During Test, you will be supporting people to make small adjustments to the change in the light of practical experience. This stage is all about ensuring that the change is sustainable and that people will not slip back into their old habits. People should be feeling quite confident now about the change. There is often a sense that the change is completed and a strong feeling that people want to ‘get back to normal’. This can often be a honeymoon period or create a false sense of security. On the other hand, if there are still issues to resolve or things that aren’t working as expected, it can be a time when people revert back to the old ways of doing things as they seem more reliable.

The qualities you need to display at this stage are trust, openness and tenacity. A large amount of evaluation and feedback should be taking place during this stage, so the tools focus on that. You will be also be empowering others, so techniques to promote self-reliance such as coaching and problem-solving are included here.

This stage can be difficult for a change manager. The feeling that the change has been accomplished can generate pressure for change support to be withdrawn entirely at this stage. However, this can often be a false sense of security. In addition, it can be hard for the change manager to detach themselves from something in which you have been intensely involved. Conversely, if there are still issues to resolve and improvements to make, you will need to support people to find those solutions in the face of pressure to disengage or abandon the change.