Defining Success After Change Management Certification

We often ask newly certified change practitioners how they're progressing on the first steps of their change management journey. The most common question we hear is, “Where do I start?” This question is the perfect segue into a conversation around the definition of success following certification.

The Prosci Change Management Certification Program is an immersive program, packed with application. It  provides you with an understanding of the individual model for change and how it integrates the organizational process aimed at driving results. Additionally, the program arms you with a suite of tools to manage the people side of change.

Upon leaving the certification program, you should be able to expertly tackle any change and you're going to be instantly successful, right? Well, not exactly. Becoming an effective change practitioner takes time, patience, and continued engagement and practice with the Prosci Methodology. However, if you have begun taking action in the following areas right after certification, you are successful.

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3 Steps to Take After
Change Management Certification

1. Present your change management plan to your sponsor

During certification, you demonstrated your competency in the use of Prosci’s change management tools and concepts by applying them to a real project from your organization. You practiced delivering a presentation of your change management plan, and gained feedback and direction on how to make the presentation more impactful.

Following certification, it is imperative to adapt your presentation for your project sponsor. Clearly articulate not only that you completed activities and assessments in the certification program, but also articulate why the activities and assessments you completed for your change matter.

This will allow you to make the case for change management on your project early with your project sponsor.  Remember, all of Prosci's Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking reports identified active and visible sponsorship as the number one success factor in a change management initiative. Making the case for why change management is critical on the project, what your sponsor’s role is, and how you will support them in that role will help you as you move toward effective change management application on your project, implementing what you learned in certification.

2. Socialize change management to critical audiences

Having the support and engagement from your sponsor is an important step, but it's also important that you begin to socialize change management more broadly across your organization.

During the program, you were equipped with approaches for articulating the value of change management:

• The 4P's Exercise − to connect change management to business results by articulating your Project, Purpose, Particulars and People
• The 5 Tenets of Change Management − to answer, "Why change management?" 
• The ROI of change management− to translate change management into financial performance

Consider whom you need to engage with across your organization with regard to the value of change management. This could be critical managers, project managers, impacted employees, etc. Pick an approach that will support the case for why change management needs to be incorporated on your project so its value will resonate with each of your critical audiences.

3. Customize and scale your change management approach

The certification program provides you an end-to-end overview and explanation of the Prosci Methodology, including the assessments, templates and tools you have at your disposal. You still have those tools available to you after the program.

After completing your certification, you should consider the scope, size, type, complexity, objective and timing of your project, and begin to scale and right-size your change management approach. Explore the resources you have, but know that you will not use every tool every time. Adapting and customizing your approach based on the characteristics of the change at hand is a critical success factor.

Your Journey to Change Success

It's vital to define success clearly. So, consider what success means for the change project you are working on—for the individuals who have to adopt and use a new solution, and for the organization and the benefits that you are trying to achieve with the change. Continue the conversation around defining success by taking into consideration these three post-certification milestones.