ADKAR: Knowledge, Ability and
Reinforcement
making the change
An overview of Prosci's ADKAR Model
Prosci's ADKAR® Model
is one of the most widely-requested and sought after models for change
management. It is a simple but extraordinarily powerful model to help
drive successful change in one's personal or professional life.
Many attendees of Prosci's 3-day certification program call it "ADKAR
training" - even though the majority of the program focuses on the
organizational change management process - because ADKAR is what they
remember and begin applying immediately. The first tutorial in this
series provided five reasons
why ADKAR
"clicks" for change management practitioners. The second
tutorial provided an overview of the first two building blocks -
Awareness and
Desire. This tutorial presents
an in-depth discussion of the last three building blocks - Knowledge,
Ability and Reinforcement.
Introduction
Prosci's ADKAR Model is an individual change management model. It
outlines the five building blocks of successful change, whether that
change occurs at home, in the community or at work. The name "ADKAR" is
an acronym based on the five building blocks:
- A Awareness of the need for change
- D Desire to participate and support the change
- K Knowledge on how to change
- A Ability to implement required skills and behaviors
- R Reinforcement
to sustain the change
The final three building blocks of Prosci's ADKAR Model are
Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. This is where the
individual who is making the change ultimately begins doing things the
new way. It involves knowing how to make the change, making the change
and ultimately staying with the change. While these building blocks are
where the actual change occurs, it is important to remember the building
block nature of ADKAR - Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement cannot be
attained without the pre-requisite Awareness and Desire (read more about
the first two
building blocks).
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ADKAR: A model for change - |
-
 For a complete description of Prosci's
ADKAR Model, including how you can use it to
implement successful change, purchase the
ADKAR book for only $18.95 - available as a
paperback or
MP3 download
- Learn more:
Overview
Table of contents
Excerpts
Preface
- Interested in deploying ADKAR into your
organization? Call +1-970-203-9332 to
discuss training and licensing options.
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Knowledge |
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Knowledge is the third building block of Prosci's ADKAR Model.
Knowledge is probably the building block that poses the fewest issues.
Why? Because organizations have a long and rich history with delivering
training - most even have an entire department dedicated to training
along with specialists that focus on education. However, training is not
the only way to develop knowledge. The table below includes some
additional approaches and tactics to consider.
From a change management perspective, it is important to recognize
two distinct types of Knowledge that must be supported. The first is
Knowledge on how to change (what to do during the transition), and the second is Knowledge on
how to perform effectively in the future state (knowledge on the
ultimate skills and behaviors needed to support the change). In practice, both of these types of Knowledge
may be integrated and addressed with a single plan, but as you are
documenting and developing training requirements it is important to
consider both of these aspects.
A final note about Knowledge - Knowledge is only effective when the
individual already has Awareness and Desire. Each of us has been to a
training program where we were not sure why we were there in the first
place. Think about 1) how you felt and 2) what you ultimately took away
from the training event. The answers are probably: 1) confused and 2)
very little. Without Awareness and Desire, you cannot effectively create
the Knowledge that is necessary for a change to be successful.
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Knowledge |
What builds Knowledge on how
to change?
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Training and education
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Experience
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Access to information
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Mentoring
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Potential
Challenges and Resisting
Factors:
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Gap between current knowledge levels and
desired knowledge levels
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Insufficient time (conflicting demands)
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Inadequate resources available for training
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Lack of access to the necessary information
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Capacity to learn
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Examples:
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Formal training programs
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Job aides
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One-on-one coaching
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User groups and forums
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Troubleshooting guidance
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Ability |
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Ability is the building block of Prosci's ADKAR Model that
follows Knowledge. This is the stage in the process where the change
actually occurs and is defined by the demonstrated achievement of the change
(such that the expected performance results are achieved).
While Knowledge and Ability can seem similar, there can be a very large
gap between the two. An example that illustrates this gap is playing
golf. While someone can gain the Knowledge by working with a golf pro -
learning how to approach the ball, how far apart the feet should be,
that it is important to keep one's head down when following through, how
to swing correctly - it may take many years for this Knowledge to
translate into Ability in terms of performance on the golf course.
Below are some factors that help foster Ability as well as some
potential factors that can hamper Ability.
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Ability |
| What fosters Ability to
implement the required skills and behaviors?
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Potential Resisting
Factors:
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Inadequate time available to develop skills
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Lack of support resources
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Existing habits
contrary to the desired behavior
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Psychological blocks
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Limitations in physical abilities
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Individual capabilities (personal
limitations)
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Tactics for fostering
Ability:
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Direct involvement of coaches
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Access to subject matter experts
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Performance monitoring
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Hands-on practice during training
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Availability of expert resources to help
employees
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Reinforcement |
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Reinforcement is the final building block of Prosci's ADKAR Model.
It is a natural tendency to resort to what we know. In fact, there is
research emerging about how the brain functions that suggests it is not
just a natural tendency, but in fact physiological tendency. While
making a change is difficult, sustaining a change can be even more
difficult. This is why Reinforcement is such a critical component of
successful change - it encompasses the mechanisms and approaches so that
the new way stays in place.
One of the reasons Reinforcement can be difficult, from a change
management perspective, is that once a change is finished, we
are often already moving on to the next change. It takes concerted effort and
time to make sure a change "sticks" - and given the scarce resources and
change saturation that many organizations face, Reinforcement efforts
can often fall short. As the final building block of successful change,
the focus on Reinforcement must be maintained so that changes
are sustained and deliver results.
