What is a change manager? The role, responsibilities and value of a business change manager

In a world where change is the only constant, managing change effectively is a superpower every organisation needs. Enter the change manager… an often-overlooked addition to a team.

This article explores the role of a change manager, their responsibilities, and how they can add value to your organisation. Whether you’re looking into bringing in a change management consultancy, hiring for an in-house change team, or thinking of changing careers… this blog is for you!

A change manager facilitates the people side of a business change programme. They develop and manage a structured plan for transitioning an organisation – and its people – from point A to point B.

Change managers work to understand the impact of change on people. Then, they develop and deliver strategies for stakeholder management, employee engagement, training, communications, and other forms of support, such as coaching.

Change managers frequently join an organisation as part of a change management consultancy.

They can also work as in-house change practitioners. Internal roles are usually situated within a project management team, IT, or HR department.

Project management and change management are complementary skillsets. They should work closely from the start of a project to ensure people on the receiving end are set up for success.

A project manager focuses on the process, timelines, and mechanisms to implement a new system from an operational and technical perspective. Meanwhile, a change manager ensures people are supported throughout the change, equipping them with the information and skills they need to thrive.

The best change managers are proactive, flexible and great with people. They should be a fantastic listener and communicator, leading with empathy. They are well organised and have strong emotional intelligence. Often, they’ll have the ability to read a situation and understand how to approach it.

Some useful qualifications to look out for are the Prosci Change Management Certification, APMG Change Management Foundation, and APMG Change Management Practitioner. But the most important qualification for a change manager is experience and a proven track record.

Change managers often join this career path after years of working in front-line, strategic, and managerial roles, including project management, operations, and HR.

At The Inform Team, our change managers have developed their expertise through working within the NHS, pharmaceuticals, defence, finance, education, civil service, law, and media. They each have a range of successful change programmes under their belt – and understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of business change.

We’ve covered a lot of detail so far on what a change manager does, and how they can add value to a team. But if we were to boil down all of this into three key takeaways, we’d end up with the following list: