Change Management: Questions to Ask Before You Begin

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Change brings risk. However, the rewards can be great.

If you plan on leading change in your organization, you need to be confident in all aspects of it. As well as studying change management courses and gaining certification, you’ll need to make sure you’re asking the right questions.

Question 1. Who Raised the Need for Change?

Looking at who raised the need for change is an important question to answer. New ways of doing things within an organization with a drive for continual improvements will have many entry points that feed into the process.

Question 2. Why Change?

Change consultants work with organizations that are continually seeking to improve. Not accepting the status quo, however, doesn’t mean making needless modifications. In fact, there will be times when altering processes simply isn’t possible. It might not even be the right thing to do.

Question3. What Benefits Do Participants Expect or Need?

Again, to emphasize the point: Making changes simply for the sake of it is clearly not sound footing. As the leader of the project, you need to clearly understand what the benefits are, what people expect, and more. Essentially, you are looking for benefits that bring value.

Question 4. What Are the Risks?

Change can bring huge rewards. However, change consultants will often counsel caution. This is because there are inherent risks, too.

You and the other project team members can avoid or minimize some of the risks. Others can be negated entirely. However, there are others that can affect the company and its people severely.

As the leader of this project, you won’t have a crystal ball as part of your change management plan. Therefore, you need a clear understanding of what the risks and challenges will be. Additionally, you’ll need a plan for what should happen in the worst-case scenario.

Question 5. What Resources Will You Need?

People are resources, as are equipment, space, and money. How much of these resources will the project need in order for it to deliver what it needs to, and on time?

As well as identifying what these resources are, you’ll also need to think through wider issues. For example, how will using these resources for this project affect the rest of the company and how it currently delivers its products and services?

Question 6. What Is the Overall Change Management Plan?

You shouldn’t attempt to make any change without a plan. You’ll find that change management plans require a great deal of information and detail. Change management courses emphasize these requirements in order to award qualifications. Moreover, they do so for a reason.

Innovations and modifications can be beneficial. However, they can also lead to unpredictable outcomes. When they do, the effects can be disastrous.

Answering These Questions Leads to Better Outcomes

Finding the answers to these questions will bring many benefits to you as the leader of a change management project. You’ll discover the metrics of success for the project. Additionally, you’ll understand both the risks and the challenges. Finally, you’ll also have a better grasp of how the changes will fit with the company’s values and aspirations.