Course: Building Change Management Project Plans
Course Outline: Practical Change Management Project Planning for HR Managers & Emerging Leaders
Who For
- Primary audience is HR managers, emerging leaders and project leads accountable for delivering change initiatives in medium to large size businesses (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane mix).
- Secondary audience is program managers, change practitioners and people leaders who need a better understanding of practical planning tools.
- Level: Intermediate, assumes basic awareness of project management practices and organisational design principles; this isn't a primer but also not just suitable for consultants either
Preferred length and format
- Length: 3 × two hours of virtual live workshops across three weeks (ideal frequency: one workshop per week to allow for application in between).
- Reasoning: Short, focused sessions meet busy calendars and promote iterative application and feedback. Engages distributed teams across Australia.
- Optional add on: half day face to face consolidation day for one location (Sydney) for cohorts who want a blended wrap up.
Meetings
- Primary delivery: Virtual live, facilitated based with break out exercises and templates you can use.
- Optional hybrid components: Pre recorded micro learning on a 20 to 30 minute module for job specific tasks; download workbooks and ready to use templates; optional on site coaching clinic post training roll, up sleeves for when you are in implementation mode!
Price and versatility considerations
- Price: $495 incl. GST per person for standard 3×2 hour program (aka cohort, min.10, max 30 per programme)
- On site consolidation delivery locations: Syd/Mel/Bris, additional travel fees apply elsewhere
- Platform: Zoom (MS Teams if needed)/breakout rooms/polling
- Materials: Participant Workbook (PDF), Stakeholder Matrix template (Excel), Comms Plan template (Word), Risk Register sample (Excel) & pre/post surveys online
- Logistics/Prerequisites: participants required to bring one live change they are working on, small group coaching will use those real projects.
High level program outline
- Equip HR managers and emerging leaders with a practical, repeatable methodology for developing and delivering a change management project plan that meets the needs of both technical rigour and human engagement.
- Take participants from theory to practice, walk away with a partially populated, fit for purpose plan to adjust in their workplace.
Learning objectives (behavioural and measurable)
By program end, participants should be able to:
1. Diagnose current situation and gaps RBM with help of a rapid assessment methodology (pre/post confidence survey, target +30% uplift in adopted behaviour).
2. Develop short change vision, objectives and success criteria with business results (validated through provision of a one page Change Brief).
3. Mapping and prioritising of stakeholders with defined engagement strategies (e.g. Stakeholder matrix completed through by facilitator review).
4. Develop an incremental timeline with deliverables, resources and budget plan (to be expressed in a 90 day milestone plan).
5. Develop role specific communication and training plans (measured by review of job specific communication templates).
6. Define KPIs and measurement framework (defined on 3 to 5 kpis and pre/post measurement plan).
7. Use basic risk management and resistance management techniques (in session role play scoring; target = 70% pass on scenario handling).
8. Conduct "go/no go" readiness check and adapt the plan (manager observation or peer review of the consolidation).
Why this works (short opinion)
- Most businesses make planning far too complicated or worst, do not start on people work until it is necessary. A succinct, practical plan is always preferable to a perfect, unread one.
- Counterpoint: But sometimes you do need a heavyweight plan. But not for every roll out. Know when to use the toolkit.
Programme structure and session breakdown
Pre work (30 to 45 minutes, completed before Session 1)
- Pre course survey (your current change maturity, your top three risks to achieve the project benefits and who they are?)
- Read/scan a one page change brief template
- Think about a real life change to bring to our sessions
- Watch a 12 minute micro module "Why people resist & what to do about it" prep.
Session 1 Setting the stage (2 hours)
Goal: Understand why the change is important, determine current status and goals.
1. Introduction, results and mini case study (10 minutes).
2. Quick tool to assess state of the world right now, aka live exercise in breakout rooms (25 minutes).
Template, Process/people/tech checklist Culture heatmap.
3. Developing a compelling vision and SMART objectives for change (20 minutes)
Workshop: Write out your 2 sentence vision and 3 SMART project objectives.
4. Stakeholder mapping basics (30 mins).
- Action: complete a 2×2 Influence/Interest map; recognise top 5 and early win opportunities.
5. Prioritisation and initial risk scan (20 minutes).
- Use a basic impact/likelihood matrix.
6. Fast homework and application activity (5 min).
Materials: current state worksheet, vision template, stakeholder matrix.
Session 2, Designing the plan (2 hours)
Goal: Create the body and bones of the plan, timelines, communications paths, training, resources.
1. Recap; hotspots the participants have in theirs hands from pre work (10 min).
2. Milestones and 90 day sprint planning (30 minutes)
- Output: sequenced milestone plan with owners and decision points.
3. Communication strategy, audiences (who), channels (what), cadence (when) of communication (25 minutes).
- Exercise: Trainers draft two messages for specific audiences; one message written for executives in the Organisation, and another that will be directed toward frontline employees, Then pick channels.
4. Training and capability uplift plan (25 mins).
- Rapid gap analysis; choose modality for leadership development through training (micro learning; role shadowing, OJT coaching.
5. Budget and resourcing (20 minutes).
- Basic budgeting worksheet: line items, contingency.
6. Breakout clinics: peer feedback on 2 minute speed presentations (10 min).
Materials: 90 day plan template, communications grid, training matrix, budget outline.
Session 3, Execution, monitoring & readiness (2 hours)
Key goals: execute with confidence, monitoring change metrics, tactics for resistance and final plan adjustments.
1. Short summary and show and tell (15 min.), the members present one reworked artefact.
2. KPIs and measurement framework (25 minutes).
- Identify leading vs. lagging indicators; establish baseline and targets.
