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How to Create a Practical Crisis Management Plan [+ Templates]
Change is inevitable in any organization's journey toward progress and growth. Moreover, every business has grand aspirations and desire to witness substantial shifts and improvements.
However, the harsh reality is that only a handful of ventures truly manage to achieve the transformative changes they set out to accomplish.
The missing piece of the puzzle lies in the absence of a well-crafted change management plan. A study revealed that 47% of firms that embrace change management are more likely to fulfill their goals than the other 30% who do not.
A change management plan outlines how various business divisions will handle the innovation and transformation process. It translates your vision into workable procedures that drive change.
In this post, we'll look at how you can create practical change management plans for your business. We’ll also provide some professional and easily customizable templates to help you create your plans effectively.
A change management plan outlines the steps and strategy necessary for implementing a change(s) within the organization. It is often required for implementing significant changes that are likely to have a high degree of impact.
Examples of such changes include standard operating Procedures (SOP), updating personnel roles/responsibilities, tweaking the marketing approach or replacing those in leadership positions.
However, the change management plan does more than just list the actionable steps and processes that must be taken to bring about the change. It also covers the need for the proposed change, expected impact, procedures required and strategies to gauge the effectiveness of the change.
Below are some key purposes of a change management plan and why you should also consider creating one.
It is difficult for people to switch up or change their habits or routine abruptly. However, with a change management plan you can address resistance and inspire everyone (the employees) to adopt the new plan.
The process of creating the change management plan would necessitate the need to weigh the outcome or adjust plans if need be. Simply put, it's an easy way to brainstorm the quality of a plan.
Having a solid plan for innovation, growth and development can help your businesses stay ahead of the competition and remain sustainable.
Random implementation of change can adversely disrupt the operations of a business. However, with a change management plan, organizations can minimize the negative impact of change on workers. Also, they can prevent a total breakdown of their entire system of operations.
This is possible because a plan helps manage change efficiently, resulting in a smoother and more successful transition of different processes.
When change happens, processes change. Employees are also saddled with new responsibilities in the new direction the business is being steered.
Making a change management plan available to the whole organization ensures everyone knows the new direction. This fosters employee collaboration and guarantees a seamless pivot or transition.
These are several change management models you can incorporate. Let’s take a look at 5 of them.
The model is based on the work of Harvard Business School Professor John P. Kotter. It consists of eight steps that guide an organization through the process of implementing the desired change.
The steps are:
Lewin's Change Management Model, established in the 1950s by Kurt Lewin, consists of three pivotal steps aimed at helping organizations effectively manage changes. The three steps are:
The ADKAR Model was crafted by Prosci's founder, Jeff Hiatt. It offers a five-step structured approach to managing organizational changes efficiently. Each step offers a distinct, actionable goal that frames the change-management process; they include:
The Bridges Transition Model was developed by William Bridges. This framework focuses on understanding and managing the emotional and psychological transitions that individuals go through during a change. It consists of three stages:
This model helps analyze and improve the effectiveness of an organization by examining seven interrelated elements crucial for success. The seven elements are:
For every change process you wish to embark on, there must be an end game (what you seek to achieve).
Every effective change plan must include the measurable goals of the proposed project.
For example, if the goal of the change process is to facilitate gender inclusion and equity, this has to be clearly stated in the change management plan. These objectives provide a clear direction when implementing change.
Identify all the stakeholders who will be affected by the change and analyze their interests, concerns and influence. Understanding stakeholders' perspectives helps tailor communication and engagement strategies.
After defining the goal of your project, your next course of action is to outline the specific steps and timeline for implementing the change. You should also include responsibilities, resources, deliverables, performance indicators and key project milestones. This gives you an indispensable baseline to gauge your progress.
The plan also has to include the training process required to facilitate the necessary changes. From seminars to webinars and educational programs, each training process should be properly documented in your change management plan. This gives room for improvement and reduces unwarranted resistance to the proposed change.
Analyze the potential effects of the change on processes, roles and responsibilities, as well as any potential risks or challenges. Then, develop strategies to address and manage resistance to change. Addressing concerns proactively can improve acceptance and adoption.
Providing a means to collect feedback in your change management plan can help employees air their opinions and feel heard. You will be creating a platform to address their various concerns.
Not all of the feedback received would be positive since some people are naturally resistant to change. However, there may be a few valuable suggestions from the feedback that would reasonably improve the plans.
Collect feedback on your plan by using Visme's interactive form.
Here are eight easily customizable change management plan templates that’ll inspire you.
This template offers a comprehensive framework to assess needs, identify key stakeholders and communicate change management plans for maximum impact. With a focus on clarity, transparency and two-way communication, stakeholders are informed, engaged and supportive throughout the change journey.
