Change management training

Managing the people side of change is just as important as the gritty logistics. Yes, there might be a big focus on finances, integration of systems, and organisational structure, but getting everyone in your business on board with the change is essential. 

Change management is the act of overseeing changes within a company and leading and managing them just like any other project might be managed. It focuses mainly on the people aspect, taking into account employee’s feelings and views more than some other projects might. 

A change manager is a person with the leadership and management skills outlined above. They could have a job role such as the team lead, or a senior member of HR, and need to keep their team and the individuals informed as to what changes may be happening in the business. 

It's possible for an individual to function in more than one role under the change management umbrella (see ‘Roles in change management’ near the bottom of this article). However, it is important for anyone involved in change to know what their role is at a particular time and in a particular situation, and to perform it well. Change managers are often called upon to provide informal commentary or coaching for others involved in change. They can help people in all these roles to develop a clear picture of how best to fulfill these functions and so to help change succeed. 

Teams won’t be motivated to work around business changes and evolving processes unless they understand them. The role of the change manager and their team/coalition of sponsors or leaders is to get the entire organisation on board with any changes, no matter how minor or major.

Managing this process well means that employees will have greater visibility, and in turn be more motivated to run with changes instead of resisting them. If businesses are unable to manage change effectively to suit the times and environment, then they can become obsolete and irrelevant to their market.  

Effective, clear communication 

You’ll need to explain changes in a precise and specific way that everyone in your team can understand. 

Planning and prediction skills

They must treat the change process as a project to be managed in the same way as any other project. 

People-focused

With emotional intelligence and maturity. 

Facilitate feedback to management

Acting as a form of ‘middleman’. 

Monitor any issues arising within their team

And be able to de-escalate them. 

Honesty and realism 

This will be appreciated by your team. 

Adaptability

The ability to adapt and change yourself, and replace old habits with new ones, is essential to being a great change manager. 

Successful change management relies on four core principles:

1. Understand Change. 

• Why do you need change? What are the objectives? 
• What will the benefits of the change be to the organisation? 
• How will it impact people positively? 
• How will it affect the way that people work? 
• What will people need to do to successfully achieve the change? 
• What are the negative outcomes of not making the change?

2. Plan Change. 

• Sponsorship. How will you secure, engage, and use support and sponsorship of the change? 
• Involvement. Who is the best person/people to help you to design and implement the change? Do you need external expertise? Or can you just use internal resources? 
• Buy-in. Change is most effective when you are able to win support from people across the business. How do you plan to achieve this? 
• Impact. Think about what success will look like. How will you predict and assess the impact of the change that you need to make? What goals do you need to achieve? 

3. Implement Change

• Ensure that everyone involved in the changes understands what needs to happen – and what it means for them. 
• Agree success criteria for your changes, and make sure that they're regularly measured and reported on. 
• Map and identify all of the key stakeholders that will be involved in the change and define their level of involvement. 
• Identify any training needs that need to be addressed in order to implement the change. 
• Appoint ‘change agents’, who'll help to put the new practices into place – and who can act as role models for the new approach. 
• Find ways to change people's habits, so that the new practices become the norm. 
• Make sure that everyone is supported throughout the change process. 

4. Communicate Change. 

• Awareness (of the need for change). 
• Desire (to participate in and support it). 
• Knowledge (of how to change). 
• Ability (to change). 
• Reinforcement (to sustain the change in the long term).