All management is change management – this was the stance on change management not too long ago and still is in some organisations. In essence, it is making the point that all management is about making change happen because all managers are responsible for improvements to how their departments and teams are operating.
It’s a fair point, so why do we need people to specifically concentrate on managing change? What is the role of change managers, and what is their importance in the workplace?
Whilst this may be the case, it’s important that we separate management from Change Management so that we build a dedicated team of change agents to handle workplace change overall.
The role of change managers is to keep the organisation up-to-date and ensure they are using the best practices when it comes to a variety of different business elements.
Developing a Change Strategy – Change Managers are employed to think more strategically, to scope, plan and implement changes, improvements and transformations. I had lunch with a group of these managers last week, who had all come from operational business roles. It was interesting to hear them say how much they were enjoying their change management roles and how they had no plans to return to the ‘front line’. As one of them said, “I love having time to think”, and she is very unwilling to give that up.
Assessing the Impact of Change on the Organisation – Change managers must assess the impact of the change they are considering implementing and how this change will affect different roles within the workplace. Change is their sole purpose, so predicting and assessing that change is imperative to the overall success of the implementation.
Implementing Change – Of course, the most obvious aspect is actually implementing the change within the organisation. In the build-up to the implementation, change managers also need to ensure they are monitoring external relationships with stakeholders to ensure they are aware of any alterations to their output/schedule as a result of the change.
Build a Team of Internal Change Agents – for larger changes within organisations; a change team is often recruited to be the go-between of each different department. The Change Manager will work closely with this team, who will then work with their own department. This is particularly useful with large teams or businesses with multiple locations.
Monitor and Address Resistance – With change comes resistance to change. The role of the change manager will be to monitor this resistance and provide reassurance, training and resources to try and reduce the resistance as much as possible. If you join one of my Change Management Courses, we cover this aspect in great detail so you can be confident in your handling of resistance to change.
Check, Evaluate and Continue to Grow – Implementing organisational change is never complete. There are road maps, checklists and targets to hit. You’ll find that once you get a certain way down your path, things have altered again, and your strategy needs to be altered or updated. The role of a change manager includes keeping on top of checking and evaluating the change constantly. It is a full-time job and something all organisations can benefit from.
Where there are no dedicated change managers, operational managers are so under pressure from managing the day-to-day that freeing themselves up to lead changes to how things are currently done feels impossible. Most operational managers I know are under pressure to perform against demanding KPIs whilst responding to enquiries from customers, bosses, suppliers, colleagues, etc, who all expect an instant answer. The increasing use of messaging apps, social media and collaboration platforms means that many managers are involved in immediate responses to situations. This makes all jobs high-pressure, not just the ones that are dedicated to customer-facing activities.
When this happens, the change management element of their job role can be forgotten, which means the organisation is not moving forward with the rest of the world when it comes to various different types of change.
Perhaps the answer is to achieve a greater balance between the ‘always on’ element of operational management with some of the strategic thinking time of the Change Manager.
If you’re thinking about enhancing your change management skills to further develop yourself in your role as a change manager, then take a look at what my brand can offer.
Change Agent Course – Understand change for your role
Change Coach Course – Help others navigate change within your workplace.
ChangeabilityPro – My online platform, full of resources, masterclasses and more. Set up your profile today.
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