Change Management - Get Started in Less than a Minute

There are a number of ways anyone can get involved or be involved in change management throughout the entire organization. There are a number of scenarios addressed in this post with suggestions to help support your change management efforts at your organization. The scenarios addressed here are:

• I am a project leader for a new change initiative.
• I am responsible for deploying change management across my organization.
• I am on a project that is experiencing resistance to change from employees.
• I have been assigned to change management for my project.
• I am a coach or business leader, and want to develop my change management skills and knowledge.
• I am interested in learning what change management is and why it is important.
• I am a coach or supervisor involved in a change initiative that is impacting my employees.
• I've been assigned to do a communication or training plan.
• I'm in charge of finding a change management methodology for my organization.
• I am an employee trying to deal with change in my company.
• Other

The fastest way to get up to speed in your area of involvement in change management is to examine the scenarios below that most closely matche your situation. Each scenario provides suggestions on the tools and resources that will help you begin effectively managing the human side of organizational change.

I am a project leader for a new change initiative

The project leader is responsible for ensuring that change management is applied to their project. They have an oversight role, and may be directly involved in managing the change. The first step will be to assign one or more people on your team to change management. Next, make sure you or your team members have the necessary training to carry out this role with the following two options:

• Option 1: You or your change management team members can attend the Change Management Certification Program. When you attend, you will receive the Prosci Change Management Practitioner eToolkit, the Best Practices in Change Management Benchmarking Report, and an official  designation as a "Prosci-Certified Change Practitioner." This program is offered every month throughout the U.S. and around the world.
• Option 2: Purchase the online Change Management eToolkit. This self-paced tool provides complete access to Prosci's research-based methodology, including step-by-step guidelines, templates, assessments and checklists. While you will get better use of this tool if you have first attended a Prosci Change Management Certification Program, you can purchase the eToolkit on its own.

I am responsible for deploying change management across my organization

Often referred to as 'Enterprise Change Management' (ECM), deploying change management will include bringing change management to each change initiative and building competency to manage change at every level in your organization. The first step requires you to become familiar with change management. The second step is to design a deployment strategy and plan for your organization.

• Option 1: Attend the Prosci ECM Boot Camp. Prosci has undertaken research over the last few years on deployment of change management and has developed a suite of Enterprise Change Management tools and resources. By attending this one-day course, you will learn Prosci's research-based methodology for building a change capability and then develop a deployment strategy for your organization. 
• Option 2: Organize a Strategic Alignment Workshop. With this workshop, Prosci will come to your organization and bring together a core team of your organization's key stakeholders to develop a robust strategy for delivering enhanced organizational change capability.
• Option 3: Teach Prosci's role-based change management programs. Our Train-the-Trainer Program enables members of your organization to deliver change management training to the roles necessary in making change management successful. You can also bring Prosci onsite to facilitate these trainings.
• Option 4: Purchase a license to the Prosci change management methodology. Purchasing a license allows you to tailor the materials and training programs to better fit your organization culture and unique needs.
• Option 5: Purchase a subscription to the Change Management Maturity Model Audit. This audit allows you to see where your organization is in terms of change management maturity and provides insight on how to build this maturity. 

3 - I am on a project that is experiencing resistance to change from employees

Resistance to change is normal. However, persistent and enduring resistance can be a threat to the project. In many cases resistance to change is damaging to a project in the absence of a formal change management approach. Rather than address the resistance you are experiencing directly, your first step should be to apply a change management methodology to your project. This will help you determine the root cause of the resistance and develop proactive steps to address and mitigate the resistance.

• Option 1: Start by reading this overview of resistance to change, what it looks like, and how you can address it.
• Option 2: Check with your organization to see if it offers the Change Management for Managers Program, or Delivering Project Results: Change Management Workshop for Project Managers. Many organizations partner with Prosci to offer these trainings in-house, as they help project team members and people managers learn how to manage resistance to change. 
• Option 3: Attend the Change Management Certification Program. In the program, you bring an actual project you are working on, so you can apply the methodology to the initiative where you are experiencing resistance.
• Option 2: Purchase the online Change Management Practitioner eToolkit. This self-paced tool provides complete access to the Prosci research-based methodology, including step-by-step guidelines for managing resistance.

4 - I have been assigned to change management for my project

Your first responsibility will be to learn change management yourself. Only then can you truly bring a change management methodology to your project. We strongly recommend Option 1, the certification program, if you are new to change management.

• Option 1: Attend the Change Management Certification Program.  In this highly interactive program, you apply the learning, templates and tools to a project you bring from your organization so you can 'hit the ground running' when you return to your office. Tuition includes tools you can take back to support your change management efforts.
• Option 2: Purchase the online Change Management Practitioner eToolkit. This self-paced tool provides complete access to Prosci's research-based methodology including step-by-step guidelines for managing resistance.
• Option 3: Purchase the Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking report to find out what worked and what didn't for 4,500 research participants. The report reads like a checklist of 'must do' change management steps. 

5 - I am a coach or business leader, and want to develop my change management skills and knowledge.

To begin the process of building change management skills, your first step will be to establish a strong foundational understanding of the principles and concepts around change. 

