Change Management and Workplace Transformation Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Change Managers, Transformation Programme Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CM-090

Before you join: Participants should have experience working in projects, operational improvement, HR, programme delivery or team leadership.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Workplace transformation fails when technical delivery is treated as the finish line. New systems, structures, policies and processes only produce value when people understand what is changing, adopt new ways of working and receive support through disruption. Change leaders must manage competing stakeholder interests, capacity constraints, resistance, operational risk and pressure to demonstrate measurable benefits.

This course develops the practical methods needed to plan and lead organisational change from initial case through implementation, adoption and reinforcement. Participants use ADKAR, Kotter’s 8-Step Process, stakeholder segmentation, change impact assessment, readiness analysis, RACI, communication planning and benefits realisation methods. They learn to define sponsor responsibilities, prepare line managers, assess workforce impacts, plan role-based learning, manage change risks and measure whether new behaviours are becoming established.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with realistic cases, facilitated group work, simulations and individual application planning. Participants begin building material for a live or planned change initiative during the first week, then improve it through peer review and instructor feedback during the second. They leave with an integrated workplace change management plan containing a charter, stakeholder analysis, impact assessment, communication plan, readiness actions, learning plan, measures and governance arrangements.

The course suits professionals responsible for introducing new systems, operating models, regulatory requirements, service improvements, restructures or culture change. It is particularly relevant where transformation affects multiple teams, locations, employee groups or external partners.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose adoption barriers using ADKAR, readiness assessments and force-field analysis
  • Define a change charter with measurable outcomes, scope, governance and benefit ownership
  • Map stakeholders using power-interest analysis, personas and engagement commitments
  • Conduct role-based change impact assessments covering processes, systems, controls and behaviours
  • Design communication, sponsorship, manager enablement and learning workstreams
  • Plan deployment waves, hypercare support, change risks and readiness decision points
  • Measure adoption and benefits using KPI trees, pulse surveys and performance dashboards
  • Produce and present an integrated workplace change management plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Confidence to structure a change initiative beyond technical implementation milestones
  • Practical evidence for leading stakeholder and sponsor conversations
  • A reusable method for diagnosing resistance and readiness issues
  • Stronger capability to prepare managers for difficult team conversations
  • A completed change management plan for immediate workplace use

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of adoption risks before deployment disrupts operations
  • Clearer accountability between sponsors, project teams, managers and operational owners
  • Better targeted communications and training for affected employee groups
  • Improved evidence of whether changed processes are being used correctly
  • Stronger retention of benefits after programme teams hand work to operations

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can distinguish delivery activity from the people outcomes required for successful change.

  • Change as a managed transition between current and target operating states
  • Distinguishing project outputs from adoption, usage and proficiency outcomes
  • ADKAR diagnosis of awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement barriers
  • Kotter’s eight steps translated into sponsor, manager and employee actions
  • Bridges Transition Model for endings, neutral zones and new beginnings
  • Selecting change approach by scale, uncertainty, risk and stakeholder exposure

Participants can articulate a credible change case linked to operational and people outcomes.

  • Case for change connecting strategic intent, operational problems and employee implications
  • Current-state evidence drawn from performance data, customer feedback and workforce insight
  • Future-state description covering processes, behaviours, roles and service expectations
  • Change narrative addressing urgency, consequences, benefits and practical choices
  • Assumption mapping to expose uncertain dependencies and information gaps
  • Decision framing for leaders considering competing investment, timing and risk options

Participants can produce a change charter with defined scope, measures, ownership and decision routes.

  • Change charter scope, intended benefits, assumptions, constraints and decision rights
  • Problem statements written with measurable operational and people impacts
  • Target operating model dimensions: process, technology, roles, controls and culture
  • Benefit dependency mapping between deliverables, behaviours, capabilities and outcomes
  • Success measures separating implementation completion from sustained business performance
  • Governance cadence for decisions, escalations, assurance and benefit ownership

Participants can prioritise stakeholders and define engagement actions matched to their needs and influence.

  • Stakeholder segmentation using influence, impact, attitude and proximity criteria
  • Power-interest grid prioritisation for sponsors, opponents, advocates and affected groups
  • Persona profiles capturing local concerns, motivations, work patterns and constraints
  • Stakeholder heat maps showing readiness, risk, sentiment and engagement priorities
  • Coalition-building tactics for formal leaders, informal influencers and union representatives
  • Engagement commitments documented by stakeholder group, owner, channel and timing

Participants can assess and document how change affects roles, tasks, controls and working conditions.

  • Structured change impact assessment covering process, role, system and policy changes
  • Future-state task analysis identifying changed decisions, handoffs and controls
  • Impact severity scoring based on magnitude, duration, volume and reversibility
  • Role-based impact matrices linking affected populations to specific workplace changes
  • Gap analysis between current capability, capacity and target performance requirements
  • Impact validation interviews with frontline employees, managers and subject specialists

Participants can assess readiness, identify adoption risks and define proportionate response actions.

  • Change readiness assessment using sponsorship, capacity, history and resource indicators
  • Readiness interviews structured around confidence, clarity, workload and local conditions
  • Risk register entries with cause, event, consequence, owner and response
  • Force-field analysis of drivers, restraining forces and practical countermeasures
  • Risk appetite thresholds for safety, service continuity, compliance and reputation
  • Escalation routes for adoption risks requiring executive or programme decisions

Participants can define sponsor and manager responsibilities for visible, consistent change leadership.

  • Sponsor role clarity for visible leadership, resource decisions and barrier removal
  • RACI matrix assigning accountable owners for change activities and decisions
  • Leader alignment sessions resolving competing messages, priorities and measures
  • Line-manager expectations for team conversations, feedback and performance support
  • Sponsor roadmaps scheduling site visits, town halls and decision checkpoints
  • Governance forums integrating project controls, people risks and adoption measures

Participants can create a communication strategy that provides timely, credible and actionable information.

  • Communication strategy linked to stakeholder needs, change phase and business risk
  • Message architecture separating case for change, implications and required actions
  • Channel selection using reach, dialogue, confidentiality, speed and accessibility criteria
  • Communication calendar sequencing sponsor messages, manager briefings and employee updates
  • Frequently asked questions drafted from impact assessments and listening data
  • Message testing for clarity, credibility, consistency and unintended interpretations

Participants can equip managers to address resistance, listen constructively and support their teams.

  • Manager enablement plan covering briefings, conversation guides and escalation support
  • Coaching model using GROW questions during uncertainty and resistance conversations
  • Resistance diagnosis distinguishing rational concerns, emotional responses and political interests
  • Listening sessions designed to surface consequences, alternatives and local knowledge
  • Conflict resolution using interest-based negotiation and agreed behavioural norms
  • Manager toolkits containing key messages, decision boundaries and referral routes

Participants can plan role-based learning and support for changed tasks and performance standards.

  • Learning needs analysis by role, task criticality and proficiency standard
  • Training matrix matching audiences to learning objectives, formats and timing
  • 70:20:10 planning for formal learning, peer support and supervised practice
  • Performance support design using checklists, job aids and workflow prompts
  • Competency assessments defining observable criteria for safe, accurate task execution
  • Training readiness checks covering access, trainers, materials, systems and schedules

Participants can combine change workstreams into a managed plan with clear dependencies and ownership.

  • Integrated change plan combining impacts, stakeholders, communications, learning and governance
  • Work breakdown structure for change deliverables, dependencies, owners and milestones
  • Critical path analysis for readiness activities preceding technical deployment dates
  • Resource estimates for change leads, managers, trainers and local champions
  • RAID log coordination across programme management, human resources and operations
  • Baseline plan approval criteria, version control and change-control procedures

Participants can plan controlled deployment and post-launch support based on readiness evidence.

  • Deployment waves designed around readiness thresholds, operational constraints and support capacity
  • Pilot criteria defining representative users, success measures and exit decisions
  • Cutover communications timed to system access, policy changes and service impacts
  • Hypercare model specifying floor support, helpdesk triage and issue ownership
  • Contingency actions for low adoption, training gaps and process failures
  • Go-live readiness review using evidence from users, managers and control owners

Participants can identify cultural barriers and plan reinforcement for priority workplace behaviours.

  • Organisational culture diagnosis using observable behaviours, norms and reinforcement mechanisms
  • Schein’s culture levels applied to stated values and everyday working practices
  • Behavioural change statements linking desired actions to service and performance outcomes
  • COM-B analysis of capability, opportunity and motivation barriers
  • Reinforcement mechanisms through recognition, performance objectives and manager routines
  • Psychological safety practices supporting speaking up, learning and error reporting

Participants can address adoption challenges created by digital systems, data requirements and changed workflows.

  • Digital adoption analysis for workflow changes, data quality and user confidence
  • Technology acceptance factors: usefulness, ease of use and peer influence
  • User journey mapping from first announcement through proficient daily use
  • Digital champion networks providing peer support, feedback and local troubleshooting
  • Accessibility checks for communications, training platforms and digital work instructions
  • Data privacy considerations when monitoring usage, learning and employee feedback

Participants can plan fair workforce transitions while managing consultation, wellbeing and ethical decisions.

  • Workforce transition planning for redeployment, role redesign and workforce consultation
  • Fair process principles for decisions affecting jobs, pay and working patterns
  • Psychosocial risk controls during restructuring, uncertainty and increased workload
  • Union and employee representative engagement within agreed consultation arrangements
  • Equality impact assessment for differential effects on protected employee groups
  • Ethical decision records documenting trade-offs, evidence and accountable approvals

Participants can create measures that show progress from implementation activity to sustained benefits.

