“Become a student of change. It’s the only thing that will remain constant”.
Anthony J. D’Angelo
Within organisations, change agents are the ones who perform various roles and functions that differ according to the needs of the environment.
Author Faria Mello picks up where Kenneth Benne (1999: 107) left off by pointing out that the skills a change agent needs can be grouped into seven areas:
According to the graph, the change agent will be the one who participates in the identification processes of areas or projects that require a change in the organisation, makes a diagnosis based on this, and then analyses and proposes a plan, executes it, and evaluates whether or not it achieved its objectives.
The spur of this transformation within an organisation poses a major challenge for Human Resources: the opportunity to revolutionise the work experience by innovating processes, systems and relationships through new platforms.
In this sense, when we build multidisciplinary teams where decision-making is based on continuous feedback between team members and the customer him/herself, we help the group grow when it comes to competencies, empowering employees and rewarding creativity, commitment and performance.
What is the change agent’s role?
A change agent is someone able to proactively drive and promote initiatives that improve the work environment. The change agent is on a mission to become the example and convey their enthusiasm about the future they want to build, helping decision-makers devise the strategies and plans needed to effect a successful transformation.
Go on then! Spearhead change at your workplace! Become an instigator of processes at your organisation!
Keywords: Change agents, teamwork, change accelerators, work teams, talent management.