The definition of change is “to cause to be different”. “To cause” means implementing a different way of doing things. “To be different” means the current situation will be changed.
By attending the 1-day Change Management Training Course delivered by pdtraining in Auckland, Christchurch, Tauranga and other cities, you will learn how to plan, sell and implement changes within your organisation, and more.
The idea of change management/personal improvement for individuals has been studied for more than a century. But it is only since the mid- 1980’s that change management has been studied within the context of businesses and business applications.
Today’s change management initiatives have become a business discipline and consulting industry on its own, with a view to improve not only bottom-line results through changes in systems and behaviours but also improve the workplace experience for employees.
Managing change has therefore become a critical skill, both for management and staff.
Defining Your Strategy for Change
It is critical to manage change by creating and implementing a strategy that defines an approach consistent with the unique needs of the organisation. The strategy serves as the guiding framework, providing direction and shaping the decision making requirements throughout the change process.
A simple way to gather data for the strategy is to set up interviews and ask questions regarding the different aspects of the change.
Below are some typical questions:
|
Aspect |
Question |
| The Situation | What is being changed?How much perceived need for the change exists?What groups will be impacted?How long will the change take? |
| People and Their Roles | Who will serve as a high-level sponsor?What functional groups should be represented to lead the effort? |
| Issues for Analysis | What will happen if we do/don’t do this?How universal is the change?Are there exceptions or deviations to consider? |
From the answers to the questions, the change strategy document is created, serving as a “blueprint” for the initiative. A strategy document should discuss important components of the changes to be implemented.
The strategy components are listed below:
|
Strategy Component |
Sample Language/Notes |
| Description of the proposed change vision, and its goals | Transform the business processes and the technology by which the organisation manages the human resources and payroll functions |
| The reasons(s) why the change is necessary | These changes will allow the organisation to save time and money and provide more responsive HR and payroll services to our employees |
| Critical success measures and key performance indicators | Risks have been proactively identified and addressedEmployees are prepared to perform their new job on Go live day with a 95% success ratio |
| Project stakeholders and stakeholder groups and their involvement | The current Phase: Senior managementThe Pre-Implementation Phase: Senior management, subject matter experts, change champions |
| Key messages to communicate | Pre-Implementation Phase: The business requirements, business case staffing, and the projected timeline |
| Roles and Responsibilities | Communications Team Lead: Develop project communications and presentationsChange Management Team Lead: Direct overall team activities; Provide team with change management expertise; Manage Project Team Effectiveness, Capability Transfer, & Leadership Alignment activities |
| Target time frame to achieve goals | (This can be a graphical time line, a paragraph, an embedded spreadsheet, etc.) |
| Focus Areas | Leadership Alignment: Align leaders to the project vision and enable them to champion the effortOrganisational transition: Design new employee roles, jobs, and organization structures to support the new processes and technology |
Building the Change Management Team
To effectively implement a team positioned for success, leaders must select members who display a high degree of skill in six key elements:
- Commitment
- Contribution
- Communication
- Cooperation
- Conflict management
- Connection
The team must represent all of the needed functional groups and roles necessary to manage the change initiative. By formalising the team and providing funding and other resources, it sends a message of accountability and responsibility, and illustrates the investment the organisation has made in the change.
Pdtraining delivers 1000’s of professional development courses each year in Wellington, Auckland, Napier, Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin and Tauranga, so you can be assured your training will be delivered by a qualified and experienced trainer.
All public Change Management Training courses include am/pm tea, lunch, printed courseware and a certificate of completion. Customised courses are available upon request so please contact pdtraining on 1300 121 400 to learn more.