Prosci research and experiences show that training is essential to success when implementing organizational changes. But who should you train in change management? What kind of training do people need? And how do you decide? Read on to learn who organizations train, how they train them, how to plan for training, and what practitioners would do differently next time to achive better outcomes form their training efforts.
Training team members effectively is a key aspect of successful organizational change management. Nearly three-fourths of participants in our change management studies reported attending certification programs, and 86% would recommend that others become certified, indicating a clear value of formal training in enhancing skills and competencies.
Yet, although change management certification offers many benefits, it may not be the right type of training for everyone on your team. Change managers or change practitioners, sponsors, people managers, project managers, and front-line employees all play different roles during change. Each role requires a unique set of knowledge, skills and training.
Core Roles in Change Management
A holistic, role-based approach to training helps to ensure successful change initiatives. Here are insights on who should be trained, the type of training needed based on their roles, and supporting research for this training.
The training focus for this group is all about sponsorship, whether as a primary sponsor of change or as a member of a sponsorship coalition. It's critical that they understand their roles and responsibilities in change management, the importance of sponsorship, and how to effectively communicate the need for change to others.
Securing leadership buy-in and commitment is vital for successful change management. Training enables leaders to understand their influence on change results and the significance of their backing.
Topics to cover in change management training for executives and senior leaders include roles in change management, communication strategies, and understanding the change management framework. Training formats includes workshops and seminars delivered by seasoned change leaders and focused on strategic leadership, such as our Change Management Sponsor Briefing.
Middle managers, supervisors and other people managers need to understand how to lead and manage change. Their training should also address understanding the change process and the roles they play in supporting their teams through transitions.
During a change, people prefer to receive certain messages from certain people. Our research shows that people managers are preferred senders of messages about personal impacts they may experience from a change. The right training equips these people managers with the skills to communicate effectively, while helping to prevent and manage resistance.
Topics to cover during training include how to lead teams through change, manage team dynamics, and address resistance behaviors. This training is best delivered in interactive sessions and role-playing scenarios.
Preferred Senders of Messages
Project teams need to integrate change management into their project plans to ensure alignment with organizational goals and to facilitate smoother transitions. Our research participants who integrate change management and project management effectively report meeting and achieving project objectives more often than those who do not integrate.
Impact of Integration on Meeting Objectives
Project teams need training on change management plans, methodologies and tools for assessing readiness and impact. The topics covered include change management plans, models and methodologies like the Prosci ADKAR® Model, and stakeholder engagement. Formal classroom training with hands-on application, like our Delivering Project Results Workshop for project managers is ideal.
Change managers and practitioners need in-depth knowledge of change management models, methodologies, tools and best practices. A change management certification course should provide them with structured approaches and frameworks that enhance their effectiveness. In fact, applying a structured change management approach is one of seven change management best practices cited in our research by change management professionals.
Impact of Use of a Methodology on Overall Change Management Effectiveness
Important topics to cover in training include advanced change management techniques, tools and certification preparation. Experienced, novice and aspiring change practitioners benefit most from a formal certification program and continuous learning opportunities.
More experienced change managers and change management practioners who have already earned Prosci Change Management Certification can develop advanced skills in our Model Mastery Programs, and eventually earn the Prosci Certified Advanced Change Practitioner credential.
People who work on an organization's front lines need training designed to help them understand change, how it affects their roles, and the skills they need to adapt to and use new processes or systems. Training helps employees navigate their change experiences, increasing their engagement and helping prevent or reduce resistance.
Training for impacted employees includes an overview of the change taking place, skills development, and support resources. eLearning modules, job aids, and one-on-one coaching are the best formats.
Despite hard work and good intentions, there are always opportunities for improvement in change management. Our research study asked managers how they would approach training differently on the next change project or initative, given the lessons they learned from their current projects. Here's what they said:
In addition to the training they already did, most participants in the Prosci Best Practices in Change Management study said they would have included more middle managers in their training. They specifically mention front-line supervisors, middle managers and senior managers. Participants also would have spent time with more executives and project managers.
Groups That Received Change Management Training
Training should be mandatory, hands-on, and constant throughout the lifecycle of a project, according to many study participants. They added that they would include “bite-sized” training sessions throughout the project and not just completed at one point. They would also include more varied training activities, including more case studies and webinars.
For their next change initiative, study participants stated that they would also segment their training more. Every job role has a specific part to play in a change initiative. With role-based training, every individual gets the training they need so they can be the most effective part of a team. Some positions will need more training than others, and training should be conducted with consideration of employees’ time and availability.
While 87% of study participants completed training at the implementation stage of a project, many participants would start planning for training earlier. By thinking about training sooner, participants could better assess training needs and current knowledge. However, while they would plan for training earlier, they would continue to offer training at just the right time.
Many study participants said that they felt training would have been better with more time to train, more money allocated to training, and more training resources. In fact, when talking about ways that they would train differently, participants said they would use more training specialists—those who not only had experience in change management, but who also knew how to train people in it.
While change management training helps prepare people for their roles in making a change successful, other training helps people build the knowledge they need to adopt a specific organizational change. For example, employees on the finance team may need focused training to learn how to use a new ERP system effectively in their daily work.
Regardless of the type of training, the five tips below can help your organization plan effectively for training of all kinds:
1. Determine needs and prerequisites
Determine the different audiences that require training with insights from members of those audiences. Be sure that participants meet any prerequisites before training begins.
2. Segment training participants and choose content
Group participants based on their training needs. Then, develop or arrange for hands-on training that addresses each group's needs. Consider multiple formats (e.g., in-person, virtual, eLearning) to meet learning preferences.
3. Engage participants and offer ongoing support
Involve members from the training groups in designing and evaluating the effectiveness of the training course, and use peers as trainers to enhance credibility and relatability.
Before sending people to training, it's critical to confirm that they're ready. Using the Prosci ADKAR® Model reveals whether they have the awareness and desire needed to be successful.
Once confirmed, meet with team members before training to reinforce the importance of applying what they learn. Providing job aids to trainees and establishing a help desk reinforces learning after training.
4. Evaluate training effectiveness and monitor progress
Assess training effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. Review data collected by help desk staff to identify opportunities to enhance training. Support people managers to monitor their teams' progress.
A holistic approach to change management requires you to prepare, equip and support people throughout the entire lifecycle of a change. Training is an effective component of that approach when it's the right training delivered to the right roles at the right times. Prosci's role-based change management training programs are designed to ensure that you can provide all employees with the right training, so they understand their roles in a change and how they contribute to its overall success. That's change done right.