Introduction
Change management plays an integral role in the success of a change process. It is a strategic approach used in dealing with transformations in an organization (Paraschiv et al., 2019). Organizations usually use Kotter’s and Lewin’s frameworks in some of the change management models. These models provide a pathway that leaders can use to realize the goals of a change process. For example, it enables the organization to handle the challenges of change, such as employees fearing the change process. Therefore, change management is used for the effective adoption of change.
Why Employees Are Fearful of Change
Loss of Jobs
Employees often fear change due to perceived loss of job. Any process, technical advancement, or a product change in an organizational context include lowering costs, increasing efficiency, and shortening turn-around timelines (Bossard, 2021). It suggests that employees and leaders are likely to oppose adjustments that lead to job termination or diminution. Any changes, in their perspective, are detrimental to their place within the organization. For example, when introducing chatbots technology to facilitate customer service operations, the jobs of employees working in the customer care department, especially the ones who reply to the messages, are on the line. Employees’ reactions during times of transition are determined by their job satisfaction.
The level of employee satisfaction can contribute to fear of change in the workplace. Employees that are happy with their jobs are better prepared to deal with times of change. They have a more positive outlook on their work and see change as vital for the organization (Bossard, 2021). Whatever the change, unsatisfied employees are likely to view it as having an adverse impact on the firm and them personally. Employees who do not fulfil their roles at work are likely to be insecure when a change is being introduced, especially those involving technological advancement.
Lack of Competency
Employees are likely to fear change in an organization when they do not have the requisite skills to sustain themselves after the transformation. They might find it challenging to reveal openly that they have this anxiety (Bossard, 2021). (Bossard, 2021). However, occasionally organizational change necessitates skill improvements, and some staff may be concerned that they will not make the transition effectively. As a result, their only option for survival is to resist change. Some workers are fearful of change because they hesitate to adapt to new activities, and as a result, they decline to develop new skills. Employees who believe the change will fail or are unwilling to learn new skills will stymie the organization’s ability to grow and embrace change. As a result, these employees usually strangle their personal development.
Lack of Control
Employees are likely to fear change when they do not control the modifications. People often feel in charge of their work environment when they are comfortable with their tasks in the workplace (Bossard, 2021). As a result, employees may feel overwhelmed and bewildered when forced to modify how they operate. Additionally, they are more likely to recognize and make adjustments if they feel they have some influence over the issue. Additionally, keeping lines of communication open with employees and requesting their input, support, and assistance shows them that their work is appreciated (Bossard, 2021). As a result, involving children, requesting their feedback, and enabling them to volunteer for roles in the change will give them confidence during periods of change.
The Previous Change Experiences
Employees’ attitudes about change are shaped by their previous experiences with change. For example, if the bosses have a history of mishandling change in a company, their employees may have good reason to be concerned (Bossard, 2021). Furthermore, how employees react to change in their childhood will influence how they perceive a change in adulthood. For example, employees raised in an atmosphere where change was viewed as a challenge to overcome will most likely have a more positive attitude about change. Individuals raised in environments where change was perceived as an unpleasant experience that disturbed the routine, on the other hand, are more prone to fear of change.
More Work
People fear change because they perceive it as more work. The change process usually involves a lot of work and takes time to be completed. Shifting from the status quo to the new system requires a change in mindset and learning (Bossard, 2021). Employees in the workplace are expected to participate in the change and continue with normal operations as usual. For example, any technological transformation involving changing IT infrastructure demands training to ensure that employees are conversant with the new system. The resulting struggle with workload and absence of time can make a change feel like a failure. Therefore, the employees are prone to be overwhelmed during a change process.
Change Management Models
Kotter’s Change Management Model
The model is one of the frameworks that leaders use to manage change in their organizations effectively. It is common because it gives change managers an easy-to-follow roadmap, even if they are not experts in the topic (Tang, 2019). In addition, the model is well-known for emphasizing readiness for change. It lays up a clear roadmap for properly integrating change inside an organization. It urges change managers to persevere even after early success to ensure that change is ingrained in the company’s culture (Tang, 2019). In essence, the Kotter Model is intended to help organizations create the ideal environment for change and establish the internal support required to ensure the process is efficient.
The change model provides a framework for implementing change in a corporation. The figure below breaks down the procedure into the eight most crucial steps and gives instructions on how to complete them in the right order (Lucidity, 2022). The first step involves creating a sense of urgency, which enables the employees and other stakeholders to understand the need for the change (Tang, 2019). The second step is building coalitions, the third is forming a strategic vision, the fourth step is communicating the vision, and the fifth step is eliminating the obstacle. In addition, the sixth step is creating quick wins, the seventh step is consolidating improvements, and the final step is creating the changes.
Kotter’s 8 step change model has several advantages, making it attractive for use during change management. One of the framework’s benefits is its simple step-by-step process that is simple to follow and apply (Tang, 2019). The model does not require specific skills for a leader during change. Another benefit of the concept is that it focuses on preparing for and embracing change rather than the actual change itself. It also enables leaders to prepare employees for the process effectively. This helps eliminate resistance employees that come from fear of the change and uncertainty (Tang, 2019). The focus is on the involvement and acceptability of the employees for success in the overall process. Therefore, the model’s greatest strength is its emphasis on preparation.
Despite the benefits, there are various disadvantages of Kotter’s change model. There are several steps in the framework that cannot be skipped. The transition will be more difficult if a step is skipped (Tang, 2019). For example, a leader cannot skip the step of creating a sense of urgency because it can adversely interfere with the change process. The other disadvantage of the model is that it takes a long time to complete due to the numerous processes required. The person in charge of the process must follow all the eight steps. Another disadvantage is that the model is dominantly top-down and discourages any scope for participation (Tang, 2019). As a result, the demerits of the model reduce its efficiency in the change management process.
