Menu

What Is Change Management Consulting?

Organizational coaches specializing in change management help businesses maximize the potential for success, mitigating change-related risk and improving stakeholder engagement to reach positive outcomes. Change is an integral part of business in every sector or industry, but any decisive adaptations to workplace structures, roles, management, or operations can create upheaval and anxiety.

 

Professional change management consultants can study for an organizational development certification online or as part of their ongoing professional development, assisting leadership in mapping out the change process and removing obstacles that may arise.

 

What Does a Change Management Consultant Do?

 

HR managers, CEOs, and team leaders that wish to become an organizational coach can manage the change process in-house or may want to outsource, benefiting from a broader scope of vision from a third party.

 

The aim of a change management project will vary with the nature of the adaptations being made but should be led by an appropriately trained coach to set clear goals, such as:

 

  • Improving organizational culture
  • Boosting inclusivity and diversity
  • Adopting new technological advancements
  • Updating business processes
  • Enhancing productivity or profitability
  • Implementing new efficiency measures
  • Restructuring to reflect new leadership

 

A change management consultant brings expertise in understanding the friction that naturally accompanies company-wide changes and knowledge of the underlying reasons for resistance. Coaches work alongside managers and company leaders to identify potential challenges and streamline the transition process by preemptively solving problems or coaching the workforce through the changes.

 

Why Is Change Management Important?

 

Change management is essential because every individual, from an entry-level staff member to higher-end management, needs to buy into the company vision and embrace an organizational change for it to be successful. Every business will need to affect change at some point, whether adapting to new manufacturing processes, combining departmental resources, expanding into new service areas, or revising organizational infrastructure.

 

The common denominator is that people are often resistant to change, and pushback can damage the change process or be reflected in poor buy-in or engagement that is detrimental to successful change implementation. Coaches and consultants study organizational cultures, human dynamics, communication skills, and problem-solving to map out change management processes and focus on engagement from the ground up.

 

The Change Management Structure

 

Professional change management consultants follow strategic frameworks adapted to the needs of the business and the circumstances surrounding the change in question. They follow a systematic approach, working through the following steps:

 

  • Analyzing the business, defining the necessary changes, and determining the affected stakeholders
  • Identifying those who need to engage with a buy-in to the change process and selecting change ambassadors to lead the transition
  • Developing implementation plans to promote and communicate the need for, reasons behind, and driving forces for change
  • Implementing adjustments, monitoring how this impacts employee dynamics and cultures, and providing one-to-one guidance to assess uptake
  • Adapting organizational processes or making modifications where required to achieve optimal outcomes

 

The right approach depends on the size of the affected stakeholder group but always works through a phased process, from evaluating the nature of the change to ensuring it is implemented effectively.

 

The Scope of Change Management Consultancy 

 

Some change management coaches specialize in specific types of transition, whereas others provide general consultancy to assess the scope of potential organizational changes.

 

Duties and responsibilities may include:

 

  • Defining organizational readiness to implement and accept change
  • Creating communication approaches and messaging tailored to those affected, such as leadership, specific employee groups, or customers–this stage addresses buy-in and educates stakeholders about the importance and value of the changes being made
  • Monitoring and assessing feedback to help consultants liaise with managers to address priorities, adjust messaging accordingly, or reinforce change communications until successful implementation

 

Whenever a business needs to make broad-scope adjustments or transition to new ways of working, a change management consultant can create a defined pathway from initial change analysis to calculating the outcomes of a change once made. Buy-in is essential because all stakeholders, from ground-level colleagues to senior leadership, need to embrace and participate in the change process.

 

The specific duties of a change management consultant will heavily depend on the scale, focus, and scope of the change, which could vary from a switch in processes to an entirely new management structure. However, the goal is to understand the considerations, evaluate the possible repercussions, and address change resistance at each step. 

Certified NLP Coach

Program Description: The Certified NLP Coach program allows you to incorporate very powerful NLP techniques you’re your day-to-day coaching practice.

