Enhance your knowledge and skills to manage change

Advance your career with change management training

 

Introduction

Change management is essentially about managing people’s responses through a change process with a view to increasing the likelihood of successful change implementation, the minimisation of disruptions to productivity and morale, and increasing the capacity of the organisation to adapt to future changes.

Organisational change management (OCM) is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from their current state to a desired future state. It involves the systematic planning and implementation of changes within an organization to help employees adapt to new processes, technologies, structures, and cultural shifts.

Develop an effective strategy to drive organisational change

Improving your change management knowledge and skills to become a positive force within your organisation is now more than ever a strong career building move, thanks to; the increased rate of digital transformation, supply chain woes and growing sustainability concerns, volatile economies and geopolitical unrest.

Not to mention the growing focus on enhancing employee experience to attract and retain good staff, along with an emphasis on inclusivity, diversity and awareness and the importance of employee well-being and resilience,

According to the 2022 “Executive Survey: Making agility more than a mindset” Ceridian say:

54% of organisations are creating internal training programs to help their leaders master skills and spark a change-ready mindset, 52% are moving skilled employees to a higher impact roles, 42% are hiring contractors to fill skills gaps, and 40% are subsidising external training.

How does change management link with project management?

The successful completion of all projects, and particularly projects involving the implementation of new software, inevitably affect those using the software and those receiving information from the new software and acknowledging that these changes are unlikely to be a one-off, means that planning and managing to assist those who will be affected by those changes should go hand in hand with actual project planning and management. One is focussed on the project itself, and the other focussed on people affected by the project.

In essence, organisational change management is now recognised as a complementary discipline to project management, focusing specifically on the people side of change. According to Prosci, “Each discipline brings the critical structure needed for effectively implementing change and achieving the results you want.”

Successful projects often require a seamless integration of both project management and change management practices to ensure that not only the technical aspects of the project are addressed but also the organisational culture and individuals are ready and willing to embrace the changes introduced by the project.

In the past the project managers often also acted as the Change Manager, however organisations implementing change recognise that it requires not only a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organisations from their current state to a desired future state, but there are certain skills required. Successful Change Managers are often those who can balance the technical aspects of change management with the human side, understanding and addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of change for individuals within the organisation.

Specific skills and qualities these Change Managers bring are leadership skills, effective communication, active listening, interpersonal skills, cultural awareness, flexibility and resilience, conflict resolution techniques, and ways to motivate and engage employees during periods of change, and these skills can be learnt.

Develop strong leadership skills

Smart readers will notice the overlap between the top four Power Skills every project professional needs, described by the international Project Management Institute and a successful Change Manager is leadership skills and communication skills.

We also all know that leaders at all levels of an organisation play a crucial role in setting the tone for changes by modelling desired behaviours, and addressing any resistance that may arise. It is crucial for truly successful change that they actively support and champion the specific change and encourage a transition to a culture that allows change to occur frequently and is accepting of frequent change.

Practical tools included in this workshop

To ensure participants in each Millpond Organisational Change Management workshop can have immediate impact in their organisation as well as develop their own competency as a leader, each workshop will cover the following topics; and includes targeted conversations around the challenges and opportunities the participants are facing on their projects:

• An overview of Kotter’s 8 step model, VIRSA model, Prosci®’s ADKAR model, Lewin’s 3 step model for change, and Leas’ levels of conflict
• Who has what responsibilities in a change process (Champion, Sponsor, Change Team, Stakeholders)
• Identify the informal network roles in your organisation – How can each of these people or groups help drive your change?

Conclusion

In summary, attending an organisational change management fundamentals training workshop will empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to navigate and lead successful change initiatives within their organisations.