8 Change Management Activities You Should Implement Now

What if you could increase change adoption in a fun, engaging way? Carefully planning your change management activities can smooth transitions, encourage open communication, and help employees embrace change more easily.

These activities are an essential part of a structured change management strategy. They offer support to those affected by the change and guide them through each phase. A well-organized process that provides consistent support is key to achieving change management excellence and ensuring successful outcomes. Research from Prosci shows that 88% of projects with excellent change management met or exceeded their objectives.

In this article, we’ll share our top fun change management activities that make transitions smoother and demonstrate how they support each phase of a structured change management approach.

What Are Change Management Activities? 

Change management activities encompass all the actions taken by change practitioners within the Prosci 3-Phase Process, a structured approach that guides employees through implementing change within an organization.

Key activities include assessments, sponsor coaching, and identifying impacted groups, all of which are crucial for success.

As Prosci’s CIO, Tim Creasey, says, "Change management is preparing, equipping, and supporting our people on their own journeys.”

To support employees on that change journey, practitioners use the Prosci ADKAR^Ⓡ Model, a model for individual change. Each element of the ADKAR Model represents an outcome a person must achieve to move forward through the change process. Activities help people achieve these outcomes, and build understanding, readiness and commitment to the change.

By structuring activities around our ADKAR Model, change management teams can ensure that employees understand the change and are also equipped to implement it, ultimately enhancing engagement and leading to a successful transition.

Prosci ADKAR Model

Some of these activities lend themselves to a little more creativity, allowing practitioners to infuse some fun into the change process.

Here are some ideas you can include to make change management activities more engaging:

• Workshops
• Training sessions
• Interactive games
• Communication campaigns
• Team-building exercises

By incorporating these creative elements, change practitioners can enhance engagement and foster a more dynamic change experience.

In 2021, Prosci introduced gamification elements to its internal change management activities. The change management team created different games to engage employees. This playful approach encouraged active participation and collaboration from employees, making the change experience enjoyable. 

Practitioners can design change management activities that are interesting for employees and assist in making the process more collaborative, and easier to understand and accept.

Effective change management activities help organizations smoothly transition through the change management process and present many advantages for the whole organization. 

Benefits of Change Management Activities 

Change management activities, grounded in methodologies like the Prosci Methodology, offer a strategic approach to managing the people side of change. They aim to build a supportive environment that eases the transition and enhances the overall success of change initiatives.

Here are some of the benefits that change management activities can offer:

• Reducing resistance – Key activities help prevent resistance behaviors like workarounds, reverting to old ways, fear of the unknown, absenteeism, and more. Lack of Awareness of the need to change is the top reason for resistance. ADKAR focuses on building Awareness and Desire to prevent resistance and remove obstacles, which enables people to move forward through their transitions.
• Smoother transitions and higher productivity – Well-thought-out change management activities ensure smoother transitions, leading to higher productivity and better adoption of new processes, systems or structures. For example, the Prosci 3-Phase Process helps practitioners design an effective Communications Plan and Training Plan, which is vital for equipping employees with the necessary Knowledge and Ability for the transition.
• Reducing risks and viewing change as growth – The right change management activities can reduce the risks of failed change initiatives. They help people perceive change as an opportunity for growth rather than a disruptive challenge. The Prosci Methodology emphasizes reinforcement to sustain change, increasing the likelihood of change success and ensuring employees continue to see the benefits and opportunities that change presents.

Incorporating change management activities into your strategy can lead to more engaged and adaptable employees, smoother transitions and a more resilient organization prepared for future challenges.

While change management activities can include creating documentation and implementing plans, they can also be engaging, fun and collaborative. Here are some creative change management activities for you to try.

8 Change Management Exercises to Help Implement Change

Implementing change can be supported by a variety of exercises that align with the ADKAR Model. Here are some exercises that can help people achieve each element of the model:

1. Passport to change

We introduced this activity at Prosci to build Awareness about a new program offering. It was also a fun and interactive team-building activity.

To play, each person receives a “passport” booklet. Teams visit multiple tables or “locations,” where they watched entertaining videos featuring employees sharing different aspects of the program. They collect a sticker at each table, share some laughs with colleagues, and fill their passports while learning about the program.

This activity encourages engagement, teamwork and memorable learning through a playful approach.

2. Meme quest

John Ross and his team at Sunflower Electric implemented gamification to engage employees during their ERP system launch. One of the activities they carried out was a meme quest. This activity is a fun communication exercise to inform everyone about the project. It involves running a meme contest where employees collect a series of project-related memes to earn prizes. 

The goal for this activity is for each participant to gather all the memes, interpret their meanings, and connect them back to project updates. Those who complete the challenge can earn prizes. While the memes add humor and lightness, they also convey key project information, making it easier for employees to stay updated on important changes while enjoying the process. Gamifying the change process helped them combine fun with serious objectives, enhancing employee understanding and commitment to the project.

