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Change Management Toolkit

 

What is Change Management?

Change Management is a defined approach to managing the people side of change, using structured plans and activities to achieve a desired change. 

An Integrated Approach 

Change management and project management components are required to implement change successfully. Change management focuses on leading people through change and project management focuses on the tasks and activities required to implement the change itself. Coupled together, proactive change management and project management will lead to successful change. 

As a way of supporting colleagues responsible for leading, managing and facilitating changes of any size at the University, a wealth of change management resources have been reviewed and curated into this toolkit. This toolkit has been designed to help you think about standard project processes and activities through a change management lens, enabling you to plan and manage both process and people aspects of change simultaneously. The aim is to integrate change management principles and activities into current ways of working, working in harmony with the natural lifecycle of a change initiative and project. 

We have identified 5 natural areas of integration:

A closer look at the 5Cs of Change

CASE FOR CHANGE

  • Creating a compelling case for change

CHANGE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

  • Creating an effective change team
  • Defining change roles and responsibilities 

CHANGE IMPACTS

  • Understanding your stakeholders
  • Understanding change impacts

COMMUNICATION

  • Creating a Communication Strategy and Plan 

CONSIDERED APPROACH

  • Measuring and evaluating acceptance and adoption
  • Creating and sustaining momentum 
  • Teaching people how to change
  • Change Management Plan 

Putting the 5Cs into practice 

We've created this Integration Chart showing how the 5Cs and associated activities relate to the project lifecycle and when they are most relevant:

  

Practical Application

We recommend that you carry out all of the activities in this toolkit for all change initiatives and projects that require people to change in some way. You should scale the activities up or down depending on the size and significance of the impact. For example, for wide scale strategic change projects, that require all staff or students to do something differently, we'd expect you to complete all activities in detail and develop and implement a comprehensive Change Management Plan. Applying the basic principles within the toolkit may be sufficient for change that is likely to have minimal impact or an impact on a small group of people.  

The Integration Chart above indicates when you should start carrying out specific activities but it's important to remember that assessments, templates and tools should be reviewed and updated throughout the lifecycle of the change initiative or project, to enable you to have a clear understanding of the impacts of the changes at specific points in the change process. 

We recommend that you review and update your change management documents and Change Management Plan before or at:

  • Project Milestones
  • Key Decision points
  • Engagement activities
  • Communication activities

Here's a list of the key documents that should be included in your Change Management Plan. 

  • Change Roles and Responsibilities 
  • Stakeholder Management and Engagement Plan
  • Impact Assessment
  • Evaluation Approach 
  • Communication Plan
  • Knowledge Transfer Plan
  • Transition to BAU Plan