Building an enterprise change capability is a rewarding journey that yields strong returns for organizations, but the journey is not without challenges. One of the biggest problems leaders face is with measuring the organization's progress toward change management maturity goals. Prosci addresses this issue with a research-based, practical solution.
Based on more than two decades of research, the Prosci Change Management Maturity Model serves as a measuring stick for an organizational change management progress. Informed by the five areas that define change capability within an organization, the Change Management Maturity Model framework enables you to rate your strengths and weaknesses, and then use the scores to drive targeted improvements that will grow your maturity level in the right areas.
Prosci's Change Management Maturity Model
Note that the five levels in the maturity model above are the potential outcomes your organization can achieve when growing enterprise change management capability. The levels are sequential, cumulative and incremental, and progress varies by organization. For example, your organization might be at level 1.2 today and be working toward a desired future state of 3.9 within three years, while a smaller organization may need a longer timeline to close a similar gap.
But before you identify a future state and plan for the transition state, your organization must determine your current state of change management maturity. To accomplish this, you assess your organization in terms of the five capability areas that define change management maturity. These are Leadership, Application, Competencies, Standardization and Socialization. Let's look at some examples of each area below.
This capability area is not about leadership in general. It's about senior leadership support for change management capability.
Such leadership exists in multiple forms, including:
Questions to ask:
If your organization scores low in the Leadership capability area, you should focus on this area first when building an organizational change capability.
An organization that is mature in change management will apply a change management methodology and tools on projects and initiatives throughout the organization.
Examples from the Application capability area include:
When evaluating this area, remember to consider:
Change management is ultimately implemented by employees, people managers, leaders, project teams and practitioners throughout the organization. The third capability area, Competencies, looks at the training and development of key roles and groups that must apply change management tools and principles.
Evaluate whether and to what extent your organization has:
In addition to understanding who has been trained, be sure to understand whether these individuals have demonstrated competency in their change management roles.
Standardization looks at the mechanisms and systems that can be used to institutionalize change management. By moving toward common and consistent application of a standard organizational approach, you increase the effectiveness of change management and create a common language around change.
Examples of Standardization include:
Standardization enables effective change management to become an integral component of the way the organization introduces changes. It's important to think strategically about what will most successfully embed change management into your organization’s processes and structure.
The fifth and final capability area, Socialization, focuses on building commitment and buy-in for change management at every level of the organization. Socialization includes understanding, appreciation and acknowledgement of the need to apply change management to change projects and initiatives in the organization.
An organization with mature levels of Socialization should or may have:
By measuring these five capability areas, you can begin to understand where your organization stands in terms of organizational change management capability. In addition to documenting your current level of maturity, we also recommend establishing a measure for your desired future state. With the current state and desired future state clearly defined, you can then build a roadmap to close the gap.
Scott McAllister is a results-oriented leader with a passion for individual and organizational transformation. With experience living on three continents, Scott leads Prosci’s growth efforts by partnering with clients to architect results-driven change management solutions. Scott has spent the last 15 years helping clients initiate transformational change with a combination of strategy, operational excellence and innovation platforms across a broad range of industries, from healthcare and biotech to financial services and telecom.