ICF Training Hours: 65

Duration: 25-weeks

Schedule: One 2-hour class per week

Includes certificate: Yes

Certified Organizational Development Coach

Program Description:

The Certified Organizational Development Coach program is an exclusive and very unique program, designed for coaches who wish to coach entire organizations with their Organizational Development and Change Management goals. This program provides you with 65 ICF training hours - more than enough for the ACC credential. Over a series of 25 weekly lectures, it prepares you to deal with volatile group dynamics across entire organizations. Topics including OD interventions, Team Engagement, Buyer Behavior of internal customers, The Tripod of Success, Ensuring Sustainability, Performance-Retention correlation, Strategies to influence behavior - and many more - are covered in detail.

Coaches are introduced to the ARCS Model, as well as to the Organizational Culture Audit Toolkit. Employee motivation, satisfaction, and productivity are discussed, as well as their impact on the performance of the organization as a whole. Students are introduced to various Change Management models including Lewin's Planned Change model, the ADKAR Change Management model, and Kotter's 8 steps of Change Management. Resistance to change and its manifestation are discussed, as is Behavior Modification.

Upon completing this program, Certified Organizational Development Coaches will have all the tools they need to affect positive transformation within organizations, and will be able to coach teams and personnel at all levels - including initiators, decision makers, influencers, and intervention implementers.

In addition to coaches who are launching their own Corporate Coaching practices, this is an essential program for HR professionals, Training and Development Professionals, Managers, and Corporate Leaders who wish to implement internal policies and OD processes to guide their companies and people through ongoing change.

ICF Training Hours: 65

Duration: 25-weeks

Schedule: One 2-hour class per week

Includes certificate: Yes

Certified Executive Coach

Program Description

The Certified Executive Coach program has been designed for coaches who wish to coach managers, executives, and corporate leaders. The goal of this program is to cultivate a deep understanding of how the executive coaching process works as well as some of the challenges that come up in executive coaching conversations.

This program has been approved by the International Coaching Federation for 32 hours, and it comprises of 12 live, instructor-led, fully interactive virtual classes offered over zoom. These classes cover various aspects of executive coaching including, but not limited to Effective Collaboration, Performance Management, Upskilling, Conflict Management, Effective Collaboration, Developing Team Members, and many more.

This program has a very unique, hands-on, experiential structure. Classes are focused on active participation by students through real life Coaching Challenges and discussions of real life executive coaching situations.

ICF Training Hours: 32

Duration: 12-weeks

Schedule: One 2-hour class per week

Includes certificate: Yes

Certified Life Coach

Program Description:

The Certified life Coach program is an essential program for anyone considering coaching as a profession. The goal of this program is to create a deep understanding of the coaching process, along with how and why it is effective in catalyzing shifts in the mindset to create positive, sustainable transformation.

The training is based on the ICF’s core coaching competencies. It focuses on skills that lead to effective coaching conversations and that are required to build a successful coaching business. It evokes awareness about how identity, thoughts, and feelings determine mindset; and why a change in Think Feel Do impacts the achievement of goals though a change in this mindset.

This program is approved by the International Coaching Federation for 95 hours and comprises 24 live, instructor led, fully interactive virtual sessions offered over Zoom. These lectures cover all aspects of coaching – topics such as Human Emotions and the Brain, Coaching through Emotional Intelligence, The Belief System, Coaching Process and Structure, Deep Listening, Setting Worthy Goals, Asking Insightful Questions, Addressing Client Resistance, Coaching Groups, The Business of Coaching, and many more. These are complemented with a library of reading and reference material, coaching challenges based on various real-life coaching situations, extensive hands-on coaching practice, and assignments designed to trigger reflection on and mastery of coaching skills.

ICF Training Hours: 95

Duration: 24-weeks

Schedule: One 2-hour class per week

Includes certificate: Yes

Class Schedule
ProgramStart DateClass TimesClass Schedule
Certified Life CoachTuesday, June 13th10:30am ET
3:00pm ET
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 2-hours, for 24-weeks
Certified Organizational
Development Coach
Monday, July 17th10:30am ET
3:00pm ET
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 2-hours, for 25-weeks
Certified Executive
Coach
Thursday, July 20th10:30am ET
3:00pm EST
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 2-hours, for 12-weeks
Certified NLP Coach
Practitioner
Wednesday, July 19th10:30am ET
3:00pm EST
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 2-hours, for 25-weeks
Platinum - ACC/PCC
Mentoring
Friday, August 18th10:30am ET
3:00pm ET
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 1-hour
for 7-sessions PLUS 3 one-on-
one sessions with mentor