Who should be involved in change management? This article explores the critical change management roles and how each contributes to successful organizational change. By understanding these change management roles and ensuring they are effectively filled, organizations can better navigate the complexities of change and achieve their desired outcomes.

What is change management?

Change management goes hand in hand with project management and is essential for the organization to get value from doing projects. One common failure point for change management is that it falls by the wayside. After project completion, no one maintains the change. To prevent this, organizations must embed change management as an ongoing discipline rather than a one-time project step.

Change management brings about change to an organization, be it a small team or an entire company. It can be a changing process, tool, or behavior. Typically, after a project has created an output, we need to use change management to ensure the organization (Business as Usual) adopts the output and uses it as intended.

Sometimes, change management is part of the project, and the project team continues until the change has been embedded. Sometimes, the project closes after the output is completed, and a new team takes over. Understanding how change management functions within a project can provide insight into how the transition phase is handled after a project completes.

Regardless of your specific circumstances, you’ll want to ensure the following responsibilities are carried out in some capacity (i.e., someone is carrying out the responsibility without having the explicit formal job title listed below).

An organization breakdown of change management roles

A change structure may look like the organizational breakdown below. Note that this does not necessarily mean these are formal job titles or line management/reporting lines but rather temporary structures for delivering the change and achieving its benefits. Each role listed below plays a unique part in the change management ecosystem, helping organizations bridge the gap between project goals and lasting transformation.

Change Sponsor

The change sponsor is accountable for the change, meaning it falls to them to ensure the change is suitable and appropriate for the organization and that there are clear benefits. The Change Sponsor can be the same person as the Project Sponsor. That is often desirable because it means that person oversees the entire chain from project to change to benefits realization.

The Sponsor should be active in the change, promoting it with stakeholders and using their authority, credibility, and connections to drive the change forward. Different changes require different levels of sponsorship involvement—some changes might require full-time involvement from the Sponsor!

Change Sponsor responsibilities include:

Define the benefits of doing the change and ensure the change effort is justified in proportion to the benefits
Create and own the vision of the future state
Provide clarification to the project manager about how/to prioritize requirements and constraints
Champion the change and being the active “face of the change” to the organization and other stakeholders (particularly senior stakeholders)
Act as the final/ultimate decision maker on the project

The sponsor must have suitable seniority and authority for the change. When discussing strategic change, the sponsor typically has to be at least at the director level. If the sponsor doesn’t have sufficient seniority, they cannot enforce decisions and will also lack the credibility to represent the change effort meaningfully.

Further, the sponsor has to understand what their role entails and be able to be as active as the change requires. They also need to have the guts to make the tough decisions. A strong sponsor presence can be instrumental in overcoming resistance and providing guidance when challenges arise.

Change Lead/Manager (the person responsible for delivering the change)

This role can have many names, but ultimately, this person implements or delivers the change in the same way a project manager would deliver a project. This can be the project manager responsible for providing the project output and the necessary associated change.

The change lead is responsible for planning all change activities and coordinating the work to ensure the change happens.

Change lead/manager responsibilities include:

Assessing change readiness at an organizational and people level
Identifying, planning, and coordinating activities to build/increase change readiness
Assessing stakeholders and planning engagement
Creating and implementing communication plans
Building a network of change champions
Monitor and control all change management activities

To be effective in this role, the change lead needs some skills and capabilities that a project manager needs, including estimating, planning, risk management, and leadership. In addition to this, they also need to understand the psychology of change and how people experience and go through change.

The change lead should also have good coaching abilities because they will likely need to support and upskill the people in the change team. From time to time, individuals in the change team will find people’s reactions to change frustrating and illogical, and the Change Lead may need to lead them through this. By taking ownership of these activities, the Change Lead ensures that all resources are aligned toward achieving change objectives.

Change management team

The change management team follows the change lead, and the project management team follows the project manager. They ensure the change tasks are carried out as planned.

