Over the last five years of my career, I’ve specialized in implementing complex digital solutions while focusing on the people side of change.

Specifically, I’ve worked with teams to understand and translate the distinct challenges they face in designing and delivering new or existing programs and services to ensure that they are adopted and sustained long-term by relevant stakeholders.

To achieve this, I enable teams to leverage human-centred approaches such as change management and service design to enhance their project/program design. Navigating the use of these methodologies can be, however, difficult, as employees often do not have the training nor the operational experience to enable them.  As a result, we’re seeing more and more organizations establish transformation teams to effectively deliver this service.

As a public sector leader in change management and service design, I’ve had the opportunity to develop a Change Management Office from scratch within the public sector. In doing so, I’ve realized how difficult it can be to operationalize change management as a service and frequently meet with others trying to do the same. 

This Playbook aims to positions others looking to establish a Change Management Office, particularly in a public sector setting. 

It was built with best practices inspired by others in the field, as well as my own personal experiences in leading change across the Canadian federal public service. 

It is important to use this Playbook as a guide, as change practitioners will always need to apply flexibility and judgement to their work in order to tailor change management tactics to project realities. 

In addition, checkpoints have been added within the Playbook to support the delivery of change management as both a service and program, building in the internal steps needed to position a team of change practitioners for success. 

References to external materials have been linked where cited

The Playbook itself is organized into three parts: 

1. Defining your Change Office – here you’ll find an example of what this could look like.
2. A general overview on change management, including a high level introduction to various change management methodologies.
3. A step-by-step approach on how to deliver change management as a service – here the section is broken down further into three main areas:
   1. Intake – how requests are reviewed and assessed for project support.
   2. Project Support – this section is organized in four phases: defining the change vision and strategy; designing and developing change tactics with stakeholder engagement; delivering and supporting on change recommendations; and sustaining project success.
   3. Close-out – how change practitioners will eventually close-out support.

My sincere hope in developing and sharing this guide is that it serves as a valuable resource in upskilling change management practitioners across the public sector.

Navigating change is often a constant and difficult challenge in the public sector but by sharing these best practices, I hope to equip change practitioners (new and seasoned) with the tools and insights needed to navigate these complexities effectively. 

The reality is, change is hard. But designing your Change Office doesn’t have to be.

Change often demands practitioners to work in the proverbial ‘grey,’ where clear answers may be elusive, and solutions require adaptability. Yet, within this challenging terrain lies the essence of our work—the ability to untangle the mess, find clarity, and guide organizations through their transformation efforts. In recognizing the demanding nature of this field, it’s imperative for change management practitioners to understand the value of their roles. As change becomes a constant in the public sector, our work is not just valuable, it is an indispensable asset in steering successful and meaningful transformations that contribute to the greater good of society.

To download the Playbook: