Change Manager Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a change manager. Feel free to use our change manager job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a change manager.
Who is a Change Manager?
A change manager’s primary responsibility is to ensure that their company’s personnel adapt to various change efforts and projects swiftly and effectively. They primarily concentrate on how changes to corporate systems and procedures, as well as the introduction of new technologies, influence existing employees and develop management strategies to lessen employee resistance to change. An organizational change manager’s job is to set up mechanisms that encourage staff to swiftly adopt new technologies and methods of completing particular tasks, with the goal of increasing the company’s return on investment.
Employees’ reactions to various changes are not usually observed by the change manager. Instead, they train the company’s senior management to provide assistance and coaching to lower-level managers and supervisors, who then assist employees with the changes directly.
By promoting employee acceptance and utilization, a change manager can help ensure that projects (change initiatives) reach their goals on time and on budget. This person will be responsible for the human aspect of change, which includes changes in business processes, systems, and technology, as well as job roles and organizational structures. The main task will be to develop and implement change management methods and programs that optimize employee adoption and use while minimizing opposition. The change manager’s goal is to accelerate staff adoption, ultimate use, and proficiency with changes. Benefits realization, value generation, ROI, and attainment of results and outcomes will all improve as a result of these enhancements.
While the change manager may or may not have supervisory responsibilities, in order to succeed, this person will need to collaborate with many others in the business. The change manager will assist top leaders and executives in fulfilling their responsibilities as change sponsors by acting as a coach. As they assist their direct reports through transitions, the change manager may provide direct support and coaching to all levels of managers and supervisors. Project teams will also benefit from the change manager’s assistance in incorporating change management activities into their project planning.
Changes can be in the form of:
- Transitional modifications are changes that a corporation makes to modify the way it works while maintaining most of its current state.
- Transformational change entails a full reorganization of a company’s current activities.
- Developmental changes: Changes made to improve a company’s existing operations are referred to as developmental changes.
Good change management can help a firm succeed by guiding it through the process of implementing changes and achieving desired objectives.
Change Manager Job Description
Below are the change manager job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a change manager job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a change manager include the following:
- Gathering and analyzing operational data in collaboration with management.
- Developing change management solutions to cut costs, boost income, and boost efficiency.
- Evaluating the proposed modifications’ cost structures and financial impact.
- Consulting with employees, as well as recognizing and handling potential opposition.
- Creating communication and training plans to ensure that the approaches are implemented smoothly.
- Assisting with the restructuring of the staff component in order to maximize the project’s effectiveness.
- Monitoring and reporting on the implementation process to management.
- Training managers and supervisors to increase implementation communication.
Qualifications
- A bachelor’s degree in business administration, human resources management, or a similar subject is required.
- Change management principles and procedures are well-understood, as is experienced with them.
- Business management, statistics, analytics, and spreadsheet software such as Excel are all required skills.
- Knowledge of modeling and predictions in depth.
- Ability to persuade people and work together to attain a common goal.
- Excellent communication abilities and the capacity to form lasting bonds.
- Exceptional problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
- Excellent time management, project management, and organizing skills.
Essential Skills
- Organization
Another ability that might help with change management is organization. Organizing a range of information, such as personnel responsibilities, project goals, deadlines, and other critical information, is necessary for creating a clear change management plan. Understanding how to use planning software to manage the details of your company’s future transformation might be beneficial.
- Listening
Another important ability for change management is active listening. Throughout the process of organizational change, be sure to listen to employee feedback. This can assist your firm in making a change that is supported by all parties involved, resulting in a more effective transition. It’s critical to set aside time to listen to employee feedback and actively seek it out.
- Skills in analysis
Change management necessitates analytic abilities as well. Analytical abilities can help you understand your research and make the best decisions for your business. For example, you could use financial data from your organization to assess how a proposed change will influence sales.
- Management of a project
Change management can benefit from project management abilities. Project management experience can help you grasp all of the parts of implementing an organizational change, including the change management plan, resources, outcomes, accountability, and other factors. Skills in project management can also assist you in assessing your change and determining how to keep it on track.
- Research
You can assist your firm plan for change by honing your research skills. To come up with suggestions for your company’s modifications, examine change management methods and procedures employed by other firms. You can also conduct study on your company’s history and data trends in order to develop the most effective organizational change strategy.
- Strategic thinking
Strategic thinking is a valuable talent that can aid in the development of change management strategies. It’s critical to be able to comprehend your organization’s needs and how a change can meet them. This way, you’ll be able to create a solid strategy for guiding your firm through the transition. You could incorporate the following in your strategy:
A chronology of the transformation.
A set time for the completion of the transition.
Each employee’s responsibilities.
Arranging necessary tasks required to make the adjustment.
- Communication
Great change management also necessitates excellent communication. It’s critical to inform employees on why your firm is changing and what they need to know to perform their jobs. You can do this by creating messaging that communicates the details of the transition to everyone in your company. It’s also crucial to check in with employees on a regular basis during the transition to answer their questions and provide feedback.
- Interpersonal and communication abilities
It’s crucial to be able to communicate and articulate ideas, thoughts, and insights to a diverse collection of stakeholders. A change manager is frequently called upon to present plans and methods to senior leadership teams, line managers, and employees, as well as to write communication messages such as newsletters, emails, and town hall content. A change manager must be able to engage with a wide range of people and have interpersonal skills in addition to communication abilities. A change manager’s ability to establish, cultivate, and maintain positive working relationships is critical.
