Organize the chaos: 5 key steps in the change management cycle

If there’s one word that describes the process of making big changes to big-deal processes, systems, or workflows, that word might be “chaos.” But here’s the good news: an effective change management process, which is your plan to organize that chaos, can yield lasting, positive results. 

“Change management is about managing the chaos of changing humans from one habit to another,” says Kim Perkins, an organizational psychologist who has a doctorate in positive organizational technology.  

Whether you’re planning a migration to the cloud or reorganizing your corporate structure, Perkins says that creating a human-centered plan for change management will help you increase buy-in and head off potential problems before they arise. Modern tools make this easier than ever. AI can identify patterns in employee feedback, while automation handles repetitive tasks such as status updates and progress tracking, freeing up your team to focus on the human aspects of change. 

We asked Perkins to share some of her best insights on effective (and less stressful) organizational change management. In this guide, we’ll go over the 5 key steps in the change management cycle and how to support change in your organization. 

What is a change management cycle?

A change management process is a structured set of steps for moving from the old to the new. It takes into account all the people, processes, and systems that will be impacted by a transition. Whenever an organization plans to make a switch to a different system, type of software, org structure, or even culture, it may enter into a process of change management.

The change management cycle is the repeating pattern of planning, implementing, and reviewing that happens throughout any major transition. Similarly, a change management life cycle refers to the complete journey from initial planning through final adoption. 

When is change management necessary?

Change management is necessary whenever you’re asking people to work differently than they did before, such as: 

• Digital transformations that move systems to the cloud
• When rolling out new automation that changes daily workflows
• Mergers that combine two company cultures

Without a structured approach, you risk low adoption rates, frustrated employees, and wasted investment. Process automation initiatives might seem straightforward. After all, you’re just making work easier, right? But even positive changes require adjustment time and a clear explanation. Employee experience management suffers when changes happen without proper support. 

The different types of change management

Not all organizations follow the same pattern. Understanding the various types of change management helps you choose the right approach for your situation. The different models are: 

• Transformational change: This reshapes your entire organization. Think complete business model shifts or major cultural overhauls. It’s big, disruptive, and takes time. 
• Incremental change: This occurs when small, gradual changes accumulate over time. You might update one process at a time rather than overhauling everything at once. 
• Reactive change: This type of change management is when external forces push you to adapt quickly. Market shifts or new regulations often trigger this type of change. 
• Anticipatory change: This refers to proactive adjustments you make before problems arise. This gives you more control over timing and implementation. 
• Strategic change: With this type of change, long-term shifts are aligned with your business goals. These changes support where you want to be in five or ten years. 

Beyond choosing a type of change, you can also apply specific methodologies to how you manage the transition itself. For example, a lean change management cycle focuses on eliminating waste and maximizing value during transitions. It borrows principles from lean methodology to keep your change process efficient and focused on what matters most.

The benefits of change management

A solid change management process delivers results that go beyond just getting people to use new software. When you invest time in planning and communicating changes properly, you set your organization up for lasting success instead of temporary compliance. The benefits of change management include: 

• Smoother transitions: Everyone knows what’s happening and when, which eliminates confusion and keeps work moving forward. People can plan around changes instead of being blindsided by them.
• Higher adoption rates: When employees understand why a change matters and how it helps them, they actually want to use new tools or follow new processes. You get genuine buy-in instead of grudging compliance.
• Reduced resistance: Employees who feel heard and involved are far less likely to push back or slow-walk new initiatives. Addressing concerns early prevents them from turning into major obstacles later.
• Preserved productivity: You maintain output during transitions instead of watching it tank while everyone figures things out on their own. A clear plan means less downtime and fewer mistakes.
• Better coordination: ITSM teams especially benefit from structured change management because they’re often managing multiple changes at once. With the right process, you can coordinate those changes without creating chaos.

5 critical steps in the change management process

Perkins has worked with many organizations that thought they could just tell everyone to stop using one tool and start using a different one. “It sounds really easy,” says Perkins. “All anybody has to do is click a button. And it’s actually one of the hardest things to get people to do.”

That’s why, when Perkins consults with an organization trying to make a change, she uses a human-centered approach that can be broken down into five steps.

1. Get clarity on the intended result of the change

Sometimes the goal is obvious, like migrating your software system to the cloud or switching to a more secure chat platform. But Perkins often sees clients who want a particular but non-specific result and haven’t figured out what that actually looks like.

For instance, a client might say they want “everyone to be more innovative.” In that case, Perkins would push them to dive deeper. “Does it really need to be everybody? And when you say ‘be more innovative,’ what is it that you want them to do? How would you know if you walked in one day and saw people being more innovative? Who would be doing what?”

2. Identify your supporters and skeptics

Once you’ve identified your end goal, it’s time to wrangle your champions. These are the people who will be cheerleaders for the change and encourage others to get on board. 

“When you find them,” says Perkins, “you want to load them up with resources and empower them to go off and carry the banner.” 

You’ll also want to identify the people who will oppose or block your change plan. Your level of engagement with these people depends on their power within the organization. For instance, if the head of IT opposes your significant IT change, you could be in for a difficult road. 

But Perkins warns that leaders often spend too much time thinking about the people who will oppose a plan. There will always be opposition, but effective champions can more than offset the skeptics.

Understanding change management roles and responsibilities can help you assign the right people to champion different aspects of your transition. If you’re managing larger changes, a change advisory board can provide the governance structure you need to ensure effective management. 

3. Acknowledge the loss

Moving to something new always involves the loss of something old. That means letting go of emotional attachment to familiar ways of working or a sunk-cost mindset.

Perkins worked with a film studio that had made several unsuccessful attempts to transition their team from AOL to a more secure messaging service. “When we’re stressed, we do the thing that we know works,” says Perkins. “So if AOL has worked for me for the last 10 years, I’m going to go there when I need a quick answer from a colleague.” 

To ease the transition, Perkins encouraged the company to take the loss of AOL seriously. They put a big poster of the AOL running man in the lobby and asked everyone to write their screen name on it, along with a little goodbye.  

“Everybody had a great time with it, with the screen name they’d made up when they were 12. People took pictures with it,” says Perkins. It became a cultural moment.

Of course, it doesn’t always need to be a considerable process, says Perkins. “It can be taking a moment in a meeting to give some applause to Fred, who wrote our old software system in 1997.”

Pro tip: Automated surveys can help you collect honest feedback about what people will miss and what concerns them the most. These tools make it easier to identify patterns across teams, allowing you to address common concerns before they escalate into larger problems. 

4. Offer an honest explanation

Once team members have processed the loss, they’re ready to think about the future. 

Leaders need to be open and honest, says Perkins, and “realistic with your team that it sucks to have to make a change.” Then explain the undeniable forces that are requiring it. 

Perkins cautions that a lack of explanation often leads employees to believe the worst – that the change is based on ego or the whim of one person. 

Taking the time to describe the market forces acting on team members will help them envision the possibilities for the future. “When you can see and feel it for yourself, that’s when the real change happens. And that’s when people get on board,” says Perkins.

5. Implement and automate the change in your company

By the time you’ve gotten buy-in, implementation can be relatively straightforward. Some companies hire a change management consultant who specializes in the specific technology or corporate structure you’re moving to and can help with the actual mechanics of implementation.  

“The most important thing you can do as a leader is walk your talk,” says Perkins. Implementation is about you and your champions engaging fully and visibly in the change. 

“So if somebody messages you on [an old tool], respond on the new tool you want everyone to use. It sounds obvious, but it’s surprising how many people don’t do this,” says Perkins. “Your example will go a long way.”

Automation makes ongoing changes easier to manage by assigning tasks automatically and tracking who has completed training or adopted new tools. You can monitor progress in real-time and spot teams that might need extra support before they fall behind. 

