – Normalize: Engage and support people to help them successfully adopt and sustain the changes.
- Phase 5 – Exit: Complete final reports, asset hand-offs, and knowledge transfers.
Within each of these change management phases are a set of key change management deliverables, plans, and strategies that need to be designed, developed, implemented, tracked, and managed based on best change management principles. They provide a clear definition of change management and give a process for managing change management.
What types of projects can use the OCMS change management strategy? All of them!
You can apply this 5-phase change management process template to any size project and all types of organizational change initiatives.
Do you have any questions about change and change management or the different stages of change management or the OCM change management procedure? Please reach out and let us know.
Overview of the Change Management Process & Steps
OCM Process Phase 1 (Assess)
The first phase in this stages of change management process involves conducting a series of change assessments to understand the scope, scale, and impacts of the change. These assessments generally include:
- Project Assessment
- Target Audience Assessment
- Change Risk Assessment
- Change Impact Assessments
- Stakeholder Analysis
- Communication Assessment
- Org Readiness Assessment
- Change Champions Network Assessment
- Training / Coaching Assessment
It’s important to know that this project change management process allows for the flexibility to leave out things that aren’t needed. For example, a smaller change might not need training or a change champions network.
OCM Process Phase 2 (Develop)
The second phase in the change management steps involves designing and developing the OCM strategy and plans needed to help impacted end users (employees, customers, leaders, partners, etc.) go through the change process successfully.
During this phase, the change management deliverables are focused on creating plans for communications, target audience engagement, training, coaching, resistance management, and change normalization. The deliverables in this change management phase include:
- Create OCM Strategy Playbook
- Develop a roadmap for change management process steps
- Develop the overall OCM Plan, which includes the communications plan, engagement plan, training plan, resistance management, normalization, etc.
OCM Process Phase 3 (Deploy)
The third phase of management of change process is all about the deployment of the change management plans. This is a phase where the OCM team is actively communicating with the target audiences and change champions, mitigating resistance, conducting training and coaching, and tracking readiness.
The change management deliverables in this phase have to do with the active deployment of change management, including:
- Deploying communications
- Target audience engagement (workshops, meetings, town halls, etc.)
- Training and coaching deployment
- Managing and resolving resistance
- Tracking change readiness
- Managing Change Champions Network
- Preparing for “Go-Live” adoption tracking
OCM Process Phase 4 (Normalization)
The fourth phase of the change management procedure involves executing efficient change management process steps aimed at normalizing the change. This involves more than just sending out communications, though that is important too.
You will need to monitor how well people are adopting the change by evaluating the KPIs and change metrics. During this part of the change management process example, you are determining the root causes of any gaps and resistance, and implementing corrective actions.
In addition, celebrating successes and quick wins are critical organizational change steps that should be implemented during this fourth phase of managing change management. These change reinforcement strategies are vital for building momentum and creating an environment where success is rewarded.
OCM Process Phase 5 (Exit)
The final of the phases of change management is the fifth phase, which is about exiting the project. In this “housekeeping” phase, the change management team is creating and sharing its final report of successes and lessons learned. Also done during the final stage of the change implementation process is to transfer any knowledge resources (for example, training guides) and other details to the permanent owners of those processes moving forward, and to close out and formally close the project.
Deliverables in this phase of the management of change process include:
Do you have any questions about the stages of change management process, OCM methodology, or organizational change management process steps? Just reach out and let us know.
Change Management Software with Built-in Change Management Steps
Ensure your change management team has the software it needs to succeed in managing change management. OCMS Portal is an all-in-one change management platform that incorporates a flexible change management framework. It guides teams through a repeatable, deliverables-based change management process to achieve consistent success.
Are You an Enterprise Looking for Good Change Management Software? Our top-rated OCM software is popular with large enterprises, government agencies, and multinationals. It’s designed to scale with your needs. Smaller, local teams benefit from our affordable basic subscription plan, while large enterprises enjoy significant savings with our group discount options. (We also provide feature customization quotes!)
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Do you have any questions about the change management procedure described above? Have you been looking for a software that offers a change management process example? Please reach out. We’d love to hear from you!
Conclusion: Project Change Management Process Steps
Mastering change management and how to manage change management goes beyond simply navigating the waves of transformation; it involves adopting a strategic and flexible OCM framework. As we explore the key phases of change management, it becomes clear that success hinges on thoughtfully integrating distinct steps, each reinforced with concrete deliverables and supported by a robust organizational change management framework.
The payoff of using an effective change management framework is more successful project outcomes that meet or exceed the expected ROI.
Organization change management models are crucial—they form the bedrock of transparency, accountability, and ultimately, success. Change is more than an inevitable part of organizational life; With a thorough understanding of the different stages of change management and the effective use of deliverables, organizations can confidently navigate change, leveraging it as an opportunity to innovate, evolve, and prosper.
Click below for a deep-dive review of each phase of the change management process:
FAQ – Change Management Phases & Steps
What are the 5 change management phases?
The OCM Solution change management framework and its change management steps is a comprehensive methodology. It emphasizes a “manage by deliverables” approach and is success focused. The 5 phases of change management are:
- (Phase 1) Assess: Assess and understand the project and its impacts.
- (Phase 2) Develop: Develop detailed change management plans.
- (Phase 3) Deploy: Deploy OCM support and prepare the organization for the change.
- (Phase 4) Normalize: Engage and support people to normalize the change adoption.
- (Phase 5) Exit: Complete final reporting and handoffs
What should you do in the first phase of a management of change process?
The first phase in the OCM process to manage change management involves conducting a series of change assessments to understand the scope, scale, and impacts of the change.
Why should you use structured change management steps?
Well-defined phases of change management with clear deliverables streamline the transition and foster a culture of adaptability, innovation, and continuous improvement within the fabric of an organization.
Note: Content on OCM Solution's ocmsolution.com website is protected by copyright. Should you have any questions or comments regarding this OCM Solutions page, please reach out to Ogbe Airiodion (Change Management Lead) or the OCM Solutions Team today. OCM Solution was previously known as Airiodion Global Services (AGS).
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