Change Management Guide for a Hybrid Workforce - Recommended Actions and Phases

Sep 12, 2026

Change Management Guide for a Hybrid Workforce supports People Leaders and HR at UC Irvine in preparing, communicating, supporting, and enabling individuals and teams to implement change successfully. It defines hybrid work as a combination of on-site and remote roles, explains why change management matters through research findings on people change and communication, and provides a practical three-phase action plan. Guidance covers preparation, managing and communicating, and reinforcing, including appointing a Change Management Champion and clarifying stakeholders and impacts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Summary of Topic

Importance of Change (Research Findings)

Recommended Actions

Step 1. Prepare

Step 1.a. Understanding the Change(s)

Change Management Guide for a Hybrid Workforce Audience: People Leaders and HR Definition of Hybrid: A combination of on-site, remote and both types of workforce that ensures effective business operations. In this Guide, Leaders Will Find the Following: • Summary of Topic • Importance of Change (Research Findings) • Recommended Actions This Change Management guide is intended to be: • Scalable – For use by any leader of staff at UC Irvine: top leaders (Vice Chancellors, Associate/Assistant Vice Chancellors, Deans, Assistant Deans, etc. ), school/unit heads (Chairs, Department Heads), area leaders (Managers, etc. ) • Easy to Use – You can utilize the tables within this document, the Excel waorkbook guide, or the onepage worksheet Summary of Issue (aka Change is Hard) “ organizations don’t change, people do.” --Tim Creasey, Chief Innovation Officer, Prosci Even small changes can have large impacts: writing a new year on documents is a change we stumble over annually; we complain when the weather forecast changes; the University Drive construction caused repeated changes to our commutes and speculation over the completion date. The success of a project or change is directly related to the application and effectiveness of change management. The relationship between project/change goals and its success lies in the amount of “people change” required to meet those goals. As we move to a hybrid workforce, nearly 100% of the success of this change is linked to people changing how they work. Change can be disruptive and upsetting, especially when it involves your livelihood The “work from home” status that was ordered in March 2020 (and the myriad impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – remote learning, businesses closing, mask wearing, etc. ) has likely been the largest change we have experienced in our lifetimes. It wasn’t easy or smooth. As we move toward a “new normal,” it may be intellectually easy to envision but shifting our organization to a hybrid workforce will be another significant change to our lives. We can make this change much smoother. Unlike the work-from-home change in March 2020, we can use the concepts of change management to plan for and guide the shift to a hybrid workforce. This will greatly increase the likelihood of success. Change management is an approach to preparing, communicating, supporting, and helping individuals and teams successfully implement change. Recommended Viewing: “What is Change Management?” from Prosci, a leader in the change management field Recommended Reading: “Definition of Change Management” from Prosci, a leader in the change management field Why Is Change Management Important? (Research Findings) Change starts with people, one person at a time Numerous studies have shown that the total value created by a project is directly related to the application and effectiveness of change management. In order to contextualize the connection between change management and a project’s success, look at the relationship between the intended outcomes of your project and the amount of people change required to achieve those outcomes. The bottom line is that 100% of our project outcomes are linked to people changing how they work. Communication is Key When people are under stress, their ability to process information is reduced by 80% The absence of information foments distrust, disengagement, and rumors, which distracts us from our work and jeopardizes the success of our change. This is one of the reasons it is critical to communicate so extensively during change. Beyond extensive communication, consistent messaging will ensure everyone hears the same message and understands the new direction and how their work and behaviors will be impacted. Recommended Actions Implementing change management methods to help your unit shift to a hybrid workforce is not difficult, but it does take some thought. This action plan focuses on three phases, which we will

FAQs

What does “hybrid workforce” mean in this guide?

Hybrid work is a combination of on-site, remote, and both types of workforce that ensures effective business operations.

Why is change management important for project outcomes?

Project success is tied to how much people must change how they work to achieve intended outcomes, so effective change management directly influences results.

What are the three phases in the recommended action plan?

The guide structures actions into Step 1 Prepare, Step 2 Manage & Communicate, and Step 3 Reinforce.

Sep 12, 2026

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