• Option 1: Purchase the book ADKAR: a Model for Change in Business, Government and our Community. This book discusses the ADKAR Model - a model of how individuals go through change by having Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. The book looks at what influences an individual's success at change and how you can help facilitate change in an organization.
• Option 2: Purchase the book Change Management: The People Side of Change. This book provides a solid foundation in managing change - including sections on why manage change, change management principles, individual change management and organizational change management.
• Option 3: Subscribe to our emails to receive the latest blogs, thought leadership articles, and webinar invites in your inbox.

6 - I am interested in learning what change management is and why it is important.

We have several ways you can learn more about managing change and why it is important. These options range from reading free tutorials to attending a certification program on change management that covers the ROI of change management on projects. The most effective step you can take is to become certified by attending the certification program.

• Option 1: Explore the Thought Leadership Library. Specifically, read Why Change Management, an excerpt from the Change Management: The People Side of Change book.
• Option 2: Purchase the book Change Management: The People Side of Change (which provides a solid foundation in managing change - including sections on why you should manage change, change management principles, and the intersection of individual change management and organizational change management.
• Option 3: Attend the Change Management Certification Program (includes access to the Change Management Practitioner eToolkit). The program covers key concepts, principles, tools and techniques for applying change management to the projects you are involved in.
• Option 4: Subscribe to our emails to receive the latest blogs, thought leadership articles, and webinar invites in your inbox.
• Option 5: Attend a free webinar on managing the people side of change.

7 - I am a coach or supervisor involved in a change initiative that is impacting my employees.

Managers and supervisors play one of the most critical roles in change management. Research results indicate that managers are a preferred sender of communications to their employees and have the greatest influence for helping employees successfully through a transition. One of your primary tools for coaching your employees is the Prosci ADKAR Model. Your first step should be to read the ADKAR book to gain a greater understanding of how your employees will go through change. Your second step is to assist your employees through change by using the tools in Change Management for Managers Program.

• Option 1: Purchase the book ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government and Our Community. This book discusses the Prosci ADKAR Model - a model of how individuals go through change by having Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. The book looks at what influences an individual's success at change and how you can help facilitate change in an organization.
• Option 2: Purchase one copy for each employee of the Employee's Survival Guide to Change book. These tools are designed to help managers and supervisors conduct group and individual coaching sessions to support employees going through change utilizing the Prosci ADKAR Model.
• Option 3: Arrange for your company to offer Prosci's Change Management Program for Managers. Prosci's instructors will teach you the concepts and principles of change management, and how you can fulfill your role as a communicator, coach and manager of resistance. 

8 - I've been assigned to do a communication or training plan.

One of the potential pitfalls of jumping right into a communication plan or training program is not having a broader strategy for managing the change within the organization. Communication or training can backfire when they are used in isolation of other change management tools and processes. Consider Option 1 or Option 2 as a way to get up to speed on the overall change management approach and how your communication or training plan fits in.

• Option 1: Purchase the online Change Management Practitioner eToolkit. This self-paced tool provides complete access to the Prosci research-based methodology, including templates and best practices for communication and training.
• Option 2: Attend the Change Management Certification Program. Tuition includes the most recent Best Practices in Change Management report, the Change Management Practitioner eToolkit and the officially recognized designation of a "Prosci Certified Change Practitioner."
• Option 3: Purchase the book ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government and Our Community. This book discusses the Prosci ADKAR Model - a model of how individuals go through change by having Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. Understanding how an individual goes through change helps you better position communication and training.

9 - I'm in charge of finding a change management methodology for my organization.

We do not believe that you can truly evaluate a change management approach without experiencing the approach first-hand. Although we have conducted telephone calls to present the methodology, participants in the Change Management Certification Program have stated that this is the best way to experience and get to know Prosci's process and tools. As a result, we strongly recommend Option 1.

• Option 1: You (or a member of your staff) can attend the Change Management Certification Program (includes access to the Change Management Practitioner eToolkit). This experience will allow you to assess Prosci's research-based methodology and tools, and then develop a deployment strategy with our distinguished master instructors.
• Option 2: Purchase the Change Management Practitioner eToolkit. This self-paced tool provides complete access to Prosci's research-based methodology including step-by-step guidelines, templates, assessments and checklists. 
• Option 3: Download the Why Choose Prosci guide for a quick overview of the Prosci methodology and list of current and past clients.

10 - I am an employee trying to deal with change in my company.

You have taken the first step by coming to this site and showing curiosity about the change process. There are several options you have depending on your personal and professional interest in change. The Employee's Survival Guide to change is a quick read and very simple approach to looking at change from an employee's perspective, including a section on frequently asked questions. If you would like to go into more depth, we would encourage you to read the ADKAR book, where you can gain a better understanding of how people go through change and the role you play in the change process.

• Option 1: Purchase the Employee's Survival Guide to Change. This is a practical guide to how employees experience change, including frequently asked questions and an introduction to the ADKAR Model.
• Option 2: Purchase ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government and Our Community. This book discusses the Prosci ADKAR Model - a model of how individuals go through change by having Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.
• Option 3: Download the free overview guide to the ADKAR Model.

Want More?

You can always find more useful information on change management on the Prosci Blog, during Prosci webinars, or in our resource library. If you didn't find what you were looking for or still have questions, contact us. Our mission is to build the change capability of individuals and organizations. Let us know how we can help you!