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Reinforcement |
| What builds Reinforcement to
sustain the change?
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Potential Resisting
Factors:
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Rewards not meaningful or not associated
with achievement
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Absence of reinforcement for
accomplishments
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Negative consequences including peer
pressure for desired behavior
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Incentives that directly oppose the
change
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Tactics for fostering
Reinforcement:
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Feedback from supervisors directly to
employees - saying "Thank you"
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Visible recognition by senior level
sponsors
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Project-sponsored celebrations for
employees
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Compensation and appraisal systems
designed to support the change
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Implications for change management professionals
Below are some tips and reflections about Knowledge, Ability and
Reinforcement that
can help change management professionals be more effective in
implementing change.
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Change does not begin with Knowledge. Without
a holistic model for individual change, like Prosci's ADKAR Model,
teams can easily fall into the trap of simply sending employees to
training when a change is being introduced. This rarely drives
successful change and can often have negative and lasting impacts on
the employees that must bring a change to life in their day-to-day
work. Training is critical, but it must occur in the context of
sufficient Awareness and Desire.
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Do not assume that with Knowledge comes Ability.
There is often a large gap between Knowledge and Ability. Ensure
that along with training to impart Knowledge, employees are given
sufficient tools for building their own Ability including hands-on
practice, support from coaches and the availability to network and work
with others who have made the change successfully.
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Keep a focus on Reinforcement, even when it is
difficult. There is so much change going on in organizations
today that maintaining a focus on reinforcing change is difficult.
Acknowledge this fact, and the tendency to simply "move on" once a
change goes live, and build the necessary mechanisms to reinforce
a change. You only know if a change was successful if you take a
step back afterward and see if employees are actually doing their
jobs differently.
Coming up: applications of Prosci's ADKAR Model for managing
change
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Prosci Change Management Certification
Program highlights:
- Apply the methodology as you learn it on a
real project
- Learn from experienced executive instructors
- Become part of a change management community
- Earn 2.4 CEUs, 24 PDUs and 22.75 HRCI
recertification credits
- Walk away with products and course materials
worth over $1000
Download the certification program brochure
Upcoming sessions:
- March 2 - 4: San Francisco, CA area
- March 16 - 18: Denver, CO area
- March 23 - 25: Washington, DC area
- April 13 - 15: Denver, CO area
- April 20 - 22: Las Vegas, NV area (the
week before
Prosci's Global Conference in Las Vegas)
- May 18 - 20: Washington, DC area
- July 13 - 15: Washington, DC area
Visit the certification training page
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“The best
training class I have had in years. Goes way beyond
the strategy and framework and focuses on real world
problems and the tools to solve them.”
- Jennifer J., April 2009 participant
“This was
the most effective and engaging course I've ever
taken. I feel that I can truly use this knowledge in
my personal and professional life immediately.”
- Lisa S., February 2009 participant
“Awesome -
truly one of the most beneficial programs I have
ever attended - immediate application on the job!”
- Robin S., March 2009 participant
“This
program absolutely over-delivered my expectations. I
now feel more prepared and better equipped to do my
job.”
- Paul S., January 2009 participant |
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Offerings for applying Prosci's change management methodologies:
Training:
-
Change
management certification ($2100) - 3-day program where you bring
a project you are working on and apply all of the assessments and
tools as you learn them - taught by former fortune 500 executives at
locations across the US - includes over $1000 in products, including
the Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking report, the
Change Management Toolkit and the Change Management Pilot 2010
-
Train-the-trainer ($2400) - learn how to teach Prosci change management training programs in your
organization
- Onsite training
- bring Prosci to your location for 3-day certification programs,
4-6 hour executive briefings, 1-day manager programs or 1-day
employee programs - call +1-970-203-9332 for more information
Methodology tools:
-
Change Management Toolkit ($349) - hardcopy 3-ring binder presenting
Prosci's change management methodology, includes templates, checklists
and assessments for managing the people side of change (includes CD-ROM)
- Change
Management Pilot Pro 2010 ($449) - online tool including Prosci's change
management methodology, eLearning modules and downloadable templates,
assessments, presentations and checklists
-
Change
Management Guide for Managers and Supervisors ($189) -
tools to help supervisors engage and coach their direct reports
through change (includes 4 copies of the Employee's Survival Guide)
-
PCT Analyzer ($149/$349) -
web-based tool for collecting PCT Assessment data, analyzing
results, identifying risks and developing action steps
References and books:
-
Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking report
($249 / quantity discounts available) - journal-style report with lessons learned and best practices
from 575 participants, presented in an easy-to-use format - reads as
a checklist of what to do and what not to do
-
Change Management: the people side of change ($18.95 /
quantity discounts available) - a primer for anyone
involved in organizational change that addresses why manage change,
individual change management and organizational change management
-
ADKAR: a model for
change ($18.95 / quantity discounts available) - the definitive work
on Prosci's ADKAR® Model
-
Employee's Survival Guide to Change ($14.95 / quantity discounts
available) - a handbook to help
employees survive and thrive during change, answers frequently asked
questions and empowers employees to take charge of change
*** Prosci also offers
leadership packages - groupings of products at discounts that
offer you some of the most helpful and common combinations of Prosci
change management resources
Email this page to a friend
Email a Prosci analyst or
call 970-203-9332 with questions about the methodology, its application, or finding the
right resources to support your change management activities.
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