Change Management Training Programs and Certifications

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• With 70% of change ini­tia­tives fail­ing and 31% of CEOs los­ing their jobs due to poor change man­age­ment, cer­ti­fi­ca­tions like CCMP or Prosci equip pro­fes­sion­als with the skills to lead orga­ni­za­tion­al change successfully.
• Change man­age­ment focus­es on struc­tured, peo­ple-cen­tered process­es and effec­tive strate­gies, includ­ing lead­er­ship, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and resis­tance man­age­ment, to help orga­ni­za­tions achieve their goals with min­i­mal disruption.
• Top change man­age­ment pro­grams, such as Cor­nel­l’s cer­tifi­cate, ATD’s action­able strate­gies, and PMI’s hybrid PMP focus, offer spe­cial­ized train­ing for pro­fes­sion­als in indus­tries like health­care, busi­ness, and technology.
• Earn­ing change man­age­ment cer­ti­fi­ca­tions enhances pro­fes­sion­al cred­i­bil­i­ty, glob­al recog­ni­tion, and career advance­ment, with roles like Trans­for­ma­tion Man­ag­er ($116,719/year) or Change Man­age­ment Direc­tor ($238,110/year).

Did you know that 70% of change ini­tia­tives in orga­ni­za­tions fail? But that’s not all either. Only 27% of employ­ees say that their lead­ers have change man­age­ment train­ing. Then there’s also the report that says 31% of CEOs lose their jobs because of poor change management.

Indeed, there’s an urgent need for skilled change man­agers in orga­ni­za­tions. What’s the fastest way to become a skilled change man­ag­er? Enroll in one of the best change man­age­ment train­ing pro­grams fea­tured here.

Why earn at least one of the best cer­ti­fi­ca­tions in change man­age­ment? You’ll gain the vital knowl­edge, skills, and tools to lead trans­for­ma­tion­al change. If you’re in the tech­nol­o­gy, health­care, busi­ness, or edu­ca­tion indus­try, it’s a must.

In this arti­cle, we’ll fea­ture the best online change man­age­ment train­ing pro­grams. We’ll also dis­cuss their ben­e­fits, fac­tors in choos­ing the best for you, and tips for success.

Relat­ed:

• Relat­ed:
• Busi­ness Degree Pro­grams and Career Paths
• Accel­er­at­ed Busi­ness Degrees for Entrepreneurs
• Top Schol­ar­ships for Busi­ness and Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion Students
• Best Under­grad Busi­ness Degrees
• Updates and Changes in the PMP Exam For­mat and Content
• Top PMP Exam Prepa­ra­tion Resources for Career Changers
• Effec­tive Study Plans and Time­lines for PMP Exam Preparation
• Com­pre­hen­sive Guide to PMP Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion Requirements

What Is Change Management?

The best way to define change man­age­ment is to describe its key characteristics.

Structured approach and systematic process

Change man­age­ment has a step-by-step process to plan, exe­cute, and sus­tain the desired change. This is a peo­ple-cen­tered process, too, where peo­ple take part from start to fin­ish. The process itself is a cycle (i.e., feed­back con­tributes to change). 

Focus on the human aspects related to change

Change man­age­ment is a team effort. The change man­ag­er must ensure that every employ­er and employ­ee under­stands the process. Then, every­body involved adopts and sus­tains the desired changes. Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and col­lab­o­ra­tion are vital for success.

Through­out the change ini­tia­tive, there are few dis­rup­tions in the dai­ly oper­a­tions. The old-to-new tran­si­tion as smooth­ly as possible.

Effective strategies

While every change ini­tia­tive has its tai­lored strate­gies, change man­agers adopt these strategies.

• Active lead­er­ship
• Train­ing and sup­port for peo­ple affect­ed by the changes
• Pos­i­tive engage­ment among employ­ers and employees
• Effec­tive man­age­ment of resistance
• Track progress using met­rics and make adjust­ments when necessary

Every orga­ni­za­tion has spe­cif­ic goals and objec­tives in their change ini­tia­tives. But the ulti­mate goals among change man­agers are:

• Encour­age employ­ees to adopt and sus­tain the desired changes
• Min­i­mize the resis­tance against the desired changes
• Achieve orga­ni­za­tion­al goals relat­ed to the adop­tion of the desired changes

Being an effec­tive change leader isn’t easy. You must have core skills and traits, including:

• Lead­er­ship
• Com­mu­ni­ca­tion
• Prob­lem-solv­ing
• Adapt­abil­i­ty

For­tu­nate­ly, you can devel­op vital skills by com­plet­ing change man­age­ment train­ing pro­grams. But it’s only the first step. You must also gain exten­sive work expe­ri­ence and engage in pro­fes­sion­al development.

