How can you ensure that a culture change model is sustainable?

1 Assess the current situation

Before you start any culture change initiative, you need to understand the current state of your organization's culture. You can use various tools and methods to assess the culture, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or audits. The goal is to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your culture, as well as the gaps between the current and desired state.

2 Define the vision and goals

Once you have a clear picture of the current situation, you need to define the vision and goals of your culture change. What are the values, beliefs, and behaviors that you want to promote and reinforce in your organization? How will they align with your mission, vision, and strategy? How will they benefit your stakeholders, such as customers, employees, partners, or shareholders? You need to communicate your vision and goals clearly and consistently to your organization and get their buy-in and commitment.

3 Choose the right model

When considering culture change models, you need to pick one that is the most suitable for your organization's needs, context, and resources. The Lewin model consists of three stages: unfreeze, change, and refreeze. The Kotter model has eight steps: create urgency, form a coalition, create a vision, communicate the vision, empower action, generate short-term wins, consolidate gains, and anchor the change. The ADKAR model is composed of five elements: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement.

4 Implement the change

Once you have chosen the right model, you need to implement the change according to the model's guidelines and principles. You need to plan, execute, monitor, and evaluate the change process, as well as address any issues or challenges that may arise along the way. You need to involve and empower your employees, managers, and leaders in the change process and provide them with the necessary support, resources, and feedback.

5 Reinforce the change

Implementing the change is not enough to make it sustainable. You also need to reinforce the change by ensuring that it becomes part of your organization's culture and identity. Celebrating and rewarding the achievements and successes of the change process, providing ongoing training and coaching, embedding the change into policies, procedures, systems, and structures, and aligning performance management and recognition systems with the change objectives and outcomes are all important steps in this process. Doing so will help ensure that the change is maintained and strengthened over time.

6 Review and adjust the change

Finally, you need to review and adjust the change periodically to ensure that it remains relevant, effective, and efficient. You can use various methods and tools to measure and evaluate the impact and results of the change, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or audits. You need to compare the actual and expected outcomes and identify any gaps or areas for improvement. You also need to solicit and incorporate feedback and suggestions from your stakeholders and make the necessary adjustments to your change plan and actions.

By following these six steps, you can ensure that your culture change model is sustainable and delivers lasting benefits to your organization and its stakeholders. You can also foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation that adapts to the changing needs and expectations of your environment.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?