- Leadership
Leadership is an important aspect of change management. It’s critical to guide employees through organizational changes and assign positions to the appropriate individuals. These are qualities a good leader should have:
Honesty and transparency: Be honest and transparent with your staff about why a change is occurring, since this will strengthen their commitment to the change.
Motivation: Good leadership abilities can assist you in motivating staff to carry out their responsibilities in a transition.
Vision: Leaders should have a clear vision, therefore having a clear goal for organizational transformation and expressing what you want your company to accomplish is beneficial.
- Technical abilities
Any discipline can produce a change manager. Individuals with experiences in project management, human resources, learning and development, organizational development, information technology, and business process re-engineering are common candidates for change management certifications. A change manager is familiar with the dynamics of change, as well as tools, processes, and approaches, and can use them in a variety of situations. They are aware of how people react to change and may use this knowledge into their methods. A change manager must be able to connect the change strategy and plans with larger change plans, which may be controlled by the project or program manager. It’s critical to understand how change activities fit into the overall project or program strategy.
- Adaptable and flexible
The process of implementing change is rarely uncomplicated. Despite the finest planning efforts, implementation does not always go as expected. To make the necessary modifications in their approach to correspond with the changing context, a change manager must be adaptable and flexible.
- Team player
The change manager will almost always be working as part of a team. It is critical for them to be able to collaborate with and via other team members. Because team members may not completely comprehend the benefit of change management, the change manager will need to continually educate their colleagues on the need of ensuring that those affected by the change are sufficiently supported and prepared to achieve the intended outcomes. It’s critical to highlight how the change contributes to the team’s overall benefits and successes, as well as the value you provide to the team in achieving the team’s objectives. Because the change manager frequently works as part of a team, the ability to collaborate with and through its members is vital. Because many people are unfamiliar with change management, the change manager must constantly educate colleagues on the importance of effectively supporting those affected by the change and equipping them to achieve the desired outcomes. It’s critical to explain how the change workstream contributes to the overall success of the change project, as well as the value you bring to the team in terms of achieving team objectives.
How to Become a Change Manager
- Obtain a bachelor’s degree
Most change managers have at least a bachelor’s degree, despite the fact that it is not a formal prerequisite. Organizational behavior, organizational development, and organizational psychology are some of the most relevant degrees. Given that change managers come from subjects such as management and business administration, any degree in these fields is also relevant for a future job in organizational change management.
- Get some work experience.
Most change managers have worked in a corporate middle management capacity, as this is a great method to learn about how individuals, teams, and senior employees interact, what difficulties they face, and how they react to change. Working as a change agent, a lower-level alternative to a change manager is an alternative to moving to a middle management position if you work in an entry-level or junior function. A few years of experience in either function should boost your chances of landing a job as a change manager greatly.
- Obtain the appropriate certificates.
Aside from getting a bachelor’s degree, getting a change management certification can help you increase your chances of landing a job as an organizational change manager in the future. The Association of Change Management Professionals, for example, offers a Certified Change Management Professional course that provides specific change management training, but it’s only open to college graduates with three years of experience in the field or high school graduates with at least five years of experience in the field.
- A master’s degree in change management is a great way to get forward in your career.
Although many organizational change managers do not have a master’s degree, having an MBA or a master’s degree in change management might help you stand out among candidates with similar professional experience and credentials.
- Begin looking for open positions in the field of organizational change management.
You’re ready to hunt for organizational change management positions if you’ve completed the relevant education, certifications, and work experience. If you already work for a company that has such a job on its payroll, inquire about the potential of internal hiring. Alternatively, you can create an online network of change management professionals and search job boards for all available positions.
Where to Work as a Change Manager
- Hospitals
Change manager in a hospital removes obstacles and adaptations should be made as they arise. Make modifications and keep track of your progress. Ensure that any interconnected structures are in line with the new vision. Ascertain that change is long-term supported.
- Banks
The Change Manager takes on the role of change leader (with no direct reporting) and is responsible for the end-to-end implementation of the change management strategy and framework across the organization. For business initiatives and projects, the Change Manager will provide supervision and governance for the delivery and management of the change management strategy, structure, plan, and implementation. To identify and understand the breadth and magnitude of business consequences resulting from the changes being implemented, this job will need to collaborate with the Head of Solution Services, Head of Solution Design, Bank IT Support Manager, and Manager Support in Bank Operations. This position will necessitate the ability to identify the people dimension of change, as well as identify and manage risks and challenges, as well as identify the key change impacts to the Bank’s business as a result of transformation operations. The change manager will keep in regular contact with experts.
- IT Companies
Change managers in IT companies are in charge of initiating, documenting, and authorizing a company’s change processes. Their responsibilities also include the strategic planning of organizational development. They justify changes and reorganization by estimating costs, consequences, benefits, and risks. The change manager is in charge of creating an adequate change plan to ensure that new procedures are implemented without risk or disruption. This strategy is based on both a situational and conflict analysis.
- Business/Companies
The Business Change Manager is in charge of identifying the program or project benefits, evaluating progress toward realization, and achieving measured improvements in business operations on behalf of the Senior Responsible Owner.
Change Manager Salary Scale
As of March 29, 2022, the average Change Manager salary is $135,461, with a salary range of $116,083 to $200,866. Salary ranges depend on a lot of criteria, including schooling, certifications, supplementary talents, and the number of years you’ve worked in your field.