Top 10 Change Management Training Programs and Certifications

Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP) by ACMP

The CCMP pro­gram con­sists of inten­sive online change man­age­ment cours­es cov­er­ing core areas. These include orga­ni­za­tion­al change method­olo­gies and com­mu­ni­ca­tion plan­ning. The cours­es are in accor­dance with the Change Man­age­ment Body of Knowl­edge (CMBoK).

There’s a strong empha­sis on project-based change man­age­ment prac­tices. The CCMP cre­den­tial is rec­og­nized world­wide, too.

Prosci Change Management Certification

This is among the most respect­ed accred­it­ed change man­age­ment cer­ti­fi­ca­tions, too. The Prosci Change Man­age­ment Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion pro­gram fea­tures online and in-per­son class­es. Appli­cants should ide­al­ly be famil­iar with change man­age­ment prin­ci­ples and practices.

Can­di­dates learn the Prosci ADKAR mod­el to man­age indi­vid­ual and orga­ni­za­tion­al change. The mod­el fea­tures the Prosci 3‑Phase Process.

Cornell University Change Management Certificate

Cor­nell offers among the best change man­age­ment cer­ti­fi­ca­tion pro­grams by uni­ver­si­ties. You’ll com­plete cours­es that focus on lead­er­ship in man­ag­ing change. Also, you’ll have a one-year free access to live Zoom ses­sions on cur­rent lead­er­ship issues.

Grad­u­ates enjoy the pres­tige of earn­ing a cer­tifi­cate from an Ivy League university.

ATD Change Management Certificate

If you’re look­ing for change man­age­ment train­ing for pro­fes­sion­als, this is it. The pro­gram focus­es on action­able strate­gies and tools in orga­ni­za­tion­al change management.

This is best for pro­fes­sion­als in human resources, project man­age­ment, or gen­er­al leadership.

Korn Ferry Change Management Certification

Expe­ri­enced lead­ers look­ing for advanced change man­age­ment skills devel­op­ment must con­sid­er this pro­gram. Human resources pro­fes­sion­als who want to gain change man­age­ment skills are also wel­come. The pro­gram is avail­able in both online and in-per­son formats.

Can­di­dates learn cur­rent change man­age­ment frame­works with lead­er­ship devel­op­ment prin­ci­ples. There’s a strong focus on tal­ent and lead­er­ship man­age­ment, too.

Change Management Foundation and Practitioner by APMG International

This is among the more afford­able change man­age­ment cer­ti­fi­ca­tions for begin­ners. Can­di­dates learn the foun­da­tion­al knowl­edge and skills for imple­ment­ing change projects. The two-stage pro­gram features:

• The Foun­da­tion stage, with cours­es on change man­age­ment prin­ci­ples and terminology
• The Prac­ti­tion­er stage, with a focus on prac­ti­cal skills development

LinkedIn Learning Change Management Courses

LinkedIn does­n’t offer cer­ti­fied change man­age­ment pro­fes­sion­al pro­grams per se. But its change man­age­ment cours­es are excel­lent for new­bies and inter­me­di­ate-lev­el learn­ers. These are flex­i­ble, on-demand train­ing mod­ules cov­er­ing essen­tial change man­age­ment topics.

SHRM People Manager Qualification (PMQ)

The PMQ is among the top change man­age­ment cer­ti­fi­ca­tions online for HR pro­fes­sion­als. Appli­cants must have at least one year of man­age­ment expe­ri­ence. The cours­es pre­pare can­di­dates to nav­i­gate and lead change in teams. There’s a strong focus on peo­ple man­age­ment strate­gies, too.

University of California, Irvine — Change Management Specialization

This online course is best suit­ed for man­age­ment and orga­ni­za­tion­al devel­op­ment pro­fes­sion­als. But every­body inter­est­ed in change man­age­ment is wel­come. The course focus­es on prac­ti­cal appli­ca­tions of change the­o­ries in busi­ness contexts.

PMP with Change Management Focus (Project Management Institute)

Appli­cants must already be a cer­ti­fied PMP to be con­sid­ered. Alter­na­tive­ly, you can meet project man­age­ment edu­ca­tion pre­req­ui­sites. The pro­gram com­bines project man­age­ment and change man­age­ment strategies.

Benefits of Change Management Certifications

Earn­ing a change man­age­ment cer­ti­fi­ca­tion is chal­leng­ing and cost­ly. You must com­plete cours­es, pass a cer­ti­fi­ca­tion exam, and pay fees, among oth­ers. The CCMP train­ing, for exam­ple, can cost upwards of $2,000, while its appli­ca­tion ranges between $595 and $745.

But the ben­e­fits that these bring are well worth the time, effort, and money.

Professional Credibility

Change man­age­ment cer­ti­fi­ca­tions con­vey exper­tise to employ­ers. You have tan­gi­ble proof of your expert under­stand­ing of change management.

Skill Enhancement

The struc­tured train­ing that change man­age­ment pro­grams adopt results in job-ready skills. These include employ­ee train­ing, risk assess­ment, and stake­hold­er engagement.

Career Advancement

These cre­den­tials are your tick­et to lead­er­ship roles and, thus, high­er salaries. You’re more qual­i­fied for jobs like Trans­for­ma­tion Man­ag­er or Change Man­age­ment Direc­tor. Trans­for­ma­tion Man­agers earn $116,719/year, on aver­age. Change Man­age­ment Direc­tors earn $238,110/year, on average.

Global Recognition

You can take your change man­age­ment cre­den­tials any­where in the world and across diverse indus­tries. CCMP and Prosci are notable exam­ples. Every indus­try is in con­stant change so change man­agers will find their niche. Tech­nol­o­gy, busi­ness, and health­care are pop­u­lar indus­tries for change managers.

How to Choose the Right Change Management Program

Here are the fac­tors that you must con­sid­er when choos­ing from among programs.

Accreditation

Always check the accred­i­ta­tion sta­tus of the pro­grams you’re inter­est­ed in. Accred­i­ta­tion means you’ll get qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion and enjoy employ­er recognition.

Program Format

Go for an online pro­gram if you want max­i­mum flex­i­bil­i­ty of ful­ly online cours­es. Choose a hybrid pro­gram if you thrive with a mix of online and in-per­son cours­es. Go for an in-per­son pro­gram if face-to-face inter­ac­tions are in line with your learn­ing style.

Cost and ROI

Com­pare the total cost with the return on invest­ment of your short­list­ed cer­ti­fi­ca­tions. Research the occu­pa­tions that you can get and their annu­al salaries. Per­form a cost-and-ben­e­fit analy­sis, but be sure to con­sid­er non-mon­e­tary ben­e­fits, too.

Curriculum Focus

Choose a pro­gram with a cur­ricu­lum that meets your inter­ests and goals. Read the cours­es and their descrip­tions. You’ll find one or two pro­grams suit­able for your needs, be it in human resources, project man­age­ment, or gen­er­al leadership.

Tips for Success in Change Management Training

You have the ulti­mate respon­si­bil­i­ty to lever­age your change man­age­ment train­ing. Here are tips to do so.

Engage actively.

• Take part in the dis­cus­sions, projects, and case studies.
• Share your expe­ri­ences and insights with your class.
• Ask ques­tions and be open to their answers.
• Seek feed­back and learn from it.

Apply your learning.

• Prac­tice your knowl­edge and turn it into prac­ti­cal skills.
• Seek hands-on learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties from your peers and professors.
• Start with small projects and build up.

Network with peers.

• Pro­mote your career growth by net­work­ing with your peers, instruc­tors, and alumni.
• Seek guid­ance and advice, even mentorship.
• Join pro­fes­sion­al orga­ni­za­tions, such as ACMP.

Conclusion

Enrolling in one of the best change man­age­ment train­ing pro­grams is the first step. Being engaged in class­es, net­work­ing with your peers, and learn­ing all you can are cru­cial. When you’ve earned a change man­age­ment cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, the oppor­tu­ni­ties await.

So, if you want to take advan­tage of the ben­e­fits that come with being a change man­ag­er, here’s your chance. Explore these pro­grams and start your jour­ney to suc­cess as a change manager.

But we under­stand if you have ques­tions. Vis­it our Bach­e­lors Degree Cen­ter for answers to your ques­tions and access to resources about change management.