How to Start Change Management as a Communications Professional

Navigating change management as a communications professional takes far more than excellent communication skills. You are already adept at crafting messages that resonate with your audience. But what happens when your company asks you to step into the full role of a change manager? How do you get started? This blog will help you navigate this transition and drive successful change initiatives.

Learn How to Start Change Management Using Effective Approaches

Change management is far more than communications. It’s a structured process and set of tools for leading the people side of change to achieve the organization’s desired outcomes. The approach involves supporting your people through as they move from the way things are today to the future state the organization wants to achieve.

For example, if your company is implementing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system or artificial intelligence (AI) tool, you need to ensure that people adopt and use the system, as well as associated processes, roles, behaviors, attitudes, organizational structures, etc. A change only delivers organizational benefits when people adopt and use it.

Applying an effective change management approach engages people in your change, drives greater adoption, and increases the likelihood of your project or initiative’s success. Prosci research consistently shows that projects with excellent change management are more likely to succeed.

Source: Prosci Research Hub ©2023

 

Bridge Communications Skills With the Prosci Methodology

Even accomplished professional communicators are underequipped to succeed in change management because high-risk changes need a structured approach to deliver results.

My experiences leading organizational changes mirror those that members of the International Association of Business Communicators shared when I presented at the global conference. These are the common scenarios:

Communications professionals must do more with less

Like many critical functions across organizations today, support functions are shrinking at a rapid pace and employees are being asked to do more with less. Unfortunately, communications departments are not immune to this trend. Executives often ask comms professionals to do both communications and change management responsibilities, rolled into one job.

Consequently, comms folks are required to do change management “off the side of their desk.” Inadequate time and human resources to do the work of change management leads to suboptimal results and unrealized business outcomes.

Communications professionals lack change management training

People in the communications profession are always willing to take on new and exciting work. Thus, when asked to lead core change management work, they will welcome the challenge. However, despite their willingness to do more and their eagerness to learn, they have not been provided the necessary tools and developed the requisite knowledge to perform the role of change manager effectively.

Enthusiasm is not a substitute for change management skills. Without them, your team, professional reputation, and project will suffer from setbacks like resistance, rework, missed deadlines, budget overruns and project failure.

Communications professionals don’t know how to start change management projects

Comms professionals face both capacity and capability gaps when it comes to leading change. Although some have benefitted from taking courses or webinars on change management, many simply don't know where or how to get started with change management projects.

Implementing change management requires a structured approach that includes how to get started and steps to take throughout the project lifecycle. Access to change management planning tools with a built-in methodology, like Proxima, walk you through the process, link to essential research and information, and keep you on track.

How to Start Change Management Effectively

Successful change management starts with understanding the people side of change and using a structured methodology. With those two basic ingredients, everything else—from engaging sponsors to building a culture of change—begins to fall into place.

When moving from a communications role into one that includes change management responsibilities, you need to build a new set of skills to bridge the gap between the two disciplines. No matter where you are in the learning process, or the constraints you face with change, addressing these areas can improve your change management approach: 

1. Understand the people side of change

Leaders can forget that organizational changes affect people and the way they do their jobs, often overfocusing on the technical aspects. It’s critical to understand that project success depends on people’s ability to adopt new processes, systems, behaviors, roles and more.

To be successful, change managers collaborate with project managers and solutions developers to integrate the technical side and people side of change.

Prosci Unified Value Proposition

The uncertainty and challenges of change can also overwhelm people. Change elicits emotions ranging from excitement and anticipation to fear and anger. If you don’t address these reactions, people will exhibit resistance behaviors that can derail project success and increase attrition.

An individual change model like the Prosci ADKAR® Model enables you to support individual people throughout the change process. It helps you identify and resolve the barriers that keep them from moving forward.

Based on the fundamental idea that organizational change only happens when individuals change, our ADKAR Model enables you to:

• Put people at the center of change
• Focus on achieving outcomes
• Measure effectiveness
• Make meaningful adjustments as needed

Prosci ADKAR Model

2. Use a structured change management methodology

A structured change management methodology establishes a systematic approach, common language, quality standards, and other activities designed to achieve successful change. More than 25 years of Prosci research shows that effective change management correlates with significantly higher levels of success.