Lewin’s Change Management Model
The Lewin Model is an effective change model that explains why change occurs and what can be done to lessen resistance during the process. Lewin developed the change framework to analyze how individuals respond to change. The three steps are unfreezing, changing, and refreezing, as indicated in the diagram below (Nakigudde, 2018). According to Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Theory, restraining variables impact both personal and collective behavior, ultimately influencing the result of the change (Maes & Van Hootegem, 2019). Employees are inspired and steered to the future state by the driving factors. The perceived barriers act as main hurdles to change initiatives by exposing likely barriers to change.
Table 1: Lewin’s Change Model
There are advantages and disadvantages of Lewin’s change management model. Lewin’s change management theory is straightforward to grasp and apply in the workplace. Unlike other techniques, this change management approach is straightforward (Nakigudde, 2018). It consists of a few simple stages that can be done in a short time. Furthermore, change management theory takes a pragmatic strategy that does not risk business continuity. This notion is straightforward to implement and make the necessary changes in any existing business. On the other hand, employee insecurity is a major drawback of the model. When staff understand the change, they frequently get apprehensive about their performance. It makes people wonder if they will be able to complete their tasks effectively.
How Change Models Alleviate Fears Experienced by Employees
Kotter’s model eliminates employees’ fears of the change by creating a guiding coalition. The main purpose is to convince employees in regards to the required change. Employees must perceive that their needs are being satisfied (Tang, 2019). As a result, leadership may aid staff in adjusting to transition by providing emotional and physical support. Psychological support can be in open discussion of the alterations, motivating employees to share their concerns, or just demonstrating faith in the new system’s ability to perform properly. In addition, employees may be assisted in training initiatives to learn how to use the new platform. Therefore, with adequate support, employees in an organization will have courage and believe in the change.
By creating a vision for change, Kotter’s model is likely to eliminate employees’ fears. An effective change initiative’s leader has a wide vision for the change (Tang, 2019). Employees are more likely to contribute to change when the vision is inspiring and depicts a future that the staff would be happy to be a part of at work. Having a clear vision for each employee ensures that they understand the necessary change. This knowledge of change among employees aids in gaining their support for effective change implementation (Tang, 2019). Employees’ perspectives and ideas can be incorporated into the vision for effective change acceptance. As a result, an employee is likely to be fearless if they understand the organization’s vision in introducing the change process.
Kotter’s change model eliminates the fear through effective communication of the vision. One of the things contributing to fear of the change is little understanding of the initiative. To solve this, the framework provides the need to effectively communicate the vision of the change process (Tang, 2019). This can be done through emails, presentations, and discussions with employees about the vision and using the vision to make business decisions. Effective vision communication allows all employees to understand the change clearly and encourages employee support for the change’s success. In addition, making sure that leaders communicate with employees about the upcoming changes early before implementation also has symbolic value (Tang, 2019). Therefore, communication plays an important role in removing the fears or doubts that employees might have regarding the change.
Additionally, Kotter’s change model removes fears among the employees by eliminating the obstacles. This is achieved by adopting proactive measures to eliminate the barriers that might exist in the process of change (Tang, 2019). The change management framework enables the leaders to focus on eliminating the obstacles. This allows the leaders to analyze the organization to determine the shortcomings as well as come up with strategic solutions (Page & Schoder, 2018). For example, having employees who fear the transition is among the main challenges that can adversely affect the change. In this case, the leadership can decide to focus on explaining to the employees that the change is important to everyone in the organization. Thus, Kotter’s change model offers an effective change management process platform.
Examples of Change Management Models in Use in A Business Environment
Table 2: PepsiCo
Table 3: Educational Institution
Why Change Management Is Needed in Digital Transformation
Digital transformation requires change management to be successful because it affects major operations. It involves integrating digital technology into all areas of an organization, fundamentally changing how it operates and delivers value (Cameron & Green, 2019). Due to these changes, the organization’s employees may fear the outcome. For example, the transformation may bring machines that are likely to replace some human jobs. Therefore, change management must ensure that employees support and engage in the process (Gaur, 2022). Kotter’s change models can be used to ensure that the transformation is performed effectively. Organizational leaders can follow the eight steps to make the change process successful.
Conclusion
Change management assists in effectively adopting changes and lower resistance. The models provide the steps leaders can use to handle a change successfully. For example, Kotter’s eight-step offers a process used to manage change. It is one of the models that can assist in addressing the issue of fear among employees in regard to change. In the absence of change management, it would be difficult to handle the changes in an organization.
References
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Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2019). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change (2nd ed.). Kogan Page Publishers.
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Kobiruzzaman, M. M. (2022). Lewin’s change model- Lewin’s change management model of 3 Stage. Educational website for online learning. Web.
Lucidity. (2022). How to successfully implement Kotter’s 8 step change model. Web.
Maes, G., & Van Hootegem, G. (2019). A systems model of organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 32(7), pp. 725-738. Web.
Nakigudde, S. (2018). Change management in information system development and implementation projects. Web.
Page, L., & Schoder, J. (2018). Making change last: leadership is the key. Journal of Business Strategy. 40(2), pp. 32-41. Web.
Paraschiv, D., Niţu, M., & Savin, M. (2019). Change management within companies. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence. 13 (1), pp. 625-634. Web.
Tang, K. N. (2019). Leadership and change management. Springer, Singapore.