People tend to go through four distinct stages when facing change. The four stages of the change process are denial, resistance, exploration, and commitment. Denial. Changes are often difficult to understand or accept. So when people first hear that change is coming, they may deny that it will affect them.

Resistance. Once people get over the initial shock and realize that change is going to be a reality, they often resist the change. Exploration. When the change begins to be implemented, employees explore the change, often through training, and ideally they begin to better understand how it will affect them.

Commitment. Through exploration, employees determine their level of commitment to making the change a success. Commitment is necessary to implement the change, but some employees continue to resist the change. The stages are in a circular formation because change is an ongoing process.