3. Resistance management and change champions (25 minutes)
- Roleplay: manager conversation + peer review.
4. Readiness checklist & go/no go decisioning framework (20 minutes)
- Template: People readiness Process readiness Tech readiness
5. Iteration and continuous improvement (15 minutes).
- So how to do short retros and get feedback fast.
6. Action planning and next steps, cohort commitments (10 min).
Assets: KPI dashboard template, readiness checklist, champion brief.
Optional day to consolidate, In person half day (4 hours) workshop
- Deep dive clinics, leadership alignment simulation, executive briefing rehearsal and tailored coaching for the participant's highest priority projects.
- Outcomes: polished Change Plan (one pager + appendix).
Assessment, evaluation and follow up
- Pre/post confidence survey (quantitative + qualitative), sent before Session 1 and after Session 3.
- Artefact submission: submit a one page Change Brief, stakeholder map as well as a 90 day milestone plan by one week post Session 3.
- Roleplay scoring: assess resistance management simulation during Session 3.
- Manager check in: optional manager observation form to complete four weeks post programme.
- Success metrics: course success measured via completion rates, uplift in confidence (target +30%), and at least 60% of participants submitting usable artefacts within one week.
Facilitation and trainer notes
- Style to deliver in: practical, coaching, a little bit straight talking everything should be preferable! Short inputs, applied exercises and peer coaching mix.
- 1:15 trainer to participant ratio recommended for effective breakout coaching focused on practice in small group context.
- Trainers pre course briefing: read organisational context brief of participants; prior change efforts list and leadership sponsor list Pre course tasks for participants caused buy in, ask: What do you want from the programme? Mix modalities: a little lecturing, some polls, breakouts and roleplays.
Core templates and tools participants take away
- Change Brief (1 page)
- Stakeholder Influence/Interest matrix (Excel)
- Communication Plan grid (audience, message, channel, owner, cadence)
- Risk register with mitigation actions (Excel)
- 90 day milestone and resource plan (Gantt lite), KPI dashboard (PowerPoint or Excel)
Since the desktop course in 2016 Download:
- Readiness checklist A one pager to score all factors that will determine if a change is ready to go live. … and use!
- KPI activity This spreadsheet has these inbuilt:
- Benchmarking markers of excellence so you can calibrate your current progress against the best available data.
- Tracking mechanism to record performance month by month for at least a year
- Behaviour observation sheet And then compile microlearning aimed at improving performance over time
Admin steps for course delivery/hints as well as assignment mode should they be asked
- Case study note Catching you up on some inspirational stories about how great companies went through significant changes successfully recently. With this whitepaper we hope you can pinch small elements from all of them. Dozens more notes on digital resources upon request. Students who complete the pre read toolkit have been known to escape… The goal with this pre course work book was to make its design seem interesting enough students might surprise themselves!!!
Applied activities and learning methods
Real project peer clinics
Participants bring their own live changes
Apply templates
Role play scenarios reflecting Australian workplace situations
Frontline Unionised team
Geographically spread out staff
Regulatory constraints
Micro case studies
From finance
Retail
Public sector
Positive examples only
Small group coaching
Facilitated reflection
The vital improvement comes from doing / failing safely alongside peers
Their biggest challenges
Plausible solutions
Metrics planned
Actions
Experiments accomplished
Both protagonists reconcile what they have learnt
That means when they return home
CBA Tenix Boral Toyota amp Art Gallery Victoria Viva energy Nab EY Westpac BlueCross Wellways Tennis Australia EGWG Asqa Latrobe Health epic.
Audience adaptations
- For frontline staff leads, simplify the templates and focus on immediate behaviour change; peer support models.
- For senior execs, Abstract up to a 2 hour Executive Briefing focussed on sponsorship, decision points, expected ROI.
- For HR teams, Fold in Half Day module addressing how change governance integrates into HR processes (people metrics; reward alignment).
Measurement & KPIs to observe post programme (examples)
- Adoption KPI: % of target users actively using the new process within 90 days (target depends on project, set a benchmark).
- Behaviour KPI: % of managers conducting weekly check ins linked to change, (target 80%).
- Outcome KPI: link back to Business metric (e.g., reduction in process time, rise improvement in NPS score output/bonus increase.
Common traps and how this training addresses them
- Trap: too many tools, not enough communication. Fix: focus on targeted, role based message.
- Pitfall: too many stakeholders in decision loops; Fix: know the owner of decisions, as well as where gates are escalated.
- Pitfall: no concrete end vision. Fix: incorporate KPIs out of the gate.
- Pitfall: training is an afterthought. FIX: make training part of role based competency checks.
Subtle controversial opinion (deliberate)
You don't need a huge change team to deliver effective change. A focused, well defended core with an obvious ramp up trumps a committee any day. Some will argue, they adore governance by committee. That's their call.
Scaling This Programme in an Organisation
- Run multiple cohorts in parallel, with common community of practice.
- Monthly alumni clinics for peer support and problem sharing.
- On demand coaching hours for high risk projects.
First 90 days expected results
- A one pager Change Brief for each involved project
- Plan for the first 90 days & plan with stakeholder's involvement and verification
- Quick wins, early visibility items (executive summary) agreed improvement needs / indicators for change readiness/communication.
Sources & Notes
- Prosci. (2020). Best Practices in Change Management (11th ed., Benchmark Report). Prosci.
- McKinsey & Company. (2015). How to defy the odds of transformation. McKinsey Quarterly.
- NB: The statistics and benchmarks are referred to in change literature presented as a shift rationale. If a custom engagement is required that uses local Australian data we (the facilitators) ask for a brief organisational diagnostic to individualise examples and targets.
End.