Insights

Unless you’ve worked with a Change Manager (CM) before, you probably don’t really know what it is that they bring to the table aside from the obvious: Jazz Hands, Glitter and sparkles & Fluffy stuff.

So, perhaps we should clarify how they can be of value on the projects being worked on across Chamonix.

So, What Exactly Does A Change Manager Do?

So, firstly, for a bit of a fluffy, glittery, jazz hands overview of change, CMs deal with transitioning people through any change that occurs in the workplace. Typically, Chamonix applies this to IT Projects, however the methodology can apply to any change, for example, an organisational restructure, company merger, or building move. If the environment people are operating in is dynamic this generally requires the involvement of a CM.

CMs generally take ownership of communications and training requirements for the project where there is no dedicated resource for this role. However, most projects are often asking for a CM late in the piece to ‘do the comms and training’, as opposed to bringing them in from the get-go to ‘manage change’.

Why Are Change Managers Important To Business Prosperity?

How well people embrace change is directly linked to the success of a project. Effective change management has been proved to increase the likelihood of success. Conversely, the cost of poorly managed change results in lack of employee engagement and productivity decline, unnecessary disruption and lowered employee morale.

Chamonix’s Change Management approach leans heavily on the PROSCI methodology, which essentially outlines the processes and tools to help transition people at all levels (Executive, Senior, Manager, Team Leader, End User) through Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement of the change (ADKAR). To execute this successfully, Change Managers should be involved in a project as early as possible.

How Do They Operate With Employees And Stakeholders?

Organisations with a mature Change Management capability will utilise a CM to assess the business impacts up front and ensure these considerations are factored into a projects budget requirements and schedule. This includes a comprehensive understanding on roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures, systems, culture and external stakeholders (customers / partners), to determine key subject matter experts, influences and resistors to establish the best engagement approaches to apply.

However, one of the biggest challenges faced is being brought in at the tail end of the project when it is realised that there hasn’t been sufficient engagement with stakeholders, and it is more difficult to successfully manage change in these scenarios.

Then comes the less tangible stuff where a bulk of the work is ongoing engagement of stakeholders at various levels to deliver on the Strategy and Plan. The benefit of this element can be hard to demonstrate, but through ongoing benefits assessments and tracking of stakeholders’ development through the ADKAR process, they are able to articulate how people are transitioning through the change, and where the business’ focus needs to shift to manage pockets of resistance.

So, if your project is changing the way that people work in any way shape or form, a Change Manager can help you achieve a successful project delivery by effectively transitioning people through the change.