Change Manager’s Guide:
From Job Description to Hiring Tips
If you’re reading this, congratulations!
You’ve taken the first steps to a successful transformation.
“Wait, what?” Yes – just by realizing that your big-ticket transformation might deserve the support of a dedicated change manager, you’re already two leaps ahead of your counterparts in other organizations.
The people side of change is a notoriously underestimated field. And what happens when you introduce a change without steering its responses? It falls flat. People become resistant or they simply don’t adopt the desired behavior.
It’s no surprise that 2 out of 3 transformations fail.
But did you know that projects with excellent change management are 6x more likely to succeed?
With 20 years of experience in the field of change management, this is something we – at SPRING TODAY – have experienced time and time again. A good change manager makes all the difference.
So let’s dive in, shall we? 👇🏼
A change manager is responsible for managing the people side of change by overseeing the entire spectrum of change activities.
This involves identifying the need for change, designing the transformation, setting up processes, managing stakeholders, executing the change, and monitoring the responses.
Change managers are the driving force behind organizational evolution. On this page, you will gain valuable insights about the role of a change manager, including:
Ready to embark on this transformative journey
to uncover the critical role of a change manager?
Change manager job description
Hiring a change or transformation manager is key for implementing big organizational changes. Think about structure, culture, process or technology transformations.
A skilled change manager ensures that these changes are not just implemented but adopted effectively, focusing on the ‘people side of change’ to get everyone on board. This role is a mix of generalist and specialist skills.
To make it even more complex, your job description will depend heavily on the organization and its unique change challenge.
Want to delve deeper into the roles and responsibilities of a change manager? Explore our comprehensive article on the change manager job description to learn more.
Three types of change agents
Change management is typically executed by a team consisting of different types of change agents: change managers, project managers, and change leaders.
In smaller companies, these roles often overlap, while in larger ones, they’re distinct. Take a look at the main three roles within change management:
- The project manager is responsible for the process and ensures efficient and timely delivery of transformations.
- The change manager deals with the people side of change, helping employees to embrace the changes.
- Change leaders, such as team leads or directors, drive the transformation internally, promoting its goals and leading by example. They are supported by change managers.
Roles and responsibilities
Selecting the ideal candidate for your change initiative is crucial, and requires knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of a change manager.
The underneath aspects for successful change shows what elements the change management job description is comprised of:
- Case for Change: Why do we need to change?
- Future State: What does the future look like?
- Readiness for Change: How prepared are we?
- Change Leadership: How will we lead change?
- Stakeholder and Resistance Management: Who will be impacted?
- Communications: How will we engage people?
- Training and People Development: How will we develop people?
- Business Alignment: How will we align with the business?
- Culture: How will we embed change
- Monitoring Change and Knowledge Management
A broad range of responsibilities and skills to look out for! Which begs the question: How do we hire a change manager?
A broad range of skills to look out for! Which begs the question:
How do we hire a change manager?
Hiring a change manager
When hiring a change manager, look for someone with relevant experience, team compatibility, mastery of change management methodologies, and strong interpersonal skills. Sounds like a breeze, right?
But for most organizations, attracting top talent with hands-on experience is a major challenge. Especially since these ‘change unicorns’ are not waiting around for your call. In fact, they have three new jobs lined up before their current assignment is finished.
Via LinkedIn or your network, you might be able to reach out to them directly. Or you can consider working with a specialized search & interim partner like SPRING TODAY! We have 20 years of experience in the field and are personally connected to 80-90% of the top change and transformation experts.
Interim change manager or fixed position?
By now, you might picture hiring a full-time superhero; someone who’ll permanently join your team, always ready to navigate your organization through change.
But in some cases, it might be wise to opt for an interim change expert!
In order to make the right decision, it is crucial to consider your organization’s specific needs and aspirations, as well as the type of change expertise you’ll need to attain.
Many organizations even opt for a combination of both approaches. They strengthen their in-house change capability with a fixed position and bring in expertise and fresh perspective with an interim professional.
Still deciding? Read all about the considerations and benefits of hiring a fixed versus interim change manager.
Change manager vacancies
At SPRING TODAY, we are currently hiring for a couple of leading organizations. These are high-profile jobs and assignments, which can serve as a springboard for your career. Are you ready to take the next step?
Change manager vacancies
At SPRING TODAY, we are currently hiring for a couple of leading organizations. These are high-profile jobs and assignments, which can serve as a springboard for your career. Are you ready to take the next step?