The Change Management Maturity Model consists of five levels:
Level 1: The Absence of the Ability to Change
Organizations at this level do not view change management as an appropriate way to handle the people side of change. Generally, their focus is on project management. Specifically concentrated on more concrete aspects of the project such as financing or scheduling. Change management is really only applied if there are individuals who pose a threat to the successful implementation of the project. In order to move to level 2, consider hiring external change management consultants and use their suggested techniques to aid your team if the project is facing resistance.
Level 2: Isolated Change Management Efforts
Change management occurs in few areas of the organization. What little efforts exist are not consistently applied nor are uniform change management practices used. Often, these programs are implemented without sufficient training. In order to advance to level 3, create awareness of different organizational change management initiatives and engage in research to determine what practices are best. Additionally, it is important to garner support for change management efforts by engaging senior leaders as well as celebrating successful change management initiatives.
Level 3: Many Change Management Efforts
The organization has many change management initiatives that are implemented across the company. Additionally, these programs have more senior leader support and managers receive more training to learn how to implement these initiatives. However, the change management programs still differ between business units and there are no requirements that the programs must meet. In order to progress to the next level, more attention should be focused on ensuring that all projects within the organization have a change management effort attached to them and that the programs are homogenous across departments and projects.
Level 4: Standardized Change Management Initiatives
Common change management programs are implemented on all projects in the organization. Generally, all organizational members should know what change management efforts are and why they are necessary. Further, all change management initiatives should receive full executive support as well as support from other members of the organization. However, it is okay if not all organizational members support change management efforts. In order to move to the next level, a change management department or position should be created.
Level 5: Competency for Change Management
The entire organization has the resources and support to implement successful change management programs. In addition to having complete executive support, organizations at this stage should have change management embedded in their cultural values and change management should be an ordinary part of organizational functioning. Further, organizations should be looking for ways to continuously improve their change management efforts and should offer extensive training for successful implementation.