Change management is considered one of the most important topics in the modern business world. As the world and the technologies are changing continuously, businesses often have to make changes in order to survive and grow in the business world. In order to create smooth change management processes, there are several change management models were introduced. Lewin’s change management model is one such model that helps the organizations to manage change and create productive changes.
Lewin’s change management model is one of the most simple models that are easily understandable. It helps the organizations and the employees to understand the process easily and adjust themselves for the change process. Lewin’s change management model consists of three main sectors.
Unfreeze
This is the stage where the organization recognizes the need for change. The management or the authorized parties should identify what needs to change in the organization. This can be done by analyzing the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This can be done by conducting a SWOT analysis and a PESTEL analysis of the organization.
Once the need for the change is identified, the change team should make sure that the management of the organization is well aware of the change plan and should have the full support of the management for implementation of the change process.
The need for change has to be communicated to the relevant employees of the organization using the vision and realistic strategies related to the change process. The reasons for the change should be emphasized to create urgency for the change process.
When a change process is declared in an organization, it is common to see many concerns and doubts from the employees. The change team has a responsibility of clearing all these doubts and concerns of the employees and provide a clear picture of the entire change process. They also should create a comfortable environment for the employees where the employees will feel motivated to be a part of the change process.
Change
This is the second step of Lewin’s change management model. According to Lewin, this is the step where the change process will be implemented in the organization. The change team should maintain proper communication with the employees throughout the time period. Since there can be many practical issues and problems arise during this period from employees, the change team should be able to provide realistic, practical, and acceptable solutions for these problems. The benefits of the change process and its effect on their employment roles should be clearly communicated to the employees.
Effective leadership is majorly important for change implementation. A leader should direct the employees towards the success of the change process and the success should be measured in every stage of the process. Short-term wins should be encouraged and valued to motivate the employees. Meanwhile, the change team should maintain continuous communication with the stakeholders of the company to ensure a smooth process of change.
Refreeze
This is the last stage of Lewin’s change management model. Once the change is implemented, the change team should ensure the continuation of the changes processes in the organization. It is necessary to make the new changes are the normal procedures of the organization. The factors that support the change should be identified and continued. The barriers to the continuation should be measured and necessary actions should be taken to eliminate or minimize the barriers.
The ways of sustaining the change should be developed through leadership and through motivating the employees. Implementation of reward systems and obtaining continuous feedback are effective methods of sustaining the change in any organization.
The change management team should provide continuous training and development programs for the employees in order to support and provide the necessary knowledge that is needed for the business continuation.
Apart from Lewin’s change management model, there are many other change management models that have been introduced such as Kotter’s eight-step model, ADKAR model, and Kubler-Ross change curve.