Change Management Tools

What is change management?

Technology has drastically changed how nearly every sector of how the economy operates. The companies that find success in the modern era are those that can adapt to these changes. This is where change management is so important. Change management is the term used to describe the approaches that are needed to prepare and support individuals and organizations as they go through significant organizational changes.

There are numerous reasons why change management may need to take place. Some of these include changes in technology. Other reasons might include changes in consumer habits. Even acquisitions and mergers that take place between businesses can be a trigger for significant changes that require precise management. There are plenty of change management examples that have taken place over the years. 

When change management is required, it’s important for individuals, teams, and businesses to know how to handle this process effectively. The full context of the organization needs to be considered and appropriate interventions need to be thought about. Personalities and technology capabilities should also be considered. Then, appropriate solutions can be implemented that will help this process run as smoothly as possible. When it comes to the change management system, there are a few steps that need to be taken.

Change Management Steps

Now that we understand the definition of change management, it’s important to learn about the steps that are required to put together a comprehensive change management plan. In fact, there are several components of change in a change management plan. The change management process includes:

Define the change: The first step is to actually define the change that is required. What has changed in the arena that has triggered the change? When did it start? What triggered the change in the first place? Without understanding the identity of the change, the organization will not be able to respond in an appropriate way.

Determine the impact: The next step is to figure out what the impact of the change has been. What kind of impacts has the change had on the business or team as a whole? How has the change impacted the organization individually? Take a look at the day to day operations, impacts on possible clients, and the impact on the bottom line.

Develop a communication plan: It is also important to come up with a firm communication plan during this process. When change management is taking place, it is critical for everyone to be on the same page. People need to know what the changes are going to be, when they are going to be implemented, and how this is going to impact their day-to-day routine. If people aren’t on the same page, it will be hard to implement the changes effectively. 

Provide training: When change management takes place, people are going to be fundamentally impacted. They may have to learn how to use a new system or process. In order to effectively implement these changes, they need to be trained.

Offer support: Change management is difficult and there are going to be some growing pains along the way. What is going to determine success or failure is how the organization responds to these growing pains. Everyone needs to have support during this time. This may include a team of specialists who are available to help people who might have issues. A proper support structure is necessary to prevent people from getting frustrated with the process.

Measure the process: Finally, there needs to be some metrics that will help everyone figure out how the change management process is going. This means having a quantifiable system in place with various goals in mind. This might include the amount of time it takes to accomplish various tasks, production metrics, or sales numbers. The change management process and procedures will vary from plan to plan.

3 Helpful Change Management Tools

There are numerous tools available that can help teams and organizations collect feedback on the change management system, implement plans, and create training models that can help this process proceed in a smooth manner. Some of the change management software and tools that are available during this process include:

Collaboration software: Collaboration software is designed to help a group of people that are involved in a common task reach and achieve a specific goal. Change management involves a lot of group work as people get used to new faces, teammates, and processes. Collaboration software can help people get to know each other, discuss strengths and weaknesses, and implement the desired change in an efficient and effective manner. This organizational change management software can also help the team produce a change management process flow chart.

Data and analytics software: When it comes to measuring the process, this is where data and analytics are crucial. Data and analytics are among the major changes taking place in multiple parts of the industry and provide objective numbers that can help quantify how a specific change is going or how a specific strategy is unfolding. There are numerous options for data and analytics software that can make a tremendous difference in the overall success of a change management plan. 

Training software: Software change management tools can also include helpful training software. Change management plans often include the very foundation of a team or organization. Those involved in the organization may have to learn an entirely new process or product. Training is essential to the success of this change management plan. Training software can offer step-by-step instructions and help people become comfortable with their new roles, duties, and procedures. There is even free change management software that can provide teams with a head start on this process.

Do Better Work with Lessonly

The change management process can be significant and some people might have reservations about making such fundamental alterations to the structure and function of a team or organization. In order to help with this process, Lessonly helps teams provide critical and helpful training.

Lessonly allows teams to make the training process of change management easy. There are easy features that allow people to add text, create images, construct videos, create quiz questions, and more. Lessonly also enables people to practice skills that matter during the change management process. Lessonly also provides teams with the capability to measure their performances. This allows teams to continually improve during the training process with the help of these features from Lessonly. By visualizing people’s engagement with the training process, leaders can identify areas of growth and opportunities for improvement. 

Furthermore, Lessonly can even be integrated into your existing tech stack to simplify the learning and change management process. Lessonly works with Chrome, Salesforce, Zendesk, and more. People can pull in critical information right then they need it, implement information from support tickets, measure the business impact of a change management system, and tailor their training process to meet their individual needs.

Lessonly’s dedication to helping teams during the change management process has made us a leader in the industry. Get started with this quick demo to learn more about our enterprise training software and services.