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Glossary
Agility, organizational change agility
Defined by the ability of an organization to rapidly anticipate and respond to change in a flexible and effective way; the ability and means to adapt to change. Levels of organizational change agility used in this survey:
- Low organizational change agility: Reflected by rigid, top-down processes with poor stakeholder engagement and no adaptation; moderate by structured processes with some engagement, and inconsistent use of agile practices. The organization follows a rigid, top-down change management process, lacks stakeholder engagement, effective communication, and agile practices, and does not measure outcomes or adapt to feedback.
- Moderate organizational change agility: The organization has a structured change management process with some stakeholder involvement and adequate communication, uses agile practices inconsistently, and measures some outcomes but does not adapt.
- High organizational change agility: Reflected by flexible processes with full engagement, effective use of agile practices, and continuous learning. The organization has a flexible change management process driven by a compelling vision, engages stakeholders, communicates effectively, uses agile practices iteratively, and regularly measures outcomes to learn and adapt.
Certification, change management certification
A change management certification is a professional credential that indicates a systematic introduction to the foundational knowledge and skills in managing change in organizations. An increase in certifications is one avenue of professionalizing the change management practice.
Change and transformation are two related but distinct concepts. Change refers to implementing a finite initiative or set of initiatives to make a clear, measurable shift on a specific aspect of the functions of an organization. Transformation refers to reinventing the way the organization does business and ensuring that reinvention permeates everything the organization does.
Change is typically a shorter-term response to external factors or evolving assumptions, while transformation is a longer-term, fundamental shift in beliefs and behaviors. Both require careful planning, execution, and monitoring to ensure successful outcomes.
Change management is an approach to support people, teams and/or organization to shift from the current to a future stage. It is an organizational process that aims to engage with stakeholders to embrace and to effectively implement change in the workplace. The goal is to maximize organizational benefits, minimize the impact on people and avoid distractions.
It involves a series of foundational elements and good practices: change management strategies that skillfully apply the use of change management models, frameworks, and methodologies for the right context; it works with key sponsors and influencers of change through a variety of interventions, including co-development of the strategy, coaching and training.
Maturity, change management maturity
Refers to the organization's ability to implement, manage and sustain change effectively, all the while minimizing disruptions and maximizing benefits. It also reflects the integration of change management into the organization’s culture, processes, and systems. See 5 Levels of Change Management Maturity (prosci.com)
Change management maturity can be assessed through an array of individual indicators, such as the consistency of use of foundational elements of change management. Awareness of the importance of change management and change agility are additional measures that help to evaluate the change maturity of an organization.
The results of this survey refer uniformly to the term UN “organization”, even when respondents describe "entities" of the UN Secretariat.
Refers to the capacity of an organization to handle changes relative to the amount of change occurring. High levels of change saturation significantly impact the speed and outcomes of change and change management.