Change Management

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

• Background and context
• Other sites of interest

CHANGE MANAGEMENT TEAM

• About us
• Change team contacts
• Change academy
• Events and further support

CHANGE PLANNING TOOLKIT

• Change planning toolkit

Project Management Guide

• Project management guide

Background and context

• What is change management?
• Why do we need to manage change?
  • When change is going well
  • When change is going badly
• Change management theory

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What is change management?

For any project that involves changing things – for example, changing an organisational structure, a process, or system - making change happen will depend on people. This means paying close attention to all those involved with or affected by the change, as people’s willingness to embrace change will have a very large influence on the project’s success or otherwise.

Change management is a term for the set of activities focused on working with and preparing people for the change that will be driven through by a given project. Change management explains why it is important to work through people and provides tools and methods for doing this.

The ultimate aim of actively managing change is to ensure that everyone affected by the change understands why it is happening, what value it will bring and their role in it.

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Why do we need to manage change?

Change, whether positive or negative, has a profound impact on the workplace and therefore it is important that we manage change well. The need for change management has become more prevalent due to the volume and frequency of changes faced by the University today. Change management can support a range of change projects, including the implementation of a new process, system, structure, or technology and the establishment of a new working culture or set of values in a particular area.

When change is going well:

• Champions of the change naturally emerge in support of the project
• New relationships and connections may form where they were previously non-existent and positive alliances are strengthened
• Staff feel involved and empowered to implement changes in their area
• Staff feel positive about the opportunities and potential of the change and the benefits it will bring to them, their teams/department, faculty and/or organisation.
• Staff understand the reasons behind the change (even if they don’t agree with the change itself)
• Managers own and are in control of the change
• Staff believe their concerns are tackled and handled appropriately
• Staff are motivated and positive about the process of change and feel comfortable with the general sense of change.

When change is going badly:

• People misunderstand/misinterpret/misrepresent the change
• Managers feel disempowered and may be anxious about the change
• Staff don’t feel engaged with the change and have a sense that it is being “done to them”
• Staff feel powerless to instigate changes in their area
• Staff distrust the messages given and believe that the organisation cannot deliver on its promises
• Some individuals will react badly, and talk about the project in a overly negative way

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Change management theory

You may be interested in understanding more about the theory of change as there are many theories and ideas about change management and the best approach to take, from Lewin's three stage process and Kotter's eight steps to Senge's book 'The Dance of Change'. The team are happy to help you learn more about the range of change theories available, but you may find it helpful to begin with your own web search as there are a wide range of web sites available which contain lots of information, including:

• JISC infoNet
• Business Balls
• CIPD

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