Purpose & Strategic Importance
Every strategic plan introduces priorities that will change how the National Society functions. Change can provoke fear or resistance among staff, volunteers, or governance. Managing this process thoughtfully is essential to ensuring successful implementation.
Core Concepts & Definitions
What is change management?
Change management is the process of:
- Planning for and supporting people through organisational change.
- Identifying where there may be internal resistance.
- Designing approaches to implement change effectively, even when proposals are controversial.
- Finding ways to incentivise staff and volunteers to change how they work.
The bigger the change, the more important it is to have a clear change management plan in place.
Activities & Decisions
The role of leadership
Senior leadership should:
- Review the risk register developed with the strategic plan.
- Identify where resistance is likely.
- Ensure that adequate change management planning is built into the implementation phase.
Examples & Learning
Syrian Arab Red Crescent
“We found we needed a change of mindset in the National Society to help people make the link between the strategy and their daily work. People would ask us: ‘Does your strategy provide fuel to move cars?’. Our partners helped us to make that linkage.”
— NSD and Strategic Planning Unit Manager, Syrian Arab Red Crescent
Swedish Red Cross
“One of the things we realised through our strategic planning process was that we needed to work much harder on diversity and inclusion, so that the Swedish Red Cross is not seen as an organisation for privileged people. It took more than one year to develop a sub-strategy for how SRC was going to work in this area after the main strategy had been approved.”
— Organisational Developer, Swedish Red Cross
Yemen Red Crescent Society
“To empower our branch offices and drive strategic implementation, we initiated capacity building and change management programs. These programs focused on strategic thinking, initiative-taking, and resource attraction at the branch level. We also clarified roles and responsibilities between governance and management. These targeted interventions have strengthened our branch network’s capacity to execute the strategy.”
— Acting Executive Director, Yemen Red Crescent Society
Implementation Notes
By approaching change with planning, transparency, and support, National Societies can turn resistance into engagement and strengthen the whole organisation’s ability to deliver on the strategy.
