Change Management WalkMe TeamