More on Change Champions
Introduction
Change champions are a critical part of effective change management. They act as bridges between leadership and employees, helping to drive adoption and reduce resistance. Here’s a detailed breakdown:
Change champions are employees who:
- Support and advocate for a change initiative
- Influence peers positively
- Act as role models for adopting new behaviours or processes.
They are usually trusted, respected and enthusiastic individuals within their teams, departments or organisations.
Key Roles of Change Champions in Change Management
1. Communication Bridge
- Translate leadership messages into language that resonates with peers.
- Provide real-time feedback from staff to leadership about concerns or misunderstandings.
- Act as a trusted source of information, reducing rumours, gossip and misinformation.
Example: An IT champion explains a new system in practical terms during team huddles, making it less intimidating.
2. Model Desired Behaviours
- Demonstrate how to adopt new processes, tools, or behaviours effectively.
- Encourage colleagues to follow your lead through visible actions.
Example: A finance champion consistently uses the new budgeting software correctly, showing peers it’s manageable.
3. Support and Coaching
- Provide peer-to-peer coaching and guidance.
- Help colleagues troubleshoot problems or navigate uncertainties.
- Reduce reliance on formal training channels by offering immediate, relatable support.
4. Feedback and Insight
- Gather employee sentiment and report on resistance points, challenges, obstacles, opportunities, etc.
- Suggest improvements or tweaks to the change process based on real-world experience.
- Help leadership adapt communications, training, or processes to increase adoption.
5. Motivation and Advocacy
- Act as positive influencers, boosting morale and engagement.
- Celebrate small wins and milestones, reinforcing momentum.
- Use personal credibility to counteract resistance or fear of change.
6. Cultural Embedding
- Help embed change into the organisational culture by normalising new behaviours.
- Reinforce that change is part of everyday work, not a one-off project.
Characteristics of Effective Change Champions
- Respected and trusted by peers
- Enthusiastic and positive about change
- Good communicators and approachable
- Problem-solving mindset
- Patient and empathetic
Benefits of Using Change Champions
- Faster adoption of new systems, processes, or behaviours
- Reduced resistance by leveraging peer influence
- Better communication – messages come from within, not just top-down
- Real-time insights into employee concerns
- Sustained change through cultural embedding
An Example:
A hospital implementing a new electronic health record system recruits champions from each department. These champions:
- Demonstrate use of the system during shifts
- Answer colleagues’ questions in real time
- Provide feedback to IT about confusing processes
- Celebrate when teams reach milestones like “first fully digital patient chart”
This peer-driven support accelerates adoption and reduces errors.
Steps in Getting Change Champions on side
- Nominate (best if they self-nominate and/or are recommended by colleagues)
- Set expectations (clarity on what is happening, their roles, what support is available, etc)
- Adequately resourced (provide the time, labour, money, tools, techniques, etc)
- Provide autonomy (as they know how the informal structure operates, give them the freedom to design and implement as they see fit within their network of influence.)
- Extract Feedback (encourage them to provide continuous, authentic feedback on performance, etc)
- Publicize role models (influence others to follow and be actively involved.)
“…This is where your local change champions can be so powerful - they create social proof in support of a change…”
Mel Loy, 2024