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Quick Look Course Summary:Change Management: Formulate Recommendations for a Change Process (3 days)
  • Length: 3 day(s)

  • Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 14,997 EX VAT 3 Person R 11,205 EX VAT 10 Person R 8,042 EX VAT

  • Certification Type:Non-Accredited

  • Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.

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    Change Management: Formulate Recommendations for a Change Process (3 days)

    Your managers turn a vague sense that something must change into a researched, costed recommendation that senior management can approve and act on.

    Most change initiatives fail long before implementation starts: the problem was never properly defined, the wrong approach was chosen, or the proposal reached the executive committee as an opinion rather than a case. This change management course for managers deals with that front end of change. It is built for heads of department, section heads and divisional managers who have to spot when their area needs to change, work out exactly what should change and persuade decision-makers to back it.

    Over three days, delegates work through the full analytical sequence. Day one looks at why change is needed: the external pressures on South African organisations, from energy security and rising costs to new regulation, digital tools and shifting customer expectations, and the internal signals that something is not working. Day two analyses one real area in the delegate's own unit – current state, root causes, stakeholders and readiness – and compares the main change models, including Lewin, Kotter, ADKAR and McKinsey 7-S, so that delegates can choose the right one for the situation.

    Day three turns the analysis into recommendations: options, costs and risks, an implementation and communication plan, measures of success and a short written report, which each delegate presents for feedback. Delegates leave with a draft proposal they can table at work.

    Why this course

    For your organisation

    • Change proposals based on evidence, not opinion
    • Fewer failed or abandoned initiatives, because the problem is defined first
    • Managers who choose an approach that fits the change instead of repeating the last one
    • Recommendations that arrive with costs, risks, measures and a plan attached
    • Earlier involvement of the people and representatives the change will affect

    For your delegates

    • A practical toolkit for analysing any area that needs to change
    • A working knowledge of the main change models and when to use each
    • A draft recommendation report on a real issue from your own unit
    • Practice presenting a proposal and handling challenging questions

    What delegates will be able to do

    • Explain why the organisation needs to change, using evidence from its internal and external environment
    • Analyse a specific area of the unit using current-state mapping, gap analysis and root-cause tools
    • Identify the stakeholders affected by a change and assess their influence and likely response
    • Assess how ready the unit is for change and where resistance is likely to come from
    • Compare common change models and select one that suits the type and scale of change
    • Develop and evaluate options against agreed criteria, including cost, risk and impact on people
    • Draft an implementation, communication and measurement plan for the recommended option
    • Write and present a clear recommendation report to decision-makers

    Who should attend

    Second-level managers – heads of department, section heads, divisional and branch managers – who lead more than one team and are expected to identify and propose improvements. Also suitable for HR business partners, organisational development and project staff, and team leaders being prepared for a broader management role.

    Course outline

    Day 1 – Why change is needed

    Change and the organisation
    • Types of change: incremental, transitional and transformational
    • Planned versus emergent change
    • Why so many change initiatives fail
    • The manager's role in identifying and proposing change
    • Introducing each delegate's change issue
    Reading the external environment
    • A PESTLE scan of your sector
    • South African pressures: energy security, costs, regulation and B-BBEE
    • Technology, automation and AI in your industry
    • Customer, competitor and supplier shifts
    • Turning trends into implications for your unit
    Internal signals that change is needed
    • Performance data, targets and trends
    • Customer complaints, rework and delays
    • Staff turnover, absenteeism and engagement results
    • Audit findings and compliance gaps
    • Exercise: listing the evidence for your issue
    How people experience change
    • The change curve and common reactions
    • Why people resist, and what resistance tells you
    • Loss, uncertainty and the need for information
    • How past change affects readiness today
    Making the case for change
    • Linking the change to strategy and objectives
    • Creating urgency without panic
    • The cost of doing nothing
    • Drafting a one-page case for your issue

    Day 2 – Analysing the area and choosing a model

    Mapping the current state
    • Defining the scope of the area to be analysed
    • Process mapping and walk-throughs
    • Gathering data through observation, interviews and records
    • Gap analysis: current versus desired state
    Finding the root causes
    • Symptoms versus causes
    • The five whys
    • Cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagrams
    • Testing causes against the evidence
    • Exercise: root-cause analysis of your issue
    Stakeholders and readiness
    • Identifying everyone the change affects
    • Power and interest mapping
    • Consulting staff and employee representatives early, as general guidance and not legal advice
    • Assessing readiness: culture, capacity, leadership and timing
    • Anticipating sources of resistance
    Change models compared
    • Lewin: unfreeze, change, refreeze
    • Kotter's eight steps
    • ADKAR and individual change
    • McKinsey 7-S for organisation-wide change
    • Bridges: managing the transition as well as the change
    Selecting the right model
    • Matching the model to the scale and type of change
    • Combining models sensibly
    • Setting criteria for your choice
    • Exercise: choosing and justifying a model for your issue

    Day 3 – Building and presenting the recommendations

    Developing and evaluating options
    • Generating realistic options, including doing nothing
    • Weighing costs, benefits and risks
    • A simple decision matrix
    • Checking options against legal, policy and budget limits
    Planning implementation
    • Objectives, phases and milestones
    • Resources, budget and responsibilities
    • Piloting before full roll-out
    • Training and support for the people affected
    Communication and resistance
    • Who needs to hear what, when and from whom
    • Messages that explain the why
    • Responding to concerns and objections
    • Building commitment among informal leaders
    Measuring the change
    • Choosing KPIs and success measures
    • Monitoring progress and adjusting course
    • Recognising milestones
    • The post-implementation review
    Writing and presenting the recommendation
    • Structure of a recommendation report
    • Writing an executive summary decision-makers will read
    • Presenting the case and answering challenge
    • Delegate presentations with feedback
    • Personal action plan and close

    How it is delivered

    Three days, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to 20; each delegate brings one real change issue from their own area to work on. Workbook, analysis templates and a recommendation report template included. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.

    Certificate: Delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance. This is a non-accredited short course; the training spend may count towards your B-BBEE skills development – check with your verification agency.

    What our clients say

    ★★★★★ 4.8 on Google from 770+ reviews · word-for-word quotes from signed letters of reference, from clients on this and/or related BOTI courses

    “The training was practical, engaging and relevant to our workplace environment, providing participants with valuable knowledge and practical skills that could be applied in their respective roles.”

    A cosmetics manufacturerHR Department · Course: Change Management Training · 2026

    “The facilitator was engaging, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. She managed the group dynamic with great EQ and was well received by the delegates.”

    A national regulator of the home-building industryCourse: Overcoming Diversity & Stigma in the Workplace · 2020

    “What stood out most was the facilitator’s deep subject matter expertise and the highly interactive nature of the sessions. The face-to-face format fostered active participation, encouraged meaningful collaboration, and allowed for immediate feedback”

    A national health-professions regulatorHuman Resource Development Consultant · Course: Employment Equity training program · 2025

    Read what our clients say

    Frequently asked questions

    Can you run this course at our offices?

    Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa; we can also host it at a BOTI venue or deliver it live online.

    How many people can attend?

    From one delegate to groups of 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.

    Is it accredited?

    No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.

    How is this different from the one-day change course?

    The one-day course is a practical workshop on leading people through change: preparing the team, gaining buy-in and building resilience. This three-day course is for managers who must analyse an area, choose a change model and present a formal recommendation.

    Can delegates work on a real change in our organisation?

    Yes – that is how the course is designed. Delegates bring a live issue from their own unit and build their analysis and recommendation around it over the three days.

    Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?

    Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.

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