Department of

Human Resources

Change Management
an introduction

Contents
Change Management

Why are Change Management skills

so important at MMU?

Key Considerations for Managing

Change

Change and Transition

Managers Self Assessment

Questionnaire

Tools and Resources

Change Management
There are many different types of change and different approaches to managing
change. Finding an approach that suits you and your situation goes to the heart of
being an effective and professional manager in the education sector (HEFCE, 2003).
However, whilst recognising each change situation will be unique, there are still a
number of common themes that will help ensure that the change process stands
the greatest chance of success.

Change process
Change usually involves three overlapping aspects: people, processes and culture as shown in Figure 1.

CULTURE

PEOPLE

PROCESS

Figure 1
Often, the emphasis is upon the processes. However, in order to properly embed a
change, a manager needs to balance all three of these aspects.

Why are change management skills so

important at MMU?
Organisations undergo major change approximately once every three years, whilst
smaller changes are occurring almost continually (CIPD, 2007). In this context,
managers have to be able to introduce and manage the change to ensure that
the overall objectives of this change are met, while ensuring that they support
their team through the change process, both during and after implementation.
Generally, at the same time, they also have to ensure that business continues as
usual.
Particularly given the scale of MMUs Change Agenda, having effective change
managers across the University is crucial. Managing the impact of wider
changes while also ensuring that local changes are introduced is one of the major
challenges for us as managers.

Key considerations for managing change

As a manager looking to bring about a change, the following are
key areas to think about:
What is the nature and the scope of the change?
This is the first thing to think about because it influences all your subsequent
actions. Who is the change going to impact? How are you going to keep people
informed, get their feedback and get a meaningful plan for the change?

What are the priorities for action in your environment?

Managing change involves a lot of different activities: once the options have been
considered some difficult choices need to be made about what to focus on in your
particular area/department. This applies whether this is a change imposed from
elsewhere or a change that you are introducing. What needs to be worked on first?
What must be put in place as soon as possible?

What is the nature of your team/department/other areas impacted by

the change?
It is crucial to understand how ready your team/department is to engage with
the change. If you manage change in a way that is not congruent with your
environment it will at best produce more conflict than necessary and at worse not
produce the results that you want.
Do a systematic analysis of the factors that will support progress and those that
might hinder it. This enables you to draw up a sensible action plan based on the
real environment in which you work.
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Working with people

This is the most challenging part of managing change. You need to consider how
to support people through the changes they are facing, how to empower them,
when to apply pressure and when not to. The considerations below should help
you to think this through.

How do I manage people through times of change?

HEFCE (2003) suggest that, when leaders or managers are planning to manage
change, the following key principles should be kept in mind:
1. Different people react differently to change
2. Everyone has fundamental needs that have to be met
3. Change often involves a loss, and people go through the loss curve
4. Expectations need to be managed realistically
5. Fears have to be dealt with
6. There are no easy solutions
7. Adapt processes to suit the change intended
8. Change requires teamwork and leadership (and the two are related)
9. Work with the culture (even when you want to change it)
10. Communicate, communicate, communicate

Change and Transition

People react to change in different ways, in what has been described by Bridges
(1991) as transitioning. Bridges explains this as follows:

Change is not the same as transition. Change is situational: the new

site, the new structure, the new team, the new role, the new procedure.
Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms
with the new situation. Remember that change is external and transition
is internal.
William Bridges (1991)
Bridges says that transitions can be described in three stages:

The ending
When we acknowledge that there are things we need to let go of
When we recognise that we have lost something
Example: changing your job. Even when it is your choice, there are still some
losses such as losing close working friends
Unless people can make a real ending, they will be unable to make a successful
beginning.

The neutral zone

When the old way has finished but the new way isnt here yet
When everything is in flux and it feels like no one knows what they should be
doing
When things are confusing and disorderly
Example: moving house. The first few days or even months after moving the
new house is not home yet and things are quite probably in turmoil

The beginning
When the new way feels comfortable, right and the only way
Example: having a baby. After a few months in the neutral zone of turmoil, you
come to a stage when you cannot imagine life without your new baby
People transition through change at different speeds and are impacted by the same
change in different ways. As a manager, understanding how your team members
react to change and planning how you will manage this will give any changes you
are introducing the best chance of success.
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Managing others through change

Managers self assessment questionnaire
This self assessment has been designed to help you to reflect on how you
manage change. Consider your current stage of development and any further
actions required. The tools and resources outlined at page 9 may be useful when
considering your actions.
Sharing information

True/false

Gap or action required

True/false

Gap or action required

True/false

Gap or action required

I recognise the importance of sharing information and

keeping my staff up to date about changes
I ask good questions and make sure that I have the
information I need
I take a planned approach to sharing information
I understand the importance of keeping staff updated
throughout the change (even if this is to let them know
that there has been no movement)
Influencing others
I inspire confidence in others
I am articulate when talking to colleagues
I am sensitive to and aware of my colleagues needs
I can speak persuasively when addressing a group of
colleagues
I am honest with my staff and do not hide from sharing
bad news
I am aware of the effect of body language on social
interaction
Self awareness
I am able to reflect critically on my own performance
I actively gather feedback to evaluate my own performance
I know my typical reaction to change and am able to
manage this
I am capable of accepting advice
I can accept group decisions with good grace
I am not patronising or condescending

Utilising feedback and dealing with resistance

True/false

Gap or action required

True/false

Gap or action required

True/false

Gap or action required

True/false

Gap or action required

I actively engage staff when I am bringing about a change

I listen attentively to others and am open to new ideas
I am able to control my emotions when dealing with
colleagues
I respond positively to other colleagues points
I will compromise where appropriate
I am not afraid to confront my colleagues when necessary
I am assertive
Providing support
I am able to find out how colleagues feel
I understand that others react to change differently and
have strategies to support them
I continue to learn from my colleagues
I am able to communicate optimism to colleagues in the
face of difficulties
I can help colleagues find solutions to problems
Motivating others
I give colleagues room to try things out even if it means
mistakes are made
I encourage colleagues to use their initiative
I avoid being over directive or bossy
I am good at delegating appropriately to colleagues
I provide constructive and well focused feedback
I am able to stand back and not over-organise others
I am genuinely interested in colleagues ideas and views
I am able to raise my colleagues self-esteem through
genuine praise
Cross department/team awareness
I look for and share examples of good practice/success
I consider the repercussions of any changes I am bringing
about on my team and other departments

Tools and Resources

The Development and Training Team offer a number of formal change
management sessions:
Training Courses
Leading Change (1 days for managers)
Moves, Mergers and Restructures How to support your staff (1 day for
managers)
Dealing with Change ( day session for staff)
There is also a change management module on each of the following: the Senior
Management Programme, Certificate in Leadership (Institute of Leadership &
Management Level 5), First Line Manager Diploma (Institute of Leadership &
Management Level 3) and the Team Leader Award (Institute of Leadership &
Management Level 2).
For more information, see the University Staff Development Programme or speak to
one of the Development and Training Team.

Other Resourses
MMUs Change intranet page (which is kept up-to-date with changes occurring
across the University):
http://www.mmu.ac.uk/change

Five change management principles, and how to apply them:

http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/changemanagement.html

InfoKit Change Management Toolkit (jisc):

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/change-management

National Audit Office Change Management Toolkit:

http://www.nao.org.uk/nao/change_management_toolkit/index.htm

Managing Change Toolkit:

http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/index.htm