Tool Time Event Recap

On September 12 Jen Olson Lund, Vanessa Simpson, and Heather Lehmann hosted the second event in our tool time series, “Change Tool Time: Bringing the ACMP Standards to Life!” This series is focused on interactive & collaborative learning where you learn about, share, and discuss various tools, processes, and/or assessments that support a specific phase in change projects, using the ACMP Standard as the guide.

Participants in this session explored the second section of the ACMP Standard – Formulate the Change Management Strategy. Co-host Vanessa Simpson commented that the room was filled with a “lively bunch of participants who are passionate about change management.”

Breakout groups were formed and participants dug into the first topic of the evening: “What inputs do you need to formulate your change management strategy?” When the groups shared back their discussions a number of themes emerged:

  • Understanding the current state (processes, systems & structures) 
  • Knowing the vision for the change 
  • Identifying sponsorship, influencers & change agents 
  • Understanding the culture and mindset around change 
  • Knowing the risks and regulations that may impact your strategy 

The second topic for discussion was around the process for developing your change management strategy. There was general agreement that broad engagement was needed to gather the inputs noted above, achieved primarily through conducting interviews and reviewing artefacts. When it came to reviewing and sharing the strategy, the group had an interesting discussion around who the change management strategy is actually for: sponsors, partners within the project team (e.g. project managers), other partners (e.g. HR), the front-line, or simply the change management practitioner themselves. Some suggested that everyone receive a high-level version, and that those who need to action a portion of the strategy get more detail.

For the last topic, participants reviewed examples of tables of contents from change management strategies. The big “ah ha” from the conversation was that the strategy needs to be flexed to accommodate the needs and the change maturity of the organization.

Participant Anson Leung said of the evening, “It was good to meet other change management professionals and share ideas. It helps to confirm what you’re doing isn’t out of left field and know that similar approaches are being taken in other organizations.”

We look forward to hosting the next event in this series soon – check out our Events page for the most up-to-date listing of our events! Thank you to Vanessa, Heather and Jen for spearheading this series and hosting the evening.