For a business to be successful, it needs to evolve with the times. That may mean undergoing organizational change, changes in business processes, or digital transformation. Whatever the type of change, effective change management is critical for success.
Change management means that an organization must decide on a plan and then implement it, leading to a transformation of some kind.
While regular project management can take care of getting systems, processes, and new software solutions in place, that’s just one part of the equation.
Truly successful change management also involves getting buy-in from all your stakeholders, including your entire project management structure, and managing employee engagement throughout the process. Without that buy-in and engagement, you might find yourself back where you started. ?
Effectively managing your team, your resources, and the process doesn’t have to mean reinventing the wheel, though. The original change management models have now been developed into customizable change management software that can help streamline the change management process, saving you time, effort, and money.
So how do you know which change management system to choose? The ideal one for you will depend on your particular circumstances, but there are some key features to consider.
10 Best Change Management Software and Tools in 2024
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat is Change Management Software?
Change management software refers to a specialized tool or system that helps organizations effectively manage and navigate changes within their processes, systems, or technologies. It aids in streamlining the change management process, ensuring smooth transitions and minimizing disruptions. This software typically includes features such as change request tracking, planning, implementation, and evaluation of changes.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for in Change Management Software?
Change management tools help to create some structure for the process of change. Whether you’re looking for organizational or IT change management, you’ll need a combination of some or all of these key features in your change management software:
- An intuitive user interface (UI) that doesn’t take long to learn; this, in turn, increases adoption
- Seamless integration with other related tools like customer relationship management (CRM) software and collaboration channels
- A process mapping tool that can give you a clear picture of where you are now, where you’re headed, and why, as well as all the steps you need to take to get there
- A structure that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including project managers, project sponsors, the change control or change advisory board, and end users
- A timeline that shows tasks, important milestones, and any dependencies that might cause bottlenecks, especially if you’re working with cross-functional teams (Helpful hint: A team charter—a document that clearly lays out goals, roles and responsibilities, and expectations—can work well to make sure all your team members are on the same page)
- A clear communication strategy that outlines key messages and how they will be delivered
- A training and development plan to make sure everyone has the knowledge and skills they need to cope with the change
- A risk assessment and management plan to highlight any potential risks and the strategies for dealing with them
- Clear metrics to measure the success of the change management initiative, for example, key performance indicators (KPIs) or objectives and key results (OKRs), plus a plan for gathering the feedback necessary to measure the effectiveness of your team members
Check out these team charter templates!
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 10 Best Change Management Software to Use
When you’re deciding on the best change management solution for your business, consider the type of change you’re wanting to make, whether it’s internal only or involves customers too, and what kind of reporting you need to provide to your stakeholders. ?
Each of these change management software options has specific features that might come in handy for your change management initiative.
1. ClickUp
ClickUp is an all-in-one solution and project management tool that supports every aspect of your business, from business management to change management and beyond. ClickUp can be a valuable asset in change management by providing a centralized platform for organizing and tracking all change-related tasks.
Its features like goal setting, time tracking, task assignments, and collaboration tools help ensure a smooth transition. And ClickUp’s reporting capabilities allow you to monitor progress and adjust strategies as needed, facilitating a more efficient and effective change process.
With our change management software—including user-friendly templates to help you plan, track, and roll out your project—managing change has never been easier. ?
ClickUp best features:
- Offers a change management plan with workflow time-tracking, statuses, and four different view types to help get you started with your change planning
- Use ClickUp Mind Maps to facilitate clear visualization of how everything works together
- Take your pick of 10 different change management templates, including checklists and Gantt charts for different use case scenarios, like IT service management (ITSM), SaaS projects, and work-from-home plans
- Create change management processes that walk you through your action steps, making task management easy through the life cycle of the project
- Easily identify priorities and any dependencies that might need intervention
- Manage your IT team and IT infrastructure so you’re always moving the project forward
- Create a high-level dashboard so you can quickly see what’s happening with every aspect of the project
- Easily collaborate with your team using real-time chat, assigned comments, and documented processes
ClickUp limitations:
- With the multitude of features available, there’s a learning curve to get to know them all
- The response time of the system can sometimes be a bit slow
ClickUp pricing:
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $5/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Business Plus: $19/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
ClickUp ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.7/5 (8000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (3,700+ reviews)
2. Freshservice
Freshservice’s change management software is part of the wider Freshworks platform. It’s aimed at IT service management and change across IT operations. ?️
Freshservice best features:
- Use data from your service desk to inform any necessary changes
- Create templates for new projects from existing tickets or problems, or start fresh
- Use the Workflow Automator to create a project or task when certain conditions are triggered
- Choose whether to use a waterfall, agile, or hybrid model
- Multiple view options help you easily visualize every stage of your change management project
- Customize your reports to give you the information you need to make good decisions
Freshservice limitations:
- Some users feel the user interface is a little dated and could be improved
- The limitations of the reporting feature can be frustrating
Freshservice pricing:
- Free Trial: For 21 days
- Starter: $15/month per agent
- Growth: $40/month per agent
- Pro: $80/month per agent
- Enterprise: $105/month per agent
Freshservice ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.6/5 (900+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (500+ reviews)
3. Whatfix
Whatfix is a digital adoption platform (DAP) that helps your team buy into new technology and trains them on how to use it. ?
Whatfix best features:
- Accelerated customer and employee onboarding as users quickly get to know the new system through tips, product tours, pop-ups, self-help menus, and walkthroughs
- Uses existing workflows to improve knowledge and develop expertise
- Encourages self-support when users encounter a problem, reducing demand on your IT help desk
- No coding is required to create content like interactive guides, so anyone can use the system
- Compatible with many different browsers
- This change management tool provides accessible technology to accommodate those with disabilities
Whatfix limitations:
- CRM integration isn’t yet perfect and needs more work
- Some users prefer a bit more flexibility in how tasks are completed
Whatfix pricing:
- Free Trial
- Web–Standard, Premium, or Pro: Contact for pricing
- Desktop–Premium: Contact for pricing
- Mobile–Standard or Pro: Contact for pricing
- Enterprise–Standard or Premium: Contact for pricing
Whatfix ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.6/5 (250+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (70+ reviews)
4. Gensuite
The Gensuite Management of Change (MOC) software is part of the wider Benchmark Gensuite, a cloud-based solution that aims to streamline business processes and improve engagement, accountability, and decision-making.
Gensuite best features:
- Designed to better manage changes in processes, equipment, and facilities
- Log, track, and evaluate change requests
- It considers safety, functional, and compliance risks
- Facilitates easy review and approval of the suggested changes
- Helps you manage through execution and follow-up, keeping your team informed along the way
Gensuite limitations:
- Some users have reported that the system isn’t flexible enough, and they would like to be able to customize more
- The learning curve can be steep, especially to understand how the different modules interact
Gensuite pricing:
- All Plans: Contact for pricing
Gensuite (not specific to the MOC software) ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.2/5 (11+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (70+ reviews)
5. WalkMe
WalkMe change management tools is designed to manage change for both your customers and your team, guiding users through business workflows. ?
WalkMe best features:
- Makes onboarding easy with a self-paced onboarding list
- It helps users reach their goals by encouraging desired behaviors, using insights into digital behavior and custom desktop notifications
- Reduces customer and employee support tickets, improving customer satisfaction and saving your service desk hours of time
- Offers onboarding for a range of software, including Salesforce, Talentsoft, Workday, and Jira
WalkMe limitations:
- If your business is quite complex, it can take some time to get to know the system and set it up for your needs
- Their customer support desk can be slow to respond to queries
WalkMe pricing:
- All Plans: Contact for pricing
WalkMe ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.5/5 (250+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (60+ reviews)
6. SysAid
SysAid is an IT Service Management (ITSM) tool that helps to manage change requests from initiation to roll out. ?️
SysAid best features:
- Offers automation of service desk processes to improve efficiency from the initial request through to any work done by your development team
- Based on IT infrastructure library (ITIL) best practices
- Includes configuration management database (CMDB) capability, which ensures all IT assets are configured correctly to deliver your services
- Workflow templates are preconfigured for different change scenarios or can be customized to the user’s needs
- Users can assess the risk of any suggested change, involving external stakeholders where necessary
- The approval process is then carried out at different levels to make sure the suggested solutions are in line with company policies before you implement changes
SysAid limitations:
- Some users feel that the customization is more complex than necessary and doesn’t always work well
- The user interface could do with an update
SysAid pricing:
- Free Trial
- All Plans: Contact for pricing
SysAid ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.5/5 (600+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (400+ reviews)
7. ChangeGear
ChangeGear is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform with a machine-learning engine that uses historical data to recommend solutions and speed up decision-making. ?
