According to Prosci founder Jeff Hiatt, the secret to successful change “lies beyond the visible and busy activities that surround change. Successful change, at its core, is rooted in something much simpler: how to facilitate change with one person.”
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Understanding Prosci change management
Prosci change management is a framework for organizational change that focuses on one individual at a time.
Prosci is a company that partners with organizations to deliver change management certification.
Under its Change Management Certification Program, individuals are equipped with the skills, tools, and knowledge to drive successful change initiatives.
At the conclusion of the interactive three-day course, each participant becomes a certified change practitioner.
Some of the most common course attendees include change leaders, project managers, IT professionals, continuous improvement specialists, HR business partners, and project team members.
In truth, however, any employee tasked with driving change in their company will benefit from the program.
The Prosci change management framework has now trained and certified over 100,000 practitioners around the world with 80% of Fortune 100 companies represented.
Notable clients include Adobe, Kraft, Columbia, Unilever, RBC, and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.
Prosci’s framework for individual change
Prosci’s framework for individual change comprises two foundational models.
The ADKAR model

The ADKAR model was developed by Hiatt after analyzing change across more than 700 organizations.
It focuses on change at the individual level by helping employees move past any obstacles along the way.
ADKAR is an acronym for five outcomes the individual needs to achieve for a change initiative to be successful:
- Awareness – employees need to first understand why change is required.
- Desire – to move from change awareness to change adoption, the employee must desire for it to happen. This can be facilitated by identifying benefits relevant to the individual or the root causes of resistance.
- Knowledge – the third outcome concerns training and education. Each member of the team needs to understand how their role within the organization will be impacted by the change initiative. Where necessary, training should also be provided for new skills.
- Ability – while knowing how to perform a task is one thing, having the confidence to do it is another matter entirely. Change leaders must bridge the gap between knowledge and ability with hands-on performance monitoring and feedback.
- Reinforcement – to ensure new roles and habits are embraced over the long term, motivational techniques can be used to celebrate successes and small wins. Such achievements should be celebrated publicly, while employees who slip back into old habits should be dealt with in private.
The Prosci 3-Phase Process
The Prosci 3-Phase Process complements the ADKAR model in that it offers a framework for instituting change at the organizational level.
It is structured yet flexible and guides change initiators through various steps and activities.
The basic structure of the model is as follows:
- Phase 1 (Prepare Approach) – to start, it is important to develop a customized change management strategy and secure the necessary commitment. Definitions of success and the change impact should also be established.
- Phase 2 (Manage Change) – the second phase calls on the organization to create, implement, and adopt a change plan as necessary. Performance should be monitored as individuals progress through the various ADKAR transitions.
- Phase 3 (Sustain Outcomes) – in the last phase, the value of the change is communicated to individuals whose commitment is vital to ensuring the change initiative is sustained. Performance is reviewed to confirm desired results and document any lessons learned. Change management successes are also celebrated.
Key takeaways:
- Prosci change management is a framework for organizational change that focuses on one individual at a time. It was developed by Jeff Hiatt, founder of the company Prosci which partners with organizations to deliver change management certification.
- One foundational component of Prosci’s methodology is the ADKAR model, a framework Hiatt himself developed after studying change across more than 700 organizations.
- The other component is the Prosci 3-Phase Process which helps institute change at the broader, organizational level.
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