Working in organisational change, I have regular discussions that confirm change is not just common; it's a constant. Organisations that adapt to change efficiently gain a competitive edge. Individuals who adapt to difficult circumstances early build resilience and create new opportunities. Building a high-performing change management team is crucial in ensuring organisational capability and supporting individual adaptability. This blog post will discuss effective strategies for creating and leading a team that excels in managing change, keeping your organisation resilient and future-ready.
Understanding Change Management Teams
Change management teams oversee the planning, execution, and evaluation of change initiatives within an organisation. These teams encounter challenges like portfolio reshuffling, resource scarcity, resistance to change, communication hurdles, and the need for department-wide collaboration.
Creating a successful team requires careful planning and strategies that leverage both individual and group strengths. Organisations like Prosci, McKinsey, Project Management Institute and Gartner consistently publish research showing that organisations with mature change management processes see a 70% success rate in change initiatives, compared to just 34% in organisations with less mature processes.
1. Define Clear Roles and Responsibilities
To form a high-performing change management team, clearly defined roles and responsibilities are essential. Each member should understand their specific contributions, which minimises confusion and boosts accountability.
For example, responsibilities might be divided by project, or if one team member is responsible for stakeholder communication while another focuses on training, both areas will run more smoothly. It's also important to stay flexible. As change occurs, roles can shift, and team members should be ready to adapt. Teams with defined roles increase productivity by reducing overlap and improving efficiency.
When stakeholders and business people are seconded to work on the change project, it's important to clarify roles and responsibilities with them too. All members of the change team need to appreciate that everyone's contribution is valued, and how each member will fit in with the others. Without clarifying roles and responsibilities it can be unfortunately common that team members duplicate each others' efforts, experience conflict or hold unstated expectations about each other's workload and deliverables.
2. Foster Open Communication
Effective communication is the backbone of successful change management. Create an environment where team members can freely express their thoughts and concerns. Encourage regular team meetings to discuss progress, setbacks, and generate collaborative solutions.
Enhancing communication can incorporate collaboration, file sharing and video conferencing tools, promoting transparency and continuous updates. Organisations that foster open communication achieve more effective change initiatives compared to those that do not.
Change management can be a politically sensitive profession in which to work. If change management teams have a safe space to vent and discuss difficulties, they are more able to quarantine their setbacks to conversations within the team. This enables teams to support each member in processing negativity, creating solutions, and renewing their positivity with stakeholders and people impacted by the change.
3. Build a Diverse Skill Set
A strong change management team needs a variety of skills and perspectives. Recruit individuals with different backgrounds - like project management or communication -and focus on emotional intelligence. Diversity leads to innovative solutions and a more robust approach to challenges.
For instance, a team member with a background in data analysis can interpret employee feedback metrics, while another with experience in negotiation can handle stakeholder discussions effectively. Teams with diverse skill sets outperform more homogenous teams in terms of meeting deliverables and internal customer satisfaction.
4. Invest in Training and Development
Even high-performing teams benefit from ongoing improvement. Invest in training programs that enhance team members' skills in areas such as change management methodologies and leadership. This can include team or individual coaching, workshops, certifications, or online courses.
Providing ongoing learning opportunities demonstrates to the team that continuous improvement is valued, and prepares them for current and future challenges. Further, a focus on employee development results in an increase in employee retention. This in turn enables the team to keep building capability over time.
5. Establish Clear Metrics for Success
To determine the impact of change initiatives, define clear metrics for success. These should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Consider factors such as employee engagement, stakeholder feedback, project objectives and the initiative's overall effect on performance.
Regularly reviewing these metrics enables teams to see what works and identify areas for improvement. This approach not only optimises initiatives but also fosters motivation. Through tracking and reviewing performance metrics, teams can focus on techniques that have been proven to work, thereby increasing project success rates over time.
In addition, when change teams track metrics, they can build an objective database of tangible performance; and demonstrate their value in terms of benefit achievement and other influential KPIs.
6. Encourage a Positive Team Culture
Creating a positive team culture fosters collaboration, creativity, and commitment. Encourage team activities that build bonds and recognise individual achievements. Create an inclusive environment where all members feel valued.
Incorporating a culture of experimentation—where failures are seen as valuable learning opportunities—can spark innovation. Teams with strong psychological safety are far more likely to be high-performing.
7. Leverage Technology and Tools
In our digital age, utilising technology is crucial for facilitating change management. According to Agencia Change's rolling Challenges and Priorities survey, most change teams repurpose existing project management, office and collaboration software to enable clear tracking of tasks and timelines.
However, there is a growing suite of specially designed change management tools available to assist change teams in producing a portfolio or single view of change, sometimes called an enterprise view of change (EVOC), across the organisation.
Ensure your tools align with your team’s workflows and help streamline processes. Teams that leverage technology effectively are more productive than those that don’t. By investing in the right tools, your team can focus more on strategic tasks rather than getting bogged down in administrative work.
8. Engage Stakeholders Early
Engaging stakeholders from the start of the change process is vital. Identify key stakeholders early and involve them in discussions. Their insights can shape the initiative direction and improve buy-in.
Providing regular updates and feedback opportunities fosters a sense of ownership among those affected by the changes. This approach can reduce resistance to change by up to 50%, according to research regularly published by Prosci.
To effectively engage stakeholders, change teams need to develop and practice a complex blend of empathy, technical understanding of the current and future state approaches, and holding stakeholders and leaders accountable for their roles and behaviours during change.
Many stakeholders resist being held accountable to their agreed role in creating and leading change. However, teams can improve stakeholder skills through developing negotiation and influencing, crafting detailed change impact analyses, and starting each project with an effective high-level analysis of stakeholder needs, concerns and issues in upcoming changes.
9. Monitor and Celebrate Progress
Monitoring progress and celebrating milestones are essential for maintaining morale. Recognising achievements reinforces commitment to the goals of the initiative.
Celebrate successes—big or small—through team gatherings or shout-outs during meetings. Highlighting successes can boost team morale and motivation. Organisations that recognise employee contributions see an increase in satisfaction, productivity and retention.
Wrapping Up: Build and Lead a High-Performing Change Management Team
Building and leading a high-performing change management team is an ongoing commitment. Establish clear roles, foster open communication, and invest in training to empower your team to manage change effectively.
As change is inevitable, implementing these strategies can help ensure your organisation remains agile and ready to thrive. Remember, an effective change management team doesn’t just manage transitions; it leads others in embracing change. This proactive approach can transform your organisation and set it on a path to lasting success.
For assistance in designing your change management function, establishing your change management team, or improving outcomes, contact Agencia Change to discover how we can help.
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