What is a change agent: roles and responsibilities

Over time, organizations and the technology they use need to evolve, or the business can grow stagnant — falling behind technology advances, new customer needs, and competitors.

Yet, organizational change initiatives can be challenging. Employees at different levels of the organization or enterprise may not fully understand the decision-making process and motivations for facilitating a specific change. And sometimes, the changes aren’t universally supported, which can cause confusion and delay in implementing the action plan.

That’s where a good change agent can help. They can play a pivotal role in leading change and fostering innovation that’s aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives.    

What are change agents?

Change agents, also called change advocates, are individuals who identify, promote, and support needed organizational initiatives and changes. 

The change can vary from using a new process, adopting new technology, transforming the organization’s business model, and more. As a result, there are different types of change agents who have different areas of focus and competencies. However, all change agents play a role in spearheading the change, inspiring others, and promoting the change initiative within the organization. 

Change agents

In the context of ITSM, change agents drive and facilitate significant transformations within the organization’s information technology systems, culture, and processes. They identify the need for the technology change, research it, and champion the new idea. In some cases, they also may oversee the adaptation to the new process, technology, or approach from start to finish.  

Change agent vs change manager

Change agents and change managers play important roles in the change process but have distinct functions. 

Change agents initiate and champion change in an organization. They promote and drive innovation, encourage cultural shifts, and identify the need for change. They help gather support and inspire others.

Change managers concentrate more on the execution of the change and assess the impact of it. Their responsibilities often involve planning, implementing, or monitoring the transformation to ensure it is executed efficiently and with minimal disruptions.

The two roles complement each other, and sometimes, responsibilities may overlap.

Types of change agents

Change agents can focus on different types of change initiatives that an organization may need. Here are some common types of change agents.

Organizational structure change agents

They focus on initiatives that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the business at the organizational, operational, and technology levels. They may evaluate and operate from a broad perspective of the organization’s technology or structure, using analytical approaches like systems analysis or policy studies. Depending on the person’s role and know-how, they may also assist with identifying, implementing, and transitioning to new technology. 

Interpersonal change agents

These change agents are more people-focused and often work with individual employees to help them adjust and cope with change. They may assist with employee motivation, team morale, or look into work performance, absenteeism, and turnover issues.  

Process-focused change agents

These folks focus on change opportunities at an organization’s internal process level. They may assist with improving internal relationships, workflows, or communications.   

Internal vs external change agent

Organizations can select either an internal or an external change agent, depending on their specific needs.

An internal change agent is someone from within the organization. They can have a range of roles in the organization, including being a senior manager, HR professional, change leader, executive, IT member, or other team member. Because they are an employee within the organization, they understand the business’s rules, policies, history, and culture. 

An external change agent is a third-party or outside consultant with experience identifying and driving organizational change initiatives. External consultants of change can provide a fresh perspective. Also, they aren’t employees, so the company’s rules and policies don’t necessarily apply to them, which may free them up to see things from a different perspective.

Roles of a change agent

Implementing changes in an organization is a process involving multiple people in different roles. A change agent works with others within Organizational Change Management (OCM), where their role will complement and sometimes overlap with these other roles.

Thought leader

Thought leaders, like change agents, are visionaries within the organization. They are innovators and inspire others as they look at potential options for the organization’s future. However, the difference is that change agents will identify ideas and inspire others — and follow up with actions that facilitate the transformation and change. Thought leaders typically will not follow up with specific actions.

Line manager 

Line managers have a hands-on managerial role that’s important when a change is being implemented, such as assigning specific tasks and setting goals for employees to do. Change agents focus more on inspiring, motivating, and getting support for the change instead of directly providing and overseeing specific tasks for others.

Ocm lead

An OCM lead oversees the OCM process, sets the strategy, and is responsible for the success of the process. They are a manager of the change, with others reporting to them, including the change agent. However, there may be situations where there isn’t an OCM lead, leaving the change agent to work more on their own. 

Ocm practitioner

An OCM practitioner acts on the OCM strategy set by the lead. A practitioner could be a change agent who is focused on activities related to change agents, with other practitioners concentrating on different aspects of the OCM strategy.

Ocm sponsor

An OCM sponsor focuses on aspects of communication throughout the change process. For example, they provide regular updates and communications about the transformation and gather feedback. The OCM sponsor and change agent roles can overlap and sometimes be combined depending on the specific situation.

Typical activities conducted by change agents

The responsibilities and activities of a change agent may vary depending on their role, other individuals involved, and the project’s needs. 

However, some typical activities a change agent may perform include:

• Identifying and communicating the benefits and any potential negatives of the change initiative

• Conducting initial research into the change and aspects of the process, such as doing a competitive analysis

• Communicating and helping others in the organization understand why the change is occurring and how different members (or departments) will be impacted

• Advocating for the transformation

• Communicating the value of the change

• Identifying and solving problems regarding the change process and helping anticipate concerns

• Providing training or workshops to help prepare members for the changes or assist them with implementing the changes

• Providing analysis of data to give insights to team members

• Supporting team members throughout the change process

• Communicating concerns or problems that are raised by individuals during the process so everyone is heard

The impact of successful change agents

Change agents act as advocates and liaisons of the change process. They help smooth the transformation by inspiring others, gathering critical information, and ensuring effective communication among all parties involved at the organization’s different levels. 

A successful change agent can help balance the different viewpoints, anticipate and identify potential problems before it becomes a significant issue, and promote cooperation throughout the change process. 

The techniques a change agent uses will vary depending on the goals, needs, and industry. 

Using data to help improve and change processes in a healthcare setting 

Healthcare organizations are constantly trying to balance providing high-quality care that’s also affordable. Setting up a system to help gather and analyze data can help ensure effective, efficient care that supports physicians and staff. 

To overcome obstacles and resistance to change, you can utilize change agents, or change champions, to help:

• Identify blockers of change

• Provide updated communication on the change

• Advocate for the transformation

• Create feedback channels to gather opinions    

Characteristics of a high-performing change agent

While change agents can act in different capacities, most effective change agents have the following qualities:

• Ability to understand the inner workings of an organization or a specific department

• Strong analytical abilities to help with tasks like understanding key metrics, expressing the meaning of the data, gathering data, and analyzing the information

• Effective communication skills, including being able to work well with various personalities and handle difficult situations — adaptability is essential here

• Strong organization and project management skills

• Effective leadership skills and qualities

• Can inspire and motivate others

• Empathetic and patient

• Strong listener

• Respected by others

Required skills of a change agent

To effectively drive change in organizations, all change agents require a core set of skills, including:

• Technical knowledge and ability to train others — this enables them to fully understand the core issues, how the change will impact the organization and those involved, evaluate the change, and train other team members as needed.

• Advocating, communicating, and listening — this set of skills is essential to successfully implement change in an organization, as everyone involved, from leadership to individual team members, needs to understand and support the change for it to work. 

• Research and analytical abilities — these skills allow the change agent to effectively identify solutions, collect data, evaluate the changes, and communicate findings to help guide and support the process effectively.

Finding the best-fit change agent

There are many options when it comes to choosing a change agent. For instance, you’ll need to consider if you want someone within your organization or a consultant. 

As you identify potential change agents, consider creating a list or record of potential candidates to help streamline the process for future projects. 

Identifying the right candidate

Leadership members are often tasked with identifying the right change agent. Identifying change agents, whether in your organization or a consultant, can be a process. 

Here are some things to consider to help you find the best-fit change agent for your situation:

• Look for people with previous experience advocating and implementing similar change projects.

• Identify the types of expertise necessary to help them be a strong change agent for your project — for instance, whether they need certain technical skills.

• Look for individuals who already have a strong relationship and access to the different parties or departments that will need to fully support the project.

• Consider individuals who are well-respected, have effective communication skills, and are known to work well with various personalities.

• Identify what type of organizational or department knowledge a person may need to know to assist with the broader understanding of the change, understand the need for the transformation, and help them identify potential areas of resistance due to company culture or ways departments work.  

How to become a change agent

Anyone in an organization has the potential to be a change agent. Successful change agents are able to identify needs or problems and potential solutions. They can effectively communicate the reason for the change while also being mindful of others’ opinions and listening to concerns. They can also bring people together, build support, motivate, and get people on board with the transformation.

If you have an idea for a change or have identified a need at your organization, you may want to:

• Clearly think through and outline the issue, whether it’s introducing new technology systems or creating an organizational change.

• Identify a solution, why that approach can work, and possible resistance to the change (including ideas on how to overcome it).

• Identify who in the management or leadership you can approach regarding your idea. 

• Talk with and build support for your idea and be a change agent for the transformation with the management and leadership team.

If you’re interested in becoming an external change agent, you’ll want to document experiences, training, education, and certifications that help show your skills as a change agent. If you’ve helped facilitate a change process at an organization, consider getting testimonials or a case study to help show your skills and expertise. 

Measuring the success of a change agent

Measuring the performance of a change agent can sometimes be challenging, given the various tasks they perform. However, having a set of goals or factors in mind can help ensure the change agent is meeting expectations. 

Depending on your situation, you could ask informally for feedback or create a survey that’s shared with key people the change agent would have worked with. Here are some ideas on areas to assess:

• Were project tasks completed on schedule

• Were they able to identify clear tasks, objectives, or deliverables, and did they complete them

• Quality of communication skills, including the ability to motivate individuals, gather feedback, work with various personalities, and communicate the vision or change project effectively

• Ability to build trust and listen to others in the organization at all levels

• Ability to understand the organization and its culture

• Are they able to adapt and improve their approach as needed during the project

• Quality and timeliness of documentation and reports throughout the process

Challenges change agents face

Change agents can face various challenges during the process of driving change within an organization. It can take patience and strong problem-solving skills, especially when dealing with high levels of resistance.

Here are some common challenges change agents may face:

• Resistance to the change from team members, stakeholders, employees, and management since change can often make people uneasy.

• Insufficient support from key leaders, management, or stakeholders causes delays or confusion when trying to implement the initiative. 

• Vague objectives that make it challenging to show the value of the transformation or to help prove it was a success.

• Insufficient resources or expectations that hinder implementing the change.

• Incomplete or insufficient plan that doesn’t completely outline how to implement the change.

• Lack of data or metrics to help support the need for the change.

• Organizational culture, values, or long-held beliefs that increase resistance to making a change.

• Barriers to effectively communicating the change process or idea to those involved or having inconsistent or unclear messages that increase confusion.

An effective change agent can help initiate, facilitate, and ensure a smoother change process. They can help ease resistance, improve communication, and help address problems to facilitate and ensure a successful change project.