How to Become a Change Management Consultant

Do you enjoy communicating with people, project management and implementing change initiatives? Then being a change manager consultant could be for you.

Even a short change management course can equip you with foundational knowledge of the field to take on an exciting career path. With a variety of online courses that are flexible and self-paced, there are many options to suit different kinds of learners. Take the next step and browse our change management courses in the UK.

What Qualifications Do You Need to Be a Change Management Consultant?

Many change management consultants have a degree or an HND in a related subject such as business studies, psychology, law, management or human resources management.

However, you can also enter the profession through change management certifications that are accredited by the industry’s examination body, APMG. The Change Management Foundation Certification goes through some of the key skill areas you’ll need to develop in order to be successful in this area:

How the process of organisational change happens
How people tend to react to change
The roles required to create successful teams
How to keep people motivated during change
The various types of change process
How to keep stakeholders on board
Using change management strategy, change management methodology and implementing change management training programmes
Overseeing leadership change

Elsewhere, you can also complete a Change Management Practitioner course. This is ideal for those who already have a qualification with change management. For those who are looking to establish a strong reputation to become a consultant, this course could be a great option for you. Some of the key skills you could open yourself up to include the following:

Understanding company culture and models and how they can be changed
Communication within projects
Facilitating stakeholder engagement
How to inspire change in both individuals and the wider company
How leaders can support and sustain the change process

Skill Set Required for a Change Management Consultant

As well as gaining the right qualifications you’ll need to develop excellent interpersonal skills to become an effective change management consultant. These will enable you to implement the best change management strategies possible.

Aspiring change management consultants should gain the following skills:

Teamwork
Excellent organisational skills
Problem-solving skills

The ability to prioritise tasks
Project management skills
Coaching skills

What Does a Change Management Consultant Do?

Change management consultants help employers to identify which areas of an organisation need to change, before assessing how this will affect the organisation and its employees. The final step in the process is to ensure that any change initiatives are implemented effectively.

Typical Duties for a Change Management Consultant

If you become a consultant your responsibilities will include:

Carrying out research in order to develop a change management plan
Sensitively communicating the benefits of change to employees
Creating and carrying out coaching and training sessions for a variety of audiences
Applying know how to manage change, set up communication plans and oversee culture change
Explaining transformational change strategy

Mentoring and supporting junior team members
Building relationships with clients and colleagues and overseeing stakeholder management
Acknowledging and addressing client issues
Assigning tasks to change team members
Assessing metrics for successful change

A career in change management consultancy offers the chance to work with a variety of companies and the opportunity to work on lots of different projects. In addition, some jobs involve travel in the UK and overseas.

The skills you’ll learn by qualifying as a change management consultant are also useful in other roles related to the design, development and implementation of organisational change.

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