3. Change Bingo

This change management activity involves creating bingo cards with key terms, concepts and phrases relevant to the change initiative. For instance, you could include words or phrases like “feedback loop,” “collaboration,” “innovation,” or more specific terms related to your change initiative. 

Team members mark off these terms as they hear them in meetings, see them in emails or notice them in presentations. Participants with completed rows or cards receive a reward, making the game competitive and fun. Change Bingo creates awareness of the change by exposing employees to important terms while strengthening their knowledge of the initiative’s goals.

4. Role reversal day

Encouraging team members to swap job roles for a day is a powerful way to create empathy and deeper understanding within the team. You can do this, for example, by having a marketing team member trade places with a sales colleague. Each gains firsthand insight into the other’s daily responsibilities, challenges and pressures. Employees can then write about their experience in the new role.

Experiencing each other’s work environment allows team members to recognize the skills, efforts and unique demands required in each role, which can help bridge gaps in understanding.

This hands-on activity helps cultivate a collaborative culture where different roles are valued. Additionally, role-swapping activities can help team members grasp how upcoming changes might impact various positions within the organization, increasing overall acceptance and support for change initiatives. 

5. Vision board workshop

In this workshop, team members create vision boards that represent the future state of the organization. The workshop leader provides materials like magazines, markers and paper or makes it digital with tools like Pinterest or Miro. Participants can include images, keywords and symbols that capture their hopes for the organization’s future. 

This exercise allows employees to envision a shared goal, supporting the Awareness and Desire elements of the Prosci ADKAR Model. Seeing their ideas represented in the shared vision can also boost the team’s motivation and sense of ownership in the change process.

6. Interactive storytelling

Interactive storytelling involves encouraging team members to share personal stories or experiences related to the change. You could do this by creating an internal channel for people to post their stories. 

Sharing stories about their challenges and how they overcame them allows employees to learn from each other and find solutions together. It also builds empathy and an understanding of how the change impacts different people across the organization.

Interactive storytelling strengthens the Knowledge and Ability elements of our ADKAR Model by helping employees learn practical approaches for navigating the change process. Listening to peers’ experiences can be reassuring and validating, especially for those struggling with similar issues.

7. Team-building escape room

Escape room activities are a great way to get people into a problem-solving and constructive mindset. They’re also a fun team-building exercise that’s usually appreciated.

You can divide employees into small groups and provide them with a challenge that requires collaboration to solve within a set time frame. To align with the change theme, the game can be themed around overcoming obstacles or “escaping” old ways of working. 

This fun, interactive activity develops communication and teamwork skills essential for overcoming change-related obstacles. By working together, employees build the ability to navigate the challenges that may arise in the transition.

8. Feedback wall

Create a physical or digital feedback wall where team members can post ideas, questions and reactions to the change. In addition to being a safe space for expressing concerns, the feedback wall enables open communication and collaboration. 

This activity is particularly effective in reinforcing the change, as it allows ongoing input and ensures employees’ voices are heard throughout the change process. Gathering feedback in real time can also provide valuable insights for leaders and change professionals to address issues proactively.

By incorporating these activities, organizations can not only support employees through the transition but also create an atmosphere where employees feel empowered to participate, contribute and apply the change. 

However, change management professionals sometimes encounter challenges that complicate their efforts and impact outcomes. Change management activities can help overcome these obstacles.

How Can Change Management Activities Help Overcome Challenges?

Organizations often face a variety of challenges when implementing change initiatives, which can hinder progress and success. These challenges include:

1. Lack of executive support and active sponsorship
2. Lack of effective communication, leading to misalignment
3. Lack of change commitment and solution support
4. Limited knowledge and resources for change management
5. Change-resistant culture and attitude

By acknowledging these common obstacles, change practitioners can devise strategies and activities that proactively address and mitigate these issues, paving the way for smoother transitions and successful outcomes.

Prosci Research on Avoidable Change Resistance

Change management activities play a pivotal role in overcoming these challenges by:

• Training and involving leaders – Change management activities like training and coaching helps leaders develop the skills they need to be good sponsors.
• Delivering clear communication strategies – In change management, people need to know the business reasons for the change, as well as the answer to "What's in it for me?" By sharing the organizational and personal benefits of the change, organizations enable alignment and address employee concerns.
• Engaging employees – Early engagement of employees in the change process is crucial for building commitment. By getting their feedback and participation, and communicating early wins, you demonstrate the value of the change.
• Enhancing learning – Change management activities support the development of knowledge and capability through targeted training. Providing relevant resources ensures that employees are well-equipped to handle new challenges and opportunities.

Ultimately, by addressing these challenges with well-structured change management activities, organizations can foster a culture of adaptability and resilience. This helps ensure that change initiatives succeed and contribute to long-term organizational growth and improvement. To maximize the effectiveness of these activities, it is essential to implement targeted strategies that enhance their impact and ensure sustainable success.