ADKAR Framework for driving successful change in an organization

Want to maximize the chance of success for a new project or a change you’re making in an organization? Consider the importance of change management.

One thing that I’ve learned over the past two years as a finance leader is the importance of the people side of change. A project or a solution, big or small, can have the perfect design, the best tools, and the most advanced technology, but if the user buy-in is not there, the project will not succeed.

One helpful change management framework I’ve learned is ADKAR, a framework developed by Jeff Hiatt, founder of Prosci, a global change management consulting firm. I see ADKAR as a roadmap to how you can best serve and support the end-users of the solution that you are implementing, and ultimately to maximize the success of the initiative.

Here is a quick summary of the framework and the implications for a project:

A - AWARENESS

• Awareness of the business need for change.
• Be sure to have a communication plan for how you will communicate to users and stakeholders the reason behind the change. Don’t jump straight into the solution or training without this communication.

D - DESIRE

• Desire to engage and participate in the change.
• Here we need to answer the question “What’s in it for me?” for each user or group of users. How is the change going to benefit the day-to-day experience of that particular employee or user? Where possible, address immediate concerns and worries and clarify the roadmap for the change.

K - KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge of how to change, how to use the new tool, process, or software.
• It’s important that this step comes after Awareness and Desire; if employees have not reached the point of understanding the reason behind the change and understanding what’s in it for them, training will often be met with resistance and may end up wasting time.
• However, once Awareness and Desire have been achieved, proper training is key to giving the users the tools, knowledge and confidence they need to successfully achieve the change.

A - ABILITY

• Ability to realize or implement the change at the required level.
• After providing the training and knowledge, more time will be needed for employees to try, test and practice, and ask questions. Continued support here will help to ensure that employees feel comfortable to move forward and be successful in the change.

R - REINFORCEMENT

• Reinforcement of the change, making sure it sticks.
• If users revert back to the original state, it’s important to understand the reason why. There may be technical issues that need to be corrected; there may be a lack of support or training; or the change may be impacting the daily life of the individual in a way that had not been anticipated. It’s important to take the time to understand the reasons behind the barriers to the change and take corrective action.

The most important takeaway for me from this framework is the need to really understand at an individual level what a specific change means for that person; that’s the first step in understanding how you can best support that individual through the change.

I find it’s useful to review the project plan against the 5 ADKAR steps above and ensure that those steps have been built into the plan, to give your project the best chance of making a meaningful and lasting change in the organization, and to reduce the execution risk of the project. One key observation of the framework is that ADKAR must be done in order; don't skip a step!

Have you ever used this framework to drive change? Have you ever used it in your own personal life? Let’s discuss in the comments.