Prioritize change requests, assess their impact, and accept or reject changes. They also document change management processes and change plans. Resources dedicated to change management allow you to focus and track change management activities. They act as a point of responsibility and accountability.
When budgets and schedules are limited, change management activities easily fall to the bottom of the priority list if there are no dedicated resources. The change implementer is the person or group responsible for executing the activities and tasks of the change. The implementer of the change follows the instructions and guidelines provided by the owner of the change and applies the changes to the infrastructure and IT services. The implementer of the change also performs the verification and validation of the changes and reports any problems or deviations to the owner of the change.
The implementer of the change complies with the schedule and deadline for changes, and complies with the change standards and procedures. As the face and voice behind any change initiative in a company, the change manager focuses on change initiatives that directly affect team members and customers. These leaders oversee, manage, and guide objectives to ensure that the change process moves forward on time and on budget. A change management process provides step-by-step guidance for implementing successful change in an organization while minimizing disruptions.
These complementary functions expand the execution of change management activities and help maintain strategic alignment with broader organizational objectives. The change manager also coordinates the implementation and testing of the change, manages communication and stakeholders in the change, and reports on the progress and status of the change. Change management leaders often implement communication itineraries, customized to drive employee engagement and action, by streamlining communications and training team members on the change process. To achieve these objectives, change management is based on clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the people involved in the process.
There must be greater change management to analyze the process, refine procedures, and provide feedback to team members to improve future processes. Guided by an ADKAR model, change professionals develop two function-based plans (the sponsorship plan and the personnel management plan) and then two activity plans (the communication plan and the training plan). The change director, the project manager, senior managers, the ECAB team, and the management support team play a critical role in promoting a change initiative. As technologies advance and cause the persistent need for technological, structural, operational, or strategic changes, the change management process and the key functions associated with it become increasingly essential.
Having resources dedicated to change management is one of the factors that most contribute to the success of the eleventh edition of Prosci on best practices in change management. Change leaders in the project management department will generate accountability for team members and change agents through milestones, short term and long-term objectives. More and more data shows a strong correlation between the success of an initiative for change and the way in which people are managed. The user of change, especially the business operations team, must participate in the error game and have procedures in place to recover from any failure in business processes caused by possible change errors.
Just like in a play in which actors, directors, costume designers, and lighting and sound equipment coordinate their unique talents to achieve a single successful outcome, change management requires people who play key roles to be involved in the change and coordinate their efforts in defined ways. Change processes must be simple, well-defined, and productive to ensure that team members and leaders who play change management roles are in tune and moving toward the same goal.
