The ADKAR model is a change management framework focused on the individual, developed by Prosci. Each letter corresponds to a sequential outcome that a person must achieve to sustainably adopt a change: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement. While other approaches focus on organizational planning, ADKAR structures the journey of each employee, step by step.
Individual Diagnosis Before the Training Plan
Most transformation projects fail not due to a lack of budget or tools, but because the diagnosis focuses solely on the organization. ADKAR shifts the focus: organizational change requires individual change. Before designing a training plan, it is essential to precisely identify where each employee stands in the A-D-K-A-R sequence.
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Since 2022, Prosci has recommended using structured questionnaires by step, with adoption, usage, and competency indicators integrated into project dashboards. An employee stuck at the Awareness stage (they do not understand why the change is happening) will gain no benefit from a technical training session, which corresponds to the Knowledge stage.
This preliminary diagnosis helps avoid a common pitfall: investing heavily in e-learning modules while the real barrier lies upstream, at the level of motivation or understanding of the context. Understanding the ADKAR methodology for training first means accepting that training without diagnosis yields few results.
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Five ADKAR Steps: What Each Requires in Practice
The five letters of the model are not just simple categories. They form a strict sequence, and skipping a step compromises all the following ones.
Awareness and Desire: Often Overlooked Prerequisites
Awareness aims for each person to understand the nature of the change and the reasons that make it necessary. Communication must explain the risks of the status quo, not just the benefits of the project.
Desire is the tipping point. Understanding is not enough: the employee must want to participate. This stage heavily depends on the trust relationship with direct management, the feeling of being consulted, and the perception of personal benefits.
Knowledge and Ability: The Training-Practice Tandem
Knowledge refers to the theoretical mastery of new processes or tools. Ability corresponds to the actual capacity to apply them in daily life. The distinction is comparable to knowing the rules of the road versus driving in real conditions.
Companies like Microsoft and IBM now articulate these two stages with modular training paths integrated into LMS platforms. Training is no longer a separate block from the change project: it is directly embedded in the K and A stages of the model.
- Knowledge is developed through short sessions focused on a specific process or tool, with materials accessible after training.
- Ability is built through guided practice: mentoring, real-life workshops, testing periods with room for error.
- The transition from K to A requires time and an environment that tolerates gradual skill development.
Reinforcement: Anchoring Change for the Long Term
The last step is the one organizations abandon the fastest. Without reinforcement, the return to old practices is almost systematic. Reinforcement relies on recognizing efforts, monitoring adoption indicators, and making continuous adjustments.
Concrete mechanisms work: celebrating the first visible results, integrating new practices into evaluation criteria, and maintaining a channel for reporting difficulties.
ADKAR Applied to Hybrid Work and Digital Transformation
According to Prosci’s Best Practices in Change Management 2023 report, the use of the ADKAR model has significantly expanded to transformations related to hybrid work and remote work. Change projects increasingly focus on remote collaboration and the new ways of working that have emerged since the pandemic.
This context changes how each step is addressed. Awareness must be conveyed through digital channels (video conferencing, asynchronous messages) in addition to physical meetings. Desire is harder to generate remotely, as the connection with the manager weakens. Training (Knowledge) shifts to short, accessible online formats, while Ability is built with less guided practice in person.
Applying ADKAR in a hybrid environment requires rethinking monitoring indicators. A-D-K-A-R questionnaires must be administered more frequently to compensate for the lack of informal visibility on team progress.
Limitations of the ADKAR Model and Conditions for Success
ADKAR has a structural limitation: it focuses on individual change and does not model collective dynamics (group resistance, power plays between departments, organizational culture). It must be articulated with a broader project management framework to cover budgetary, technical, and political dimensions.
- The model works best when the project sponsor is a visible and engaged leader, not just the project manager.
- HR and training teams must be involved from the Awareness phase, not just at the Knowledge stage.
- A change that affects deep business processes (reorganization, merger) requires longer support than what the ADKAR sequencing might suggest.
- Measuring progress with precise indicators at each stage prevents declaring a change “successful” based solely on technical deployment.
The ADKAR model remains a diagnostic and management tool, not an automatic recipe. Its strength lies in the clarity of the sequence and the attention paid to each individual. A change project in a company that integrates this framework from the design phase gains clarity for managers, relevance for training paths, and the ability to identify blockages before they become failures.