The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/230349
CHANGE MANAGEMENT 101 What exactly is "change management"? According to Wikipedia, "Change management is an approach to transition individuals, teams and organizations to a desired future state." For us, change management is deploying a solid set of processes, techniques and tools that focus on the people side of executing change initiatives. I remember when I managed technology changes in my law firm; I would hear myself say, "We could get this done a lot easier if it wasn't for the people." Really! The technology side was pretty straightforward. But the people side — getting users to adopt the technology and use it to improve performance, thereby providing value and a return on our investment in technology — that was a bit of a challenge. So, what are sound change management processes? It's a three-phase process: • Phase 1: Prepare for the change Build a solid foundation for managing change, including defining your change management strategy, assessing the firm's specific change characteristics, preparing your team and developing your sponsorship model. • Phase 2: Manage the change Develop change management plans around communications, training and resistance management. Implement change management activities and learning to incorporate the ADKAR model (see below). • Phase 3: Reinforce the change Get feedback to assess the effectiveness of the change management activities, identifying gaps, overcoming resistance, implementing corrective action and celebrating success. The ADKAR Model Prosci has developed a model which describes effective change management as a series of steps, each of which must be completed before the next step can begin. A D K A R Awareness: At the individual level, how well does the person understand the nature of the change? Do they know the "why" behind the change? Do they know the risk or consequence of not changing? Desire: Does the person want to make the change? Do they know the answer to "What's in it for me?" Knowledge: This includes opportunities for people to learn the right behaviors, processes and skills needed to implement the change. Ability: Users must turn what they learned into action. When they are able to demonstrate their capability and are able to perform at the required level, they have demonstrated their ability to change. Reinforcement: When people feel good about a change and their achievement in making the change, they tend to see the benefits more and continue with the new behaviors. Change can also be reinforced through recognition and rewards. People like to hear they've done well, and celebrating the change is important to keep the momentum going. Remember, change management is the people side of change — the side that explains the "why," not just the "what." When people are aware of why the firm is making a change and have the desire, knowledge and ability to perform and feel good about the changes, you can achieve a greater level of success. Peer to Peer 9