Change management courses

What is Change Management?

Organisational change management comes in many shapes and forms and is driven by many different factors. The one commonality across all organisational change initiatives is that best-practice frameworks, tools, and techniques are helping change professionals manage these changes in positive ways.

Drivers

Globalization, technology, regulation, competition, and consumer demands may all drive change.

This is especially true now that Covid has destroyed many of old certainties. The ‘new normal’ involves many staff working from home. The need for organisations to pay for expensive office space is declining.

Change projects

Organisational change initiatives are implemented via change projects and programmes. These programmes enable organisational transformation to take place. For example, an IT system enables a business to become more efficient. However, the IT system could become a wasted investment if the staff do not adopt it and use it as part of their work.

Unpredictable

Changing the way your staff operate is challenging. Successful, productive outcomes are not guaranteed. Those affected can respond in many ways. These responses are especially unpredictable.

For many people, changing their working environment is unsettling and stressful. Some people may embrace it, others may resist.

Journey

Organisational transformation is like a journey. You plan a journey which takes you from your current situation to a future situation. If your staff don’t come with you on the journey, your initiative will fail.

Change tools and leadership

Tools

Change managers use tools and processes to plan, manage and support transformation initiatives. The tools you will learn to use in your change management training course serve a variety of purposes, from helping staff make a smooth transition, to overcoming resistance and ensuring desirable outcomes.

Leaders

Effective transformation requires strong communication, change management training, stakeholder management and support.

Change professionals must be leaders. They must understand individuals and help them move through what can be a turbulent time. They must provide leadership, mentoring, information, and autonomy to others in the organisation.

As a change manager you will be working with many people within your organisation. You will need to be a confident communicator with great interpersonal skills.

Change managers

Change managers are needed whenever an organisation undertakes a change project or programme that risks interrupting day-to-day operations.

Over time, employees may become accustomed to specific tools (even inefficient ones), and any change will disrupt workflow as the staff learns to adapt to new software or processes.

Change managers must help those involved understand how the change will affect their role, help them prepare for change, and finally help them adapt to changes when implemented.

Ensuring change management success

Effective change requires skilled change managers to understand business culture, language, and behaviour, and align current culture with the planned change.

Change management teams use every opportunity to reinforce positive outcomes by helping those most readily affected by the change. Individuals must be willing to adopt new behaviours and approaches. This can be difficult.

Change managers not only serve to govern change but mentor and educate staff in their new roles. In doing so, they can help businesses and employees realize the value added by positive changes to business practice more quickly.

Increasing demand for skills

To respond to technological change organisations are undertaking more projects and more programmes. In turn, this is increasing the demand for managers with the necessary skills.

Natural career progression at work

Change management is an emerging profession. There are plenty of career opportunities available. For project or programme managers moving into this arena is a natural progression.

Change management training equips you with skills

Change management training helps you gain a professional qualification. It also helps you gain a broad understanding of:

• best change practices
• change principles, methods, and processes
• how change arises
• how people respond to change
• how to design successful transformation programmes.

What is the best change management course?

There are many, varied change management courses and certifications available. At Knowledge Train, we believe that the best change management courses are those accredited by APMG especially for students working in the UK.

APMG accredits training organisations to deliver training courses and consulting services for a broad range of professional certification schemes.

APMG’s rigorous assessment process means that APMG accredited change management professionals are recognised world-wide for their commitment to delivering exceptional results.

APMG’s certification schemes, exams and accreditation services help professionals maximize their effectiveness through use of the latest methodologies and core competencies.

Successful APMG Change Management candidates can also share their success with a digital badge – a dynamic representation of their certification for use on social media and online communications.

The change management courses offered here are designed to equip professionals with the knowledge and understanding to achieve successful organisational transformation. Furthermore, holding a change management certificate will make you stand out from the crowd in the jobs market.

Formats of change management training

Instructor-led training

Change management training courses are delivered either online, through our virtual learning portal, or in-person in a traditional classroom if you attend our London training venue.

Change management courses adhere to a fixed schedule – usually 9 am to 5 pm. Training lasts between 1 to 4 days.

Virtual classroom technology

Change management online classes offer all the advantages of traditional classroom courses without the hassle of travel. You learn with the aid of a subject expert and professional trainer from the comfort of your home!

For our change management online classes, we use advanced online learning technology for our virtual classroom courses. As a student, all you need to attend an online event is a computer, and an internet connection. A webcam is optional.

Our virtual learning platform uses interactive whiteboards, chat tools, presentations, quizzes, audio, video, and break-out rooms to enhance your change management training course.

Self-paced online courses

For our self-paced change management online courses, you study at your own pace on any device, although a desktop computer gives the best learning experience.

The Effective Change Manager’s Handbook

The Effective Change Managers Handbook covers the full scope of the Change Management Institute’s (CMI) Body of Knowledge. In addition, the Handbook informs the APMG Change Management course syllabus and is a UK standard for change management.

If you purchase either an APMG Change Management Foundation classroom course or an APMG Change Management Foundation and Practitioner classroom course, you will also receive a copy of The Effective Change Manager’s Handbook. If you live outside the UK, you will receive a digital copy.

The Handbook summarizes several well-known change theories. It combines them with proven best practice change approaches and techniques. The result is a range of practical tools suitable for change managers to use on change programs.