You can easily replace the colors in the template with your company colors and add stunning photos to upscale your design. Take your designs a notch higher by creating highly realistic images using our AI image generator. Simply input your prompts and our AI tool will generate your desired image.
If you’re looking for a classic design to craft a well-structured and effective change management strategy, this template is the way to go.
Each section guides your readers to identify the need for change and creates a compelling vision for the future. From communication strategies to risk mitigation and resistance management, every crucial aspect is covered to ensure seamless change adoption.
With interactive exercises, insightful prompts and practical templates, this workbook allows you to customize your change plan according to your unique needs.
Make your slides more engaging with distinctive features like animated icons, illustrations and special effects. You can also take advantage of hover effects or clickable pop-ups to provide your viewers with more information without overwhelming them.
This meticulously designed template empowers project managers and teams to effectively manage change requests, ensuring a smooth and well-organized process.
The change control management plan template provides a structured framework to identify, assess and prioritize change requests. With clearly defined roles and responsibilities, this plan enables seamless stakeholder collaboration, mitigating potential risks and minimizing disruptions. You can use Visme’s collaboration tool to add key board members to your document. With that, there’s no back-and-forth of corrections or modifications.
Watch this video to learn how the collaboration and feedback tool works.
Communicate and analyze the impact of your proposed changes in a structured manner with this minimalistic template.
With this template, you can lay out accurate and relevant information for making informed change decisions. Make your argument for change stronger by utilizing data visualization tools like charts to present intricate statistics and data that support the need for change.
You can also take your design a notch higher by adding interactive icons to capture your audience’s attention.
This template is designed to equip change agents, managers and executives with the tools and strategies to lead successful change initiatives.
The Change Leadership Plan Template provides a comprehensive framework to assess the current state, define a compelling vision and engage stakeholders in the change process. From setting clear objectives to identifying potential obstacles and risks, this template guides you through every critical aspect of change leadership.
You can track who has viewed your plan with Visme’s analytics tool. Use this feature to know if the stakeholders have viewed the plan. You can also control user permissions to ensure that only those on a need-to-know basis can view.
This template offers a structured and systematic approach to designing and delivering impactful change management training programs. With customizable modules and engaging content, this plan ensures your team is equipped with the latest strategies and best practices to successfully navigate change.
From understanding change models to mastering communication techniques, this template covers a wide range of essential topics to elevate your team's change management capabilities. Whether you're a seasoned change practitioner or new to the field, this training plan caters to all levels of expertise.
Need help writing your plan? Visme’s AI writer can help. Simply input the right prompt and you can generate a draft minutes. All you have to do is edit your new information.
The Organizational Change Management Plan Template provides a structured roadmap to assess the organization's current state, define clear objectives and implement effective change strategies. With a focus on engaging stakeholders and fostering a culture of adaptability, this plan ensures a seamless transition to the desired future state.
From identifying change champions to crafting tailored communication plans, this template covers every crucial aspect of change management.
Communicate your software change initiatives effectively with this clean and colorful template.
With a clear structure and customizable sections, this template outlines the need for change. It addresses the primary parties impacted by the change, both internal and external stakeholders. Lastly, it designates teams responsible for each task in the change implementation.
Don’t forget to use Brand Wizard to automatically add your brand’s assets to your plan or presentation. This personalized touch will take your design to the next level.
Users all across the world agree that Visme is superior to other tools because of its ease of use and impressive functionality.
Hear what Wolfgang H., an adjunct professor, has to say about Visme:
I like using Visme because it is easy to use and I can create almost everything I want. I use it to create training modules and standard operating procedures for employees in the AG business."
Wolfgang H.| Adjunct Professor
What Are the 7 R’s of Change Management?
Every change management plan varies depending on your organizational structure. However, there are some key elements for effective change management. They include:
The 5 C’s of Change are five key elements essential for successful change management. They include:
A change management model is an organized framework used to direct and control the process of making changes inside an organization. It offers a methodical approach to planning, implementing and evaluating the change, ensuring its efficiency and effectiveness.
Examples of change management models include Kotter’s 8-Step, Lewin, ADKAR Bridges Transition and McKinsey’s 7S change management model.
Change Management plans provide a structured and strategic approach to effectively handle organizational transitions. They help minimize resistance, improve employee morale, and enhance overall productivity.
Creating your company plans doesn’t have to be challenging. With Visme's intuitive editor and pre-made templates, you can create plans that’ll effectively streamline communication across key stakeholders and help you achieve your goals.
Visme's collaborative design features will facilitate more productive meetings and brainstorming sessions while creating your plan. You can pin annotations, add sticky notes, share documents, evaluate and respond to comments, and more by tagging people in your team. You can also collect feedback from stakeholders or team members and evaluate the change process using Visme forms.
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