How can you help your employees to move with ever-changing organizational environment?
Perhaps one of the best ways is to train them and strengthen their capacity to cope with desired change.
People think that changes aren’t significant enough to require training and there is no need to spend money on training.
But any new initiative in an organization need some form of education and training to speed up employees’adaptation to the change.
In this article, we’ll talk about why training of change management is important and how to design training of change management for employees.
Why Training of Change Management is Important?
Following are some reasons that explain why training of change management for employees is important:
a) Training provides new skills during change process
Employees need training in change management because they are often the ones who are tasked with implementing changes within the organization. Change can be difficult for people to adapt to, so it is important that they have the skills and knowledge necessary to make the transition smoothly.
b) Increased chances of success
Training equips employees with necessary skills and latest change management tools which help them to manage change effectively. When human resource is trained and skilled then ultimately there is more chances of success of organisational change.
c) Overcoming resistance to change
There are many reasons of resistance to change. Employees resist change when they’ve fears about the unknown and uncertain future. They might have fear of losing their job or existing position in their organization. Training is the most popular way of facilitation and support that is required to overcome resistance to change. New skills and knowledge imparted to employees always help reducing resistance.
7 Steps to Design Training of Change Management for Employees
Change managers design training programs for their employees on the very onset of change initiative. These programs typically cover topics such as identifying organizational changes, understanding the impact of change on employees, developing strategies for coping with change, defining new roles and responsibilities, developing change management KPIs and learning key skills required to execute change.
Following are the seven steps that are helpful to design a robust training program of change for employees:
Step 1: Identify need of training
Any successful training program for change management must begin with a training need assessment.
Employees may have different view of change and they may need different skills and knowledge to make themselves fit into new scheme of things.
For identification and assessment of training need, managers can send out a survey questionnaire, organise a focus group discussion or hold consultation meetings with employees to know what employee think about change, what resources, skills and knowledge they want to have before starting working on change. .
Step 2: Select SMART objectives of training
The next step is to develop objectives and goals of training program based on the findings of training need assessment. For example, you may find that employees are not motivated about change idea and they are covertly resisting it. Then instead of focusing on new skills and knowledge, you must target explaining change and what is in it form them and motivation should be given special focus in training programs.
It’s important to align training objectives with overall objectives of change management. And also develop SMART objectives – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.
Step 3: Select the best training solutions
A good training program covers both technical and human side of change management. Its module include a mix of technical knowledge, skills and soft or human side i.e communication of change, leadership and importance of change for organizational and individual growth.
It’s a good thing that training options may now be accessible online. Online change management programs are more economical and let employees complete the training whenever, wherever, and on any device of their preference.
Step 4: Develop resources and training materials
The next step is take stock of all exiting inventory of training materials and resources. It may give you a starting point but you must focus on what training material will be required to meet the needs of employees revealed in training need assessment.
Training resources and material include all those content that support delivery of training i.e presentations, training manuals, audio and video material, readings, research reports etc. While developing training material, it is important to keep in mind that all these resources must be latest and updated and aligned with objectives of training and overall purpose of change idea.
Step 5. Develop training calendar
A training calendar is also required to schedule potential training days. It should be prepared well in advanced so that employees must have time to make them available for trainings.
The training calendar is not just about marking training dates on your calendar but it also include drafting a brief of training with its learning outcomes, preparing agendas with details of trainers and resource persons who are taking training sessions.
Step 6. Engage change leaders and change Agents
It’s important to include change leaders and change agents in training program for employees. The role of change leadership and change agent is crucial for success of organizational change.
Mentoring and coaching employees through training program could be one way of influencing and motivating employees to be part of change process.
Involvement of change leaders in designing of training programs is also important because it shows their seriousness and commitment toward change initiative. Their presence in such events help to boost team morale
Step 7: Asses training programs
Assessment of change management training programs need to be planned at the very start of designing of training programs. The purpose of training assessment is to measure whether training programs is on track and achieve specific objective and goals.
The assessment of change management training programs focus on knowing what skills and knowledge employees have acquired through trainings and how they’re applying this knowledge in their new positions.
It’s also important to assess that whether participants of trainings are satisfied with training materials, resources, schedule and overall methodology of training.
Change managers can also gauge effectiveness of change management training programs by tracking improvements in employees performance and productivity.
Final Words
An effective change management training program for employees is essential for any organization that wants to stay competitive in today’s business environment. The program should be tailored to the specific needs of the organizational change and employees requirements with respect to that change. Training programs should be aided with update resources and materials. Above all, change leadership must be involved in trainings to motivate employees and boost their morale that would ultimately help them to cope with challenges of uncertain change.
