In highly competitive and continuously evolving business environments the successful management of change can play a crucial role in a business’s success. Therefore more and more organisations are looking to find, recruit and develop certified change management practitioners to help prepare and support their workforce as they implement and experience change.In the early 2000’s the world of change management progressed from the pages of journals and academic literature to formalised job roles and functions. With job roles being created for change managers, change management consultants, change analysts’, change management specialist and so on.
Historically, the job role is one which has varied with the focus of each practitioner often varying from organisation to organisation; change initiative to change initiative. With few recognised processes or structure in place to support their goals of ensuring the people side of change initiatives met organisational objectives on time and on budget, the role of a change management practitioner was often undervalued.
The developing role of a certified change practitioner
Today the role is much more clearly defined and its impact on organisational effectiveness more widely recognised.
Research into the field of change management and the need for certified change management practitioners has provided us with a clearer list of the responsibilities required of a modern change management practitioner. Including;
- Applying a structured methodology to change management
- Supporting communication within the company
- Applying interpersonal skills to aid in tough periods of transitions
- Supporting the training of individuals and teams who will be affected by organisational change
- Ensuring change initiatives (projects) are completed on time and to budget
- Coaching sponsors, project and line managers in change management skills development
- Supporting the changes to business processes, systems and technologies
- Creating and implementing change strategies
- Minimising resistance and reluctance to adopt these change strategies from the workforce
As organisations constantly adapt and improve organisational practices to become agile it becomes more important to recognise that change is never ending. With this mindset the role of a change management practitioner must remain fluid and will require an individual who can react and respond to a company’s shifting strategic objectives.
These individuals act as internal champions helping the workforce to respond and embrace organisational change and are recognised by both senior management and lower level employees as driving business success through the better management of the people side of change.
Changing organisational structure
In terms of organisational structure, the role of a change management practitioner is still relatively new. We anticipate that the future of this discipline will involve an amplified focus on growing an organisation's internal capabilities to implement and digest an even higher volume of change.
We should expect to see even the largest organisations possessing the internal resource to respond to reactive changes in an agile and non-disruptive way through the use of dedicated internal change teams - the so-called Change Management Office (CMO) and the refinement of change management roles. The development of these roles and teams will go on to be integrated into all functional areas of the organisation and be closely linked to that of organisational project management capabilities.
The formalisation of the change management practitioner role
As the discipline of change management becomes increasingly more recognised, the demand for its integration into standard business practice becomes a driving force for certified practitioners.
As more and more organisations seek educated, experienced and well versed change management practitioners the need for a recognised standard of certification and training has become apparent.
Certified change practitioners must be able to demonstrate a deeper knowledge on the tools required for successful change management, the models that will drive internal change and the developing methodologies that will allow organisation to react not only quickly but innovatively to change.
This growing demand for experienced, tenured and structured practitioners has allowed the path for change management career progression to emerge over recent years as organisations look for the people needed to not just manage but also design and direct successful organisational change.
The Prosci certified change management practitioner course from CMC
The three day Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner Course provides participants with a methodology and toolkit for managing change in their organisations. Participants in this programme can qualify as certified practitioners of Prosci’s proprietary, market-leading research-based change management methodology.
Download the brochure to find out more!
CMC Global also works with a variety of organisations across a variety of industries and geographies to provide them with change management support and training solutions.
If you'd like to know more about how we can work directly with your organisation, get in touch!
