To be effective, change management should be multi-disciplinary, touching all aspects of the organisation. At its core it's about people and communication and the five key drivers needed to meet the needs of individuals in order to successfully implement the change. This activity can be either ‘reactive’, in which case the response is to changes in the external environment, or ‘proactive’, in which case management is initiating the change in order to achieve a desired goal to improve performance. It can be conducted on a continuous improvement basis, or on a regular periodic schedule (such as an annual review), or when deemed necessary on an initiative-by-initiative basis.
Change Management can be approached from a number of angles and applied to numerous organisational processes. Its most common uses are in information & communication technology management, strategic management, and business process management. To be effective, change management should be multi-disciplinary, touching all aspects of the organisation. However, at its core, implementing new procedures, processes, technologies, and overcoming resistance to change are fundamentally people management and communication issues.
These five change drivers are needed to meet the needs of individuals in order to successfully implement change. It's the role of a change manager to create an environment in which people can progress through these stages as smoothly as possible. The key responsibilities should include:
building an Understanding of why the change is needed
creating an Appetite to support and participate in the change
developing Resources to provide knowledge for the change
giving Training to implement the new skills and behaviours