The change team members:

Use their expertise and experience to carry out change management tasks
Helps the change lead identify necessary tasks, activities, and risks

The change lead must consider what expertise and experience they need in their team, just like a project manager would when leading a project. Additionally, it’s worth ensuring that the team members have at least a basic understanding of the human processes of change, i.e. how individuals react to change. Change management training might be appropriate, but the change lead can also consider if they can coach their team members. Having a well-prepared team allows for smoother execution of change-related tasks and enables quick responses to any issues that arise.

Change Champion

Champions are a necessary but often misunderstood group. Therefore, they should represent those impacted by the change because they need to demonstrate the benefits of the change. If change management as a discipline were invented today, Champions would probably be called Influencers because that is what they are. Change Champions serve as the bridge between the change team and employees, sharing feedback and inspiring others to embrace the transition.

Often, organizations hire new, fairly senior individuals to act as official change champions. This is a mistake for a few reasons:

You do not need to be senior in an organization to be a champion. The opposite is often true. If a senior person is a change champion, it can sometimes feel like the change is being made to people. A peer would have more credibility.
If you bring in a new hire to be a champion, you immediately rob them of the most essential qualities a Champion should have: credibility and trust! A champion should be someone who is already established in the community or group.
A new hire doesn’t know the organization or team. Sure, they can study org charts and process maps, but that tells the official version of how things get done. A champion needs to know how things are done, i.e., they need to understand the organization’s culture.

The change lead must build a network of champions to help them bring about change. They need to look for people who can act as influencers of the change:

Socially established, well-connected people
People with credibility and trust
Someone that other people look to for guidance or inspiration
Ambitious people who get a kick out of being ahead of the curve or who like to be the one to spot something new

Business Change Manager/Owner/Benefits Owner

This is one of the change management roles that can have many names, and it does not have to be someone’s formal job title. Here, we will use the term BCM (Business Change Manager) to align with how the role is described in the Managing Successful Programs (MSP) framework.

The BCM should be a senior individual who can take action to ensure the change is implemented and sticks. Their focus is not only on immediate benefits realization but also on ensuring that long-term, sustainable improvements are achieved. They are sometimes called Benefits Owners because they should be the people who take ownership of ensuring their part of the organization achieves the desired benefits from the change. If the change is large, splitting the responsibilities and having separate BCMs and Benefits Owners might be appropriate. A very large change sometimes requires multiple BCMs–one or even two per business function or region, for example.

Many organizations misunderstand the BCM role and hire people for the position, which often backfires. For the BCM to be effective, it must already be established in the organization. They need to be “movers and shakers,” this is only possible if they have credibility and relationships. Additionally, the BCM must be of sufficient seniority to make and enforce decisions. They may not need to be of the same seniority as the sponsor–but this is not a junior or entry-level role.

Subject Matter Experts

The business change manager may need several resources, including subject matter experts who can help them measure benefits realization. These experts bring specialized knowledge essential to evaluating and supporting change outcomes, such as understanding financial impacts, customer experience, or workforce engagement. This could be accountants for financial benefits or customer service representatives for customer satisfaction-related benefits. They may also need access to HR experts for guidance on people change and other resources as applicable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, successful change management hinges on a well-structured and collaborative approach. This involves key change management roles, each contributing to the seamless transition and adoption of new processes, tools, or behaviors. Each individual involved in the change process, from the sponsor to the subject matter experts, plays a unique role in reinforcing the organization’s transformation.

Understanding and defining these change management roles within your organization can enhance your ability to navigate the complexities of change. Clear role delineation helps prevent confusion, ensuring that everyone knows their responsibilities and how they contribute to the overall change effort. Thus, it ensures that each aspect of the change process is meticulously managed, from initial planning to benefits realization. Doing so minimizes resistance, builds a culture of adaptability, and supports your desired outcomes more efficiently and effectively.

Remember, change is not a one-time event but a continuous journey. Investing in strong change management and empowering the right people can lead your organization to long-term success and innovation.

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