Organisational Change Leadership in Banking: People, Culture and Adoption Training Course

Programme Summary

Organisational change leadership in banking is the subject of this five-day training course for HR directors, HR business partners, culture leads and transformation managers at managerial level, ending in a people change plan for one transformation programme. Banks change systems, structures and products faster than they change roles, habits and conduct, and the gap is where programmes stall. The approach moves from change impact and readiness, through role redesign, culture and leadership alignment, to communication, adoption measurement and a worked plan. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in organisational change leadership in banking.

The Business Case

Transformation programmes in banks often meet their technical milestones and still fail to change daily work, because roles, skills, incentives and behaviours were not redesigned alongside the systems. Organisations that assess people impact early, lead managers through the change and measure adoption can correct course while it is still cheap, and keep conduct standards steady during disruption.

• Adoption Rate of New Ways of Working: Rises as managers, training and reinforcement are planned by audience.
• Conduct and Culture Risk: Reduces as behaviours are diagnosed and monitored through the change.
• Capability Gaps After Go-Live: Narrow as reskilling pathways follow the role impact assessment.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ADKAR: Its sequence of awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement structures the barrier analysis in Session 3 and the adoption work in Session 4.
• Kotter's eight-step change model: Its steps frame the change case and leadership alignment work in Sessions 1 and 3.
• Lewin's unfreeze, change and refreeze model: It supports the reinforcement checklist built into HR processes in Session 4.

Intended Participants

• HR directors who sponsor the people side of a bank transformation.
• HR business partners who advise business units on role and capability change.
• Culture and talent leads who monitor behaviours and conduct through the change.
• Transformation managers who plan communication, training and adoption.

The programme serves retail banking, corporate banking, operations and risk functions.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to construct a change case and a change impact assessment for a bank transformation.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose workforce capability gaps and design role changes.
3. Participants will be able to evaluate culture and conduct indicators during change.
4. Participants will be able to prioritise leadership alignment actions for sponsors and managers.
5. Participants will be able to design communication, training and reskilling for each audience.
6. Participants will be able to justify an adoption measurement approach and the HR process changes that reinforce it.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Change Leadership in Banking Foundations

Why is this change needed, and who is affected in what way?

• Change Case Statement
• Change Impact Assessment by Role
• Stakeholder and Readiness Map
• Kotter Eight-Step Model Applied to Banks
• Case Review of Two Bank Transformation Programmes

Day 2: Workforce and Role Redesign

Which roles and skills must change, and how are people moved across?

• Role Impact Matrix
• Capability Gap Analysis
• Reskilling Pathway Design
• Workforce Transition Plan
• Redeployment and Capacity Rules

Day 3: Culture, Conduct and Leadership Alignment

Which behaviours will carry the change, and who must model them?

• Culture Baseline Diagnostic
• Conduct Behaviour Indicators
• ADKAR Barrier Analysis
• Leadership Alignment Charter
• Sponsor and Manager Role Brief

Day 4: Communication, Training and Adoption Measurement

How do people learn, adopt and sustain the new ways of working?

• Communication Plan by Audience
• Manager Cascade Toolkit
• Training Plan for New Ways of Working
• Adoption Indicator Set
• HR Process Reinforcement Checklist

Day 5: Applying Change Leadership in Banking to One Programme

Is the people change plan ready for the transformation sponsor to approve?

• Applying the Session 1 Impact Assessment to the Programme
• Testing the Session 2 Reskilling Pathway on a Sample Role
• Checking Session 3 Behaviour Indicators Against the Plan
• Applying the Session 4 Adoption Indicators to a Release Date
• Completing the People Change Plan

Methodology

The programme is built around case analysis and structured exercises. Participants work with an anonymised bank transformation profile, role descriptions and sample survey data, assess impact, redesign roles and plan communication in small teams, then defend the plan before a simulated steering group. No change management software is required.

• Suggested activity: Mapping the role impact of a new lending platform on branch and operations staff.
• Suggested activity: Reading a sample culture survey and choosing three conduct indicators to monitor.
• Suggested activity: Drafting a manager cascade brief for a restructuring announcement.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a people change plan for one transformation programme. It contains a change case, an impact assessment, a role and reskilling plan, a culture and conduct watch list, a communication and training calendar and an adoption indicator set. It is used to brief the steering group and to guide HR actions after go-live.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is change leadership in banking training suitable for HR professionals without a transformation background?

Yes. Change leadership in banking training is set at managerial level and assumes experience of HR, talent or business partnering work, not prior transformation delivery.

Which models does change leadership in banking rest on in this programme?

Change leadership in banking rests on the ADKAR model, Kotter's eight-step change model and Lewin's unfreeze, change and refreeze model.

How is the people change plan for change leadership in banking used at work?

You use the people change plan to brief the steering group, sequence role and training actions and track adoption after go-live.