Start date: We have relaunched our specialist diplomas with the PR Academy and you can now start anytime!
Length: Typical time to complete is six months, but you have one year to complete the course.
Member Price: £2200 + VAT
Non-member Price: £2600 + VAT
The PRCA Diploma in Change Management and Communication positions internal communication as a critical success component for major change programmes. It includes a thorough exploration of change management frameworks, impact and the project management models used so that internal communication managers can understand the approaches that are most often adopted inside large organisations. This includes systematic approaches to dealing with the transformation of an organisation's goals, processes or technologies and associated changed projects such as restructures, relocations, new work processes and IT system updates or replacements.
The course considers practical challenges and conceptual underpinnings relating to change management in agile and complex organisational settings. It focuses on the best ways to lead people through change, including approaches to communication in various stages of business change management programmes. This incorporates stakeholder identification and management, storytelling, channel management, coaching senior managers, communication planning and outcome measurement.
Qualification objectives
Successful candidates will be able to:
1. Understand key concepts in change management:
- Waterfall and agile approaches
- The potential impact of successful business change management
- The importance of effective business change leadership
- Stakeholder identification and prioritisation
- Stakeholder engagement
- Issues identification and risk management
2. Apply communication and engagement models in a change management context and advise senior change programme managers/clients:
- Communicating and leading people through change (gaining commitment);
- Listening, authenticity and dialogue;
- Communication planning and objective setting;
- Creating the narrative for change management;
- The transition curve and the psychology of change communication and engagement;
- Measurement and evaluation of communication outputs and outcomes.
The online training will be delivered by the PR Academy and the course leader will be Ann Pilkington - https://pracademy.co.uk/about/people/.
Testimonials
“This diploma had exactly the right balance between academic learning and practical application. It’s enabled me to adopt new approaches in the workplace – after many years of leading communications on change and transformation programmes – and has reignited my passion for learning.”
Louise Douglas, Global Communications & Engagement Manager – Cyber Security, Unilever
''I have worked in the communications industry for 10 years and recently gained a role specialising in change comms. Despite having quite a bit of hands-on experience in various roles, I realised that gaining a thorough understanding of change management, and all the theory that sits behind it, would be massively beneficial. I was keen to study this in more detail and was really pleased when I saw the PRCA Diploma in Change Management and Communication advertised as I hadn’t seen anything previously that combined these two disciplines in a single qualification. I’ve still got a few months to go but so far am finding it both useful and insightful, and I’m already applying my learning across my team and organisation.''
Julia Graham, Great Places Housing Group
''I wanted to enhance my skills and qualifications in order to consolidate my change management experience and re-establish myself in the comms market. The PRCA diploma has so far helped me achieve both of these goals, and has provided practical examples and solid theories which I’ve been able to apply in real time in my new role. I’d definitely recommend the course to internal and change communications professionals.''.
Seb Hearmon, Communication and change specialist
''The course has taught me so much about the theory and practicalities of planning and managing change communications. I’m looking forward to implementing what I’ve learnt.”
Judith Flacks, Head of Communications and PR - Jewish Care
'' I have recently completed the six-month PRCA Diploma in Change Management and Communication. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and was able to immediately apply my learning in my role as Change Communications Manager. I am now equipped with the theory, tools and practical knowledge to better understand the complexities of organisational transformation, and to plan, lead and support colleagues as they navigate change. Thank you to Liz Yeoman, Ann Pilkington and Kevin Ruck for the interesting discussions and support provided via the online ‘common room’ and regular webinars. I also extend my thanks and congratulations to my fellow cohort of students from whom I also learnt a great deal. I would certainly recommend the course to anyone interested in learning more about managing and communicating through change.''
Sam Whitwham, Change Communications Manager - British Red Cross
''I loved undertaking the Change Management & Communication Diploma. It gave me a solid foundation in terms of understanding the most effective communications approach for a variety of scenarios, and the lecturers were brilliant in terms of their understanding of the issue and being available to talk about questions and issues. I can't recommend this course more highly."
Alex Malouf, Corporate Communications Director
''Studying Change Management and Communication with the PRCA was great. The content was excellent and delivered by very knowledgeable, experienced practitioners. It was pitched at the right level for me as someone who has worked in communications for several years. The online course was easy and convenient to access and the support available was always good.''
Alexandra James
‘’I took the decision of enrolling in the Change Management and Communication Diploma and it was the right one! Despite having knowledge of Internal Communication, I wanted to focus on how to communicate change. This course was very useful for me to understand change management models and, then, to be able to apply them in my professional activity. There has been a lot of useful material and lectures and the support of the teachers has been outstanding! As well I have received great support from the general services in PRCA.’’
Vanessa Carabante Romero
‘’I thoroughly enjoyed the course which exceeded my expectations in many respects. The modules covered were well structured and the materials provided and content explored was both interesting and informative. The flexibility of the online delivery meant I could learn at my own pace, therefore incorporate the time required into my already busy life without becoming too bogged down.The real bonus was access to the course tutors, who I found to be highly experienced professionals in the field. They were very engaging, supportive and willing to share their own knowledge and experience and could answer any queries (explaining reason in a clear and easy to understand way). The learning portal was well designed, easy to navigate and provided a great way to access the course tutor Liz, who always responded to any queries I had quickly, which was much appreciated. This course has produced real learning for me that I can now not only take away and apply to my work but that I can continue to build and reflect on. My eyes have been opened to the perspective of others in the field and the value of critical thinking, research and reflective learning practice. Thank you PRCA team, great job !’’
Kelly Cooper, Home Office
''I found the Change Management and Communication diploma really interesting. It reignited my passion for change communications and introduced me to new ideas and theories in this area of communications that I hadn't come across before but will definitely use in the future.The course fitted in well with my full-time job as I was able to watch sessions back if I couldn't see them in real time and the trainer answered any questions I had quickly through the student system.''
Charlotte Westgate
''The PRCA Diploma in Change Management and Communication provided an in-depth understanding of change management which was invaluable to me, having recently started a challenging role managing communications for a change programme. Both the theory and practical examples on the course were relevant to my work and I was able to immediately start using the knowledge I gained to ensure best professional practice. The style and pace of the course suited my busy schedule, and the course tutor was very helpful, responding quickly to my queries about the assignment. I learnt a lot over the six months and was delighted to be awarded a distinction!''
Andrea Kennedy, Communications Manager, Belfast Region City Deal Programme at Queen’s University Belfast
The course really helped me reflect on the ways I have previously managed change, both within my organisation and with external partners. I’m pleased to have been able to underpin the practical examples I have with the theory, and also to be able to have identified what approaches I could utilise in future to improve the role communications can play in change management. The lectures were always interesting and relevant, and learning alongside peers from different industries helped bring competing and complimentary perspectives to the discussions.
Owen Hathway, Assistant Director of Insight, Policy and Public Affairs at Sport Wales
“The Change Management and Communications Diploma gave me a really good insight into this important area of work. It enabled me to explore in detail how communications and project/programme management can work together to deliver effective change. The course covered a wide range of really interesting topics and I would thoroughly recommend it.”
Matthew Woolford Head of Internal Communications