ChangeGear best features:
- Creates a central repository that stores all changes made across the business by the DevOps team
- Offers multiple user views depending on what the user needs
- Workflow automation that reduces repetitive tasks, minimizing risk and streamlining change and release management processes
- Set up a self-service portal for your business to deal with common queries and service requests
- These change management tools make auditing and compliance reporting easy
ChangeGear limitations:
- Some users have complained that there’s not enough training support while learning to use the system
- The backend configuration isn’t as user-friendly as it could be
ChangeGear pricing:
- All Plans: Contact for pricing
ChangeGear ratings and reviews:
- G2: 3.8/5 (80+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (50 reviews)
8. The Change Shop
They say they’re “the most usable workplace change management platform on the planet.” This change management software consists of six different tools designed to gather feedback, gauge readiness for change, and then put the necessary actions in place.
The Change Shop best features:
- The Organization tool helps you gauge if your business is ready for the next change and reminds you of best practices for change management
- The Team tool facilitates cross-team feedback
- The Change Simulator helps you run through different scenarios and assess possible risks
- The Change Leader gathers feedback from managers on how the change is going and generates custom reports
- The Personal tool allows the change project manager to rate progress on the change
- The Change Commitment Dashboard gives you an overview of the change management process and how it’s going
The Change Shop limitations:
- Not yet determined
The Change Shop pricing:
- Change Leader: Free for up to 2,500 team members
- Enterprise: $180/month for up to 10,000 team members
- Large Enterprise: Contact for pricing
The Change Shop ratings and reviews:
- G2: No reviews yet
- Capterra: No reviews yet
9. ServiceDesk Plus
ServiceDesk Plus is an IT service management platform that helps you visualize your change management process. ✨
ServiceDesk Plus best features:
- The built-in IT Asset Management (ITAM) and configuration management database (CMDB) assesses risk and helps you plan change
- Use a visual workflow designer to help you design change processes, automate workflows, and configure notifications so everyone’s in the loop
- Helps to automate IT service management review and approval processes
- Customizable roles and statuses so you can design the process to suit your business
- Log and track changes, and get input and approval on your plans
- Collects feedback about customer satisfaction and helps to identify training areas and how support can be improved
ServiceDesk Plus limitations:
- It’s not very flexible, and some users would like to be able to customize more
- Customer support can be slow when you need help
ServiceDesk Plus pricing:
- Standard: Starts from $10/month per technician
- Professional: Starts from $21/month per technician
- Enterprise: Starts from $50/month per technician
ServiceDesk Plus ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.2/5 (200+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (190+ reviews)
10. Howspace
Howspace is a tool that helps teams collaborate through change management processes, backed up by AI functionality.
Howspace best features:
- Use the workspace to get input from all stakeholders before your change management process starts
- Super Chat allows many participants to discuss ideas at the same time, no matter where in the world they are
- Make use of templates for processes like brainstorming, planning, and managing workflow
- All stakeholder ideas are centralized in one place for everyone to see
- Integrate with other tools like MS Teams, Zapier, Miro whiteboards, and Google Sheets
Howspace limitations:
- The virtual meeting platform is not yet working perfectly
- There’s no catalog of templates so you can easily see what’s available
Howspace pricing:
- Free Forever: For 20 users and three workspaces
- Unlimited: $13/month per user for unlimited workspaces
- Team: $400/month for 50 users
- Business: $700/month for 100 users
- Custom: Contact for pricing
Howspace ratings and reviews:
- G2: 4.9/5 (5 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (9 reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseChange Management Software FAQs
What are the key benefits of using change management software?
Change management software offers benefits such as streamlined change processes, improved collaboration, enhanced visibility into changes, reduced disruptions, and compliance with regulatory standards.
How does change management software facilitate communication during the change management process?
Change management software facilitates communication through collaborative tools, notifications and alerts, real-time updates, task assignment and tracking, and reporting and analytics features.
Is change management software suitable for all types of organizations?
Yes, change management software is suitable for organizations of all sizes and industries. It simplifies complex processes, enhances collaboration, improves efficiency, ensures compliance, and is scalable and customizable to meet different organizational needs.
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe Best Change Management Tools to Help Organizational Change Succeed
With the world moving as fast as it is, businesses need to continuously evolve if they want to stay relevant—which means dealing with ongoing change management.
While project management can take care of the practical aspect of change management, there’s also a human element. You need to consider how you’ll bring your team and your customers along on the change journey, too.
Taking advantage of a ready-built change management software solution can save you a lot of time and effort. You may find one that does what you need right out of the box, but if not, many of them are highly customizable.
ClickUp provides multiple customizable templates to suit your every need, all easy to use and highly effective. ?
Do your research to identify the best change management software for you, then use it to manage change seamlessly wherever needed. Your bottom line will thank you.
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
