If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this I would be rich - very rich

'Can you just put together a comms plan? That's what change is right?' yep every time. The first thing that is requested and the last thing a Change specialist wants to hear. A change specialist is more than a communications person, but that seems to be the only thing expected. So if you have just hired a Change Manager, here is a quick overview of what they will deliver.

Change activities vary depending on who is impacted, how they are impacted and the culture of an organisation. So a Change Manager will be responsible for conducting an impact assessment - first at a high level based on the high level overview of the change. They will be asking 'why are we doing this?' not to challenge but to elicit messages about the 'why' they can put together. They will also be assessing how to measure the change.

Once the details are known they will deep dive and conduct a detailed impact assessment so they can put together a comprehensive Change and communications plan so the impacted individuals can move through the change as easily as possible with the right support.

Here are some common activities used in change programs:

1) Briefings for an overview of the change

2) Training for capability development

3) Live a 'day in the life of' - walkthrough of the 'future state'

4) Forums - to bring the organisation together

5) Buddy systems 

6) On the job coaching 

7) Insight sessions

8) Brown bag sessions

9) Panel discussions

10) Hackathons

just to name a few. Depending on the size of the change, the type of change -operational or transformational, and the creative ability of the Change Manager.

So the next time you meet with your change manager, a better question would be - 'How have you assessed the change and what is your plan for us to lead it?'