Correlation of Change Management Effectiveness and Results

The Prosci Methodology is comprised of the Prosci Change Triangle (PCT) Model, Prosci ADKAR Model, and Prosci 3-Phase Process. Here’s a quick overview:

Our PCT Model establishes a framework for understanding the critical aspects of project health and how they interrelate. Used throughout the lifecycle of a project, the PCT Model offers clarity by assessing variables that can pose the greatest risk for projects.

Our ADKAR Model creates a common language that everyone understands. The ADKAR Model enables you to guide individuals through a change and addresses barrier points that can prevent or delay project success. You can also use ADKAR Model as an assessment tool and as an easy-to-follow roadmap.

While ADKAR enables individual change, our flexible 3-Phase Process enables you to scale it at the organizational level and align with organizational goals. The phases address the activities change management professionals perform alongside project teams to define success and implement a comprehensive approach. As a result, everyone knows what they are attempting to achieve, who the change impacts, and the type of activities needed to achieve successful change.

Prosci 3-Phase Process

3. Engage sponsors and senior leaders

One of your primary tasks as a change manager is to prepare and equip sponsors and senior leaders for their employee-facing roles. Results from our Best Practices in Change Management – 12^th Edition research rank active and visible sponsorship as the top contributor for change management success.

You can prepare and equip sponsors for their roles by helping them apply the ABCs of Sponsorship.

ABCs of Sponsorship

4. Develop effective communications

You have built your career around developing effective communications. To deliver effective change management communications, you must align your expertise with change management best practices.

Be sure to use preferred senders to relay your messages to the appropriate audience. Our research shows that employees prefer to receive messaging from an executive leader and their supervisor.

Preferred Senders of Change Management Communications

Common pitfalls in change management communications—under-communicating, inconsistent messaging or ignoring feedback—quickly undermine your efforts. Ensure clear, consistent communications across the right channels at the right times and adjust as needed.

If you don’t answer employee questions during change, they will provide their own answers—leading to misinformation and rumors. At the start of a change, your job is to ensure that messages answer:

• Why are we changing?
• What is the risk of not changing?
• How does the change impact me and my group?
• How will this change affect my day-to-day responsibilities?
• What is in it for my team or workgroup?

5. Coach people managers on their CLARC roles

Given their close working relationships with employees, people managers have the greatest influence on how their teams perceive a change. This is why successful change managers help people managers perform the CLARC roles:

Overview of CLARC Roles

In my experience as a change leader, I have found that most people managers struggle with managing employee resistance effectively. When they’re confronted with resistance behaviors, you need to help them understand that resistance is normal. In most instances, uncertainty about success and the fear of the unknown provoke the highest levels of resistance.

To mitigate resistance, you can apply a structured approach that includes resistance management best practices to:

• Help people managers develop an intentional response to resistance
• Address the impacts of the change on daily work
• Ensure credible communication about the change
• Show how the change aligns with values

6. Monitor and measure performance

Prosci research on change management metrics shows a direct link between measuring compliance and the overall performance with meeting and exceeding project objectives.

Your communications expertise factors into creating surveys and facilitating focus groups to gauge the effectiveness of your change management approach. From there, you can use the findings and feedback to modify your approach.

If you follow a structured approach to change, you will start by engaging with key stakeholders to create a common definition of success. With this future-state goal in place, you can track engagement levels, feedback scores, proficiency, adoption rates, and other factors to gauge progress and effectiveness.

7. Foster a culture of change

Fostering a culture of change begins with building awareness of the need for change management across the organization, starting with leadership. This includes encouraging open communication where feedback is welcome. Involving impacted people in creating solutions helps them feel heard and will improve their desire to participate in a change.

You can build a culture of change by helping employees learn more about change. Our tailored change management training programs are designed to help people at all levels of your organization understand the importance of the people side of change and how they personally contribute to success.

Learn How to Start Change Management as a Communications Professional

Growing as a communications professional and into a change manager role may seem daunting, but your communications expertise gives you a head start on bridging the skills gap. Even if you have already applied change management, understanding the research-based fundamentals will help you drive more successful change in your organization. By leveraging the right change management approaches and tools, and honing change management skills, you can effectively navigate organizational change with confidence.