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Initiating and adapting to change can be overwhelming to a lot of people. People that are comfortable with certain processes or routines, do not like the thought of having to change everything up. A lot of organizations seek individuals who embrace change and make the best of it. Organizations take chances on projects that change processes or outcomes in a beneficial way; sometimes they work out, sometimes not. A change manager can be effective in these processes and make a large impact on whether the change is successful.
A project manager encounters many different scenarios and projects over the course of their job. This can provide a lot of insight and experience into all sorts of projects, including implementing change. A project manager in turn sees the benefit of having a change manager dedicated to the team. Not only does this benefit the project, but it takes stress of the project manager’s overall responsibilities and allows the project manager to focus on other tasks. The project manager will try to get approval from management to secure a change manager by outlining the roles, skills, and benefits of a change manager.
Role of Change Manager
At the beginning of any project the objective, scope of work, and time line must be identified. A change manager is vital in keeping the project on task and ensuring the project will be completed on time and on budget. A key role of the change manager is to focus on the changes at hand, and how to best adopt them to both the business model, and the employees. It is the duty of change managers to strategically plan and strategize in order to fully expand employee adoption to changes.
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With a structured plan in place, the change manager can lead the team into the processes and be a supporting figure throughout the project. Communication is another role of the change manager. Keeping communication with the team, the project manager, and the upper management is vital. Constant communication allows the change manager to coach as needed, keep upper management in the loop, and give input to changes that can be implemented for better success.
With a plan and strong communication in place this allows a change manager to focus at one of the most important roles. Improving employee engagement and addressing resistance to change is one of the most important roles for a change manager. Driving a sense of urgency and importance of the upcoming changes to employees and giving them the tools, they need for success can have a large impact. On the flip side, there will always be those who oppose change.
This is probably where the biggest hurdle comes into play, as a change manager must turn those views and opinions around. Often there is a root cause or reason to why particular employees are resistant to changes or showing difficulty with the change. Getting to the root cause of the feelings of resistance and overcoming objections is what a change manager is best at. This overcomes the resistance to change and allows the project to progress smoothly.
Skills of a Change Manager
A change manager typically has a wide variety of skills that can be used to make them successful at the job. Some of the skills consist of but are not limited to a background in communication, human relations, organizational development, and strategy (Linton, I. 2017, November 21). Communication is a vital skill in many roles, but as a change manager you need to be able to communicate to the project team, project manager, vendors, and upper management. Having good communication skills allows a change manager to speak to the benefits of what is changing and get the entire team on board.
This ties into their ability to coach and be a supporting figure throughout the processes. Having human relations skills allows for the change manager to talk on a personal level with employees and help get the up to speed on what is changing, why, and how it can benefit them in the long run. Organizational development and strategy allow the change manager to add input to the project manager and to roll out the most effective course of action moving forward to bolster employee engagement and success.
In addition to these skills a change manager must have a positive and encouraging attitude. This requires empathy, flexibility, and being able to adjust their coaching. Different situations and employees will require a different level of empathy, or structure to help them adapt to the changes at hand. Having these skills will allow the change manager to analyze and change their method as the situation calls for.
Benefit of Change Manager
After outlining the roles and skills of a change manager, the benefits seem apparent. Change managers allow a project manager to have less stress and to focus on what they do best. The project manager is able to focus on day to day tasks and working with vendors, employees, and monitoring milestones while the change manager implements and works on keeping the change implementation on task. Identifying a strategy, working alongside employees, and mitigating resistance are all benefits. Change managers present a win-win opportunity for organizations. This allows them to coach and support the changes while explaining the benefits and having larger employee adoption to the changes. “Using a clear win–win focus by change management thus helps facilitate productive discourse between change managers, employees and managers” (Wang, D).
Conclusion
To continue to thrive in the modern business world an organization must learn to change and adapt. Changes bring new and fresh ideas that are beneficial and keep the business world competitive and thriving. Change management and change managers are the key to an organization’s success when it comes to these processes. The change managers have the skillsets, attitude, and desire to see change implemented and done on time. More companies must consider hiring a change manager on staff or using them as a consultant to ensure success during these changes.
