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Launching a change management team - step four

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Prosci and the Change Management Learning Center are proud to present this tutorial series focused on launching a change management team.  The first tutorial presented data from the 2003 and 2005 Change Management Best Practices Study on change management team structure.  The second tutorial presented ways to educate your team about change management, including 2005 benchmarking results.  The third tutorial provided key messages that must be delivered prior to and while training the team in change management. 

Step four from the series, launching a change management team, highlights data from the 2005 Change Management Best Practices Report to learn from others who have gone through the process.  This tutorial addresses what leaders would do differently regarding their change management team, where change management teams report in the organization and critical gaps relating to change management readiness.  The fifth and final tutorial in the series will address change management team obstacles and how to overcome them.
 

 
Benchmarking highlights
 

 
Changes to change management team structure

Participants in the 2005 Change Management Best Practices Report cited a variety of changes they would make to their team structure on their next project.  The list below highlights the most frequently cited changes, in rank order.

  1. Include representatives from throughout the organization on the team.  Participants felt that it was important to have individuals or representatives on the team from throughout the impacted departments.
     
  2. Recruit effective team members.  Participants cited a number of desirable attributes in the composition of the team including: change management experience, commitment to the change initiatives, time to dedicate to the project and functional representation (HR, training, etc.).
     
  3. Define clear roles.  Participants stated that the team should have clearly defined roles and responsibilities in supporting the change. This includes clear structural accountability and the authority for the change management team to implement its plans.  Participants also indicated that a single individual should oversee the change management effort. 
     
  4. Provide adequate resources.  Teams indicated that they lacked both human and budget resources.  On their next project, they would ensure that change management received the resources it needed. 
     
  5. Connect to the project sponsor.  Participants indicated that change management teams needed a direct line of communication with senior leaders - especially the primary sponsor.  Suggestions included having the team report directly to the sponsor (instead of the project team) and the inclusion of key leaders on the change management team. 

 


Team reporting structure

Many change management teams from the 2005 Change Management Best Practices Report stated that they were accountable directly to the top management sponsor (see figure below).  Other teams reported to the:

  • project leader
  • project steering committee
  • project team

 

Figure 1 - Who was the change management team accountable to?
  

 


Critical gaps for project teams

Participants from the 2005 Change Management Best Practices Report cited gaps in their overall change management readiness.  These included:

  • lack of time to spend on change management
     
  • change management content mastery
     
  • training in change management
     
  • change manager leader with expertise and experience
     
  • communication content and plan
     
  • change management knowledge throughout the team
     
  • team members with experience applying change management
     
  • a proven methodology
     
  • representative agents from across the organization; local resources
     
  • project knowledge and technical training on the solution aspects of the change

 

 

Summary

This tutorial addressed change management topics from the new 2005 Change Management Best Practices Report data.  This data will assist in your effort to:

  • create an effective change management team structure
  • avoid common mistakes made by others in their change management team structure
  • fulfill critical gaps for project teams when addressing their change management readiness 

Also, best practice research shows that the change management team should be designed around the specific requirements of your unique change. There are two main readiness assessments that help determine the 'right' team structure: the change characteristics assessment and the organizational attributes assessment (both are available in the Change Management Toolkit and the CM Pilot).

For assistance about understanding how to customize change management to your situation, you can:

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Related Resources:

Best Practices in Change Management: 426 companies share experiences in managing change and lessons on how to build great executive sponsorship. Includes success factors, methodology, role of top management, communications, team structure and more. The report makes it easy to learn change management best practices and discover the mistakes to avoid when creating executive sponsorship.

Change Management Toolkit: a comprehensive change management process including templates, worksheets, assessments, checklists and guidelines - a must have for change management team members and consultants.

Change Management Pilot: a fully electronic version of Prosci's popular Change Management Toolkit with templates, worksheets, assessments, checklists, eLearning modules, ready-to-use presentations and guidelines. 

NEW - Change Management Pilot Professional:  a fully electronic version that combines the Change Management Pilot with the Change Management Guide for Managers and Supervisors and Employee’s Survival Guide - a combination that allows you to reach each level of the organization.

Change Management Guide for Managers and Supervisors: a guide specifically designed for managers and supervisors dealing with change - complete with team and individual coaching activities, best practices findings and frequently asked questions.

Change Management: the people side of change: a solid foundation in change management perspectives, theories, activities and practices.

 

 

 

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