{"id":9410,"date":"2025-01-03T10:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T10:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordcorp.com\/the-importance-of-change-agents-sponsors-and-champions-in-organizational-change-management\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T14:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T14:38:14","slug":"the-importance-of-change-agents-sponsors-and-champions-in-organizational-change-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oxfordcorp.com\/fr\/insights\/blog\/the-importance-of-change-agents-sponsors-and-champions-in-organizational-change-management\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Executive Sponsors and Change Champions in Organizational Change Management\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published September 12, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s necessary for organizations to regularly undergo changes to remain competitive. In addition, changes are often needed to scale. Changes can be minor or significant. But no matter the magnitude of the change, the impact on your business can drastically alter its outlook\u2014either positively or negatively.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Change\u2019s effect on the people within your organization is more important than the size of the change. Change isn\u2019t easy, and humans are hard-wired to resist it. Additionally, a job is a significant part of a person\u2019s life, so any changes within their role, department, or organization can have a highly significant and possibly intimidating effect on them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, business leaders must recognize that change is a requirement to allow for growth and success. These changes can take many forms, such as shifts in culture, internal processes, and team structures, or adopting new technologies and business models. But what\u2019s more important than the change itself is how that change is managed. Managers, department heads, and other leaders within an organization must oversee, promote, and guide employees through organizational changes using <\/span>effective organizational change management (OCM) methods<\/span><\/a> for best results.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizational change management (OCM) methods are necessary to leverage change to achieve desired outcomes. Without OCM, organizational transformation or company transitions can be complicated, leading to unnecessary costs. Additionally, you can run into roadblocks with increased resistance, making timely change implementation impossible. Lastly, your organizational change efforts can fail without employee engagement and proper skill assessment and training. Therefore, OCM helps bolster effective and well-accepted change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When effectuating change in the workplace, it\u2019s vital to encourage employees by making them aware of the growth opportunities or individual benefits accompanying the change. In other words, what\u2019s in it for them? Organizational changes generally benefit the companies implementing the changes. But people want to know how they\u2019ll be affected personally, what they can expect, and what they can potentially get out of their initial discomfort. OCM accompanied by \u201cchange advocates\u201d or \u201cagents of change\u201d can help organizational leaders relay the change initiative to each impacted person in a way that promotes adoption and commitment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Who Are the Executive Sponsors and Change Champions Within an Organization?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The good news is, change leaders are already present within your organization\u2014finding them is the challenge. It\u2019s important to understand that each major organizational transformation must be accepted at the enterprise, project, and individual levels, necessitating various change management roles to oversee each facet of the change and its impact.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, you\u2019ll want to use a network of change agents filling various positions within your business. It\u2019s vital that anyone who steps up to this role be well-respected and highly influential. They must also understand their role within the organization and the organization\u2019s culture and values. Finally, they\u2019ll need to fully comprehend the change being implemented along with its effect on their colleagues and the company\u2019s success, focusing on the realization of benefits from the project.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Change Champions\/Agents<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

A change champion or agent helps promote the value of the change being made. They are on the inside level, working directly with your impacted employees. They help formulate a plan to implement and support the change efforts, guiding others through it. Ultimately, their goal is to ensure the benefits of the change are realized, and the expected outcomes are produced.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of a change agent\u2019s job title or position within the organization, their responsibilities should be the same. They will become advocates for the change initiative and drive home its intended results while mitigating or counteracting any resistance or disruption throughout the transformation or transition process. This task needs to be done with a certain level of understanding, compassion, and transparency for those affected by the change. Therefore, change agents must be trustworthy and create and maintain good working relationships.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Executive Sponsors<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Your organization\u2019s executive sponsors, positioned at the executive level, must authorize and make way for changes within your business. Like a change agent, they should ensure that each change results in its intended benefits. Executive sponsors must have a clear vision of the change and understand its need. They should also have influence, public support, and some leverage to get others to commit to change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Executive sponsors are the senders and receivers of information, acting as extensions of the overall project team to help bridge the gap between the project and the end users of the system, process, or other change. In other words, they are responsible for integrating the project into the organization and devising a method of change advocacy that effectively presents the change to the impacted individuals to encourage adoption.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sponsors go beyond assisting in management. Instead of planning, problem-solving, instilling structure, and devising processes, executive sponsors communicate a vision and inspire others to be visionaries. They create an alliance that\u2019s pointed to the future of the business and high-performing success that exceeds simply doing one\u2019s job.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is the Significance of These Change Management Roles?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Appointing a change agent earlier rather than later during the lifecycle of a project ensures that the adoption of the change happens faster and with more ease. Resistance can build as a project progresses, especially when that change requires significant transformation and disruption of roles and processes. Recent research suggests <\/span>stepping out of one\u2019s comfort zone is a significant psychological barrier<\/span><\/a> for many people. Approximately 38% of individuals are willing to leave their comfort zones, while the remaining 62% are hesitant, dislike it, or will only do so occasionally.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The difference lies in a person\u2019s perspective based on past experiences and personalities. Some see change as a positive or rewarding venture with desirable outcomes or new possibilities. Others see change negatively, interpreting it as a hindrance or dead-end to everything they\u2019ve been working toward or a \u201cstop\u201d to their forward-thinking vision.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, having someone in place to prepare employees for the change, encourage its acceptance, and promote its benefits can help strengthen one\u2019s commitment to the change, providing them with needed security and a readiness to embrace it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To avoid activating negative feelings from the start, change agents and other change management leaders should participate in a project from planning through to its execution to closely follow and address any apprehension about the change and act accordingly to keep the project from derailment or failure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Companies should also prepare for the possible departure of change agents when projects span many months or years to prevent any setbacks to employees\u2019 enthusiasm. Furthermore, it\u2019s essential that change agents, sponsors, and champions thoroughly understand their roles to be most effective. Prosci\u2019s research shows that these individuals\u2019 effectiveness is directly correlated to the success of a project, with projects having \u201cextremely effective sponsors\u201d meeting or exceeding objectives \u201c<\/span>more than twice as often<\/span><\/a> as those with a very ineffective sponsor.\u201d Still, in one survey, 50% of participants said they didn\u2019t believe their sponsors adequately understood their role.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To be extremely effective, change agents and sponsors must:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n