  • Benefits realisation map linking adoption measures to operational and financial outcomes
  • KPI tree connecting leading indicators, behavioural measures and lagging results
  • Balanced scorecard measures for customer, process, people and financial performance
  • Pulse surveys designed with actionable questions, segments and response protocols
  • Adoption dashboards combining usage data, proficiency checks and qualitative feedback
  • Evaluation design comparing baseline, target, actual performance and corrective action

Participants can transfer ownership to operations and reinforce new practices after programme closure.

  • Reinforcement plan embedding new behaviours in routines, controls and performance management
  • After-action reviews capturing lessons, unresolved issues and transfer actions
  • Standard operating procedure updates aligned with redesigned roles and workflows
  • Control ownership checks after handover from programme team to operations
  • Benefits review cadence assigning data owners, meeting forums and intervention triggers
  • Change fatigue monitoring through workload indicators, sentiment trends and absence patterns

Participants can adapt change methods to sector-specific risks, stakeholders and operating constraints.

  • Public-sector policy rollout case: stakeholder consent, service continuity and scrutiny
  • Banking system migration case: conduct risk, training evidence and controls
  • NGO operating-model change case: distributed teams, donor commitments and local autonomy
  • Manufacturing automation case: safety, shift patterns and union consultation
  • Case comparisons identifying transferable decisions, constraints and warning signals
  • Response options tested against adoption evidence, risk tolerance and available capacity

Participants can review a change plan critically and communicate decisions to senior stakeholders.

  • Change plan assurance review against scope, impacts, risks and intended benefits
  • Peer challenge methods for assumptions, evidence gaps and unowned actions
  • Executive briefing structure: decision required, evidence, options, recommendation and consequences
  • Traffic-light reporting criteria avoiding false confidence and ambiguous status labels
  • Scenario replanning after delayed deployment, sponsor turnover or adverse feedback
  • Personal action plan for applying course methods to a live initiative

Participants can build, review and present a complete workplace transformation change management plan.

  • Capstone brief defining transformation scope, operating context and decision constraints
  • Integrated plan assembled from charter, impact assessment, stakeholder and readiness analyses
  • Communication, learning, sponsorship and deployment workstreams sequenced against milestones
  • Measures, risks, governance and reinforcement actions tested for internal consistency
  • Peer review using evidence standards, challenge questions and revision priorities
  • Executive presentation defending recommendations, trade-offs, resources and success measures
  • Final action commitments specifying first steps, sponsors and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Workplace change charter template
  2. Stakeholder analysis and engagement matrix
  3. Role-based change impact assessment
  4. Integrated change management plan
  5. Adoption measurement dashboard
  6. Executive change plan briefing pack

Who should attend

  • Change Managers — need structured methods for planning adoption and sustaining new behaviours
  • Transformation Programme Managers — need to integrate people workstreams with delivery milestones and risks
  • HR Business Partners — need to manage workforce impacts, manager readiness and employee consultation
  • Operations Managers — need to introduce process changes without compromising service, safety or controls
  • Project Managers — need to complement technical delivery plans with adoption and engagement activities
  • Senior Leaders and Sponsors — need to lead visible change, make decisions and remove barriers

Skills and tools covered

Change impact assessmentStakeholder engagementReadiness planningSponsor mobilisationAdoption measurementBenefits realisation

Tools and standards

ADKAR Model, Kotter’s 8-Step Process, Bridges Transition Model, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce each method, followed by cases drawn from transformation, service, technology and workforce change. Participants analyse stakeholder positions, assess impacts, build plans, respond to implementation scenarios and test decisions against operational constraints. Group exercises develop peer challenge and comparison of alternative approaches. Simulations focus on sponsor conversations, manager briefings, resistance and readiness decisions. Individual application planning enables participants to adapt course material to a live workplace initiative, with instructor feedback throughout.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience working in projects, operational improvement, HR, programme delivery or team leadership. Familiarity with basic project terminology, organisational structures and workplace communication is helpful. Participants should ideally bring a current or anticipated change initiative, although a supplied case can be used where this is not possible. No prior change management qualification is required. The course does not assume expertise in psychology, organisational development, data analysis, finance or formal project management methods.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand how your organisation delivers projects, services or operational improvements. Prior change management training or certification is not required, and the course introduces each method before participants apply it.

Bring information about a current or anticipated change initiative if you have one: its objectives, affected groups, timeline and known concerns. You can work from a supplied case if organisational information is confidential or unavailable.

It suits professionals responsible for the people side of transformation, including change managers, project managers, HR professionals, operational leaders and programme sponsors. It is designed for participants who need to plan and guide workplace adoption rather than only understand change theory.

Project management focuses on delivering scope, schedule, cost and technical outputs. This course focuses on stakeholder commitment, employee impacts, readiness, learning, resistance, adoption and sustained use of the delivered change.

Participants develop reusable material for a live initiative, including a charter, stakeholder analysis, impact assessment, communication actions and readiness measures. The final plan can be adapted for review with a sponsor, programme board or operational leadership team.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part builds core assessment and planning methods; the later part develops deployment, measurement, sustainment and a final capstone presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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