The challenge of change: Why is change management so hard?

This can come as a shock to leaders, especially new ones, but it’s not a given that people will get on board with a requested (or even a mandated) change. Employees are especially apt to resist changes that they see as based on a leader’s ego, a whim, or the latest fad. And resistance to a particular change isn’t always immediately obvious. 

Ever heard of slow walking? 

“It’s a way that people combat initiatives they don’t agree with but don’t feel they have the political power to actively oppose,” says Perkins. It’s a common problem among organizations that have a history of making lots of changes that didn’t work. 

Employees sometimes see new change plans as short-term problems that will blow over if they wait long enough. They verbally cooperate with a change initiative but never quite get around to making the change. 

If you’re dealing with a history of unsuccessful changes, it’s important to acknowledge the past and approach the new normal with a change management process that addresses employees’ resistance and accounts for change fatigue. 

A leader’s own resistance can stall change as well. In situations where organizations are trying to make cultural changes, the path is long, and not everyone will get on board. A leader has to be prepared to say goodbye to people who won’t adapt to change. 

“If you let high-profile saboteurs linger, then everybody’s going to decide you’re not interested in this after all. And they won’t do it,” says Perkins. “That’s a hard choice for a lot of people. But if you’re not willing to make that choice, you’re not ready for a cultural change.”

AI tools can analyze communication patterns and survey responses to identify where resistance is building before it becomes a major roadblock. This helps you make smarter decisions about where to focus your energy and which teams need more support. 

5 (more) things to remember about change management

When you’re beginning a change management process, keep these five principles in mind. 

1. You can’t please everyone. “Not everybody is going to like this, and that’s okay,” says Perkins. “People get really, really focused on the people who are going to oppose this or that. Spend your time instead on who’s going to be in favor of it and why you’re doing it.”
2. Change takes time. “When leaders talk about change, they need to talk about it over and over and over,” says Perkins. “If you’re sick of talking about this, that’s probably the right amount.” Making change takes cognitive effort, and we’re more likely to engage in that effort if we’ve had the time to wrap our minds around it and learn its benefits.
3. Visibility is critical. Most people will do what they see everyone else doing. “People often approach change as if you have to go in and convince everyone, and it’s not like that at all. Research says most people – 80% – are going to be fence-sitters. They don’t really care one way or the other. But they won’t do it if they don’t feel like everybody’s doing it.”
4. Leadership comes from the top. “If the leaders at the top aren’t doing it, it’s not going to get done,” says Perkins. If employees think it’s a rule they have to follow, but management doesn’t, they’ll resist every time.
5. Automation ensures consistent communication and reporting: Scheduled messages keep everyone informed without requiring manual effort, while automated dashboards show progress across teams. This removes the burden of repetitive updates and helps leaders spot issues faster. 

Out with the old: How to support change in your organization

The most effective way to support change in your organization is to remember that change is a team effort, and then develop processes that help achieve the buy-in you need. 

“Any change is going to have a wide variety of people involved in it, because no change can happen from just one person making a decision,” says Perkins. “Other people have to care, to have input, to carry it out, and convert people. Even if you’re doing something as simple as changing from one piece of software to another, it’s gonna have to be a team approach. Legislating it doesn’t work.”

ITSM software with built-in change management features helps coordinate this team effort by keeping everyone on the same page. AI-driven monitoring can track adoption rates and flag teams that might be struggling, while automated reminders ensure people don’t forget about training sessions or deadlines. 

Jira Service Management for HR teams makes it easier to support employees through transitions by centralizing requests and automating routine tasks. These tools handle the administrative side of change, so your team can focus on the human connections that actually make change stick.

With Jira Service Management, teams and leaders can ensure every change follows a consistent, well-understood process. With real-time visibility into progress and blockers, teams can collaborate more effectively and reduce the friction that usually comes with organizational change.