Change Management Explained
What is change management?
“A systematic approach to dealing with change both from the perspective of an organization and on the individual level, proactively addressing adapting to change, controlling change and effecting change.” Case Western Reserve University
Change management is all of the activities that we undertake to move from one situation to another. In a business context managing change effectively is a critical skill because it’s through change that our organisations innovate, increase efficiency and productivity, and increase levels of service to customers.
Managing change is a mixture of analytical ability, interpersonal skills and knowledge of the business area being changed. The successful management of change involves persuading, influencing and motivating others to do things differently.
For more information see our white paper “Building capability for the effective implementation of change” - Read more >>>
Change management responsibilities
Everyone is involved in change, formally as members of change teams or informally as someone who is required to change the way they work. Formal change roles include:
Change Sponsor (known as Strategic Change Manager):
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Senior manager who has the authority to authorise the change, agree the budget for the resources needed and will report progress of the change to executive management
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Responsible for creating the vision for the change, and communicating the vision of how the organisation will work once the change has been completed
Change Manager (known as Business Change Manager):
Change Agent
- Anyone who is responsible for making change happen within their area of responsibility
- Will be assigned activities from the change plan by the Change Manager
- Reports progress, issues and concerns to the Change Manager and to their own line manager
How much can I earn?
Change management is recognised as an important skill and is growing in importance; therefore salaries can be very high. A quick comparison against job sites indicates that the salaries for a range of jobs are:
- Business Change Manager – between £30,000 and £50,000
- Strategic Change Manager – between £50,000 and £80,000
- Project Manager - £44,000 (but add on at least £15,000 if this is an IT project manager)
- Marketing Manager - £41,000
- HR Manager - £35,000
- Customer Services Manager - £30,000
Business and Strategic Change Managers differ in that the Business Change Manager role is more ‘hands on’ with an expectation that you will have significant project management experience (creating the changes) and communication skills (for persuading and influencing). Strategic roles often report to the Operations Director or the Human Resources Director as they involve people change, and therefore Human Resources is an important skill set.
When you are searching for jobs about change management be very careful to use key words that indicate planning and implementing change, as there are many IT Change Analysts roles that are advertised as change managers but actually refer to issue and change management and not organisational change.
For all types of organisational change roles there will be a wide variation in salaries, which is a product of the industries that are advertising for these roles. A local authority is likely to pay considerably less that a financial institution or management consultancy.
What qualifications should I have?
The Change Management qualification offered by the APM Group is the only stand-alone short course for professionals in change management. Whilst there are many post-graduate qualifications that include change management as an essential module, this course is unique in its provision of a Foundation and a Practitioner qualification via a one week course.
The course looks at how individuals react and respond to change and how teams of individuals respond, recognising the dynamics that drive us can be different when we are in a group than when we are acting alone. The course also examines how our approach to managing change will be influenced by the culture, structure and values of the organisation that is changing. To bring all the aspects of change together, there is a module that addresses leadership skills for change agents and how understanding ourselves and how we interact with others impacts the ways in which we can make change happen.
The course is a great way to put experience into context and to look again at why changes we have been involved in have had the results that they have had, and it gives us a framework for reviewing how things might be planned differently next time.
For more information download our Qualifications white paper.
How can I develop my change management experience?
Do qualifications matter?
Change management training and a change management qualification are a quick way of setting you apart and establishing your professional credibility. There are very few change management qualifications; the five day course offered by Maven gives you a Foundation and a Practitioner qualification in change management in an easily accessible way.
Change management jobs often specifically state a requirement for a ‘successful track record’ in change management or ‘formal understanding of how to manage change’. By having the Change Management Foundation and Practitioner qualification you have a ready answer to both of these requirements.
A qualification is evidence of your continued professional development and makes you a less risky hire than someone who performs well at an interview but does not have any formal change management qualifications.
Qualifications mean you have mastered the basics and provide you with the right information to be able to develop your experience in successfully delivering change. For more information download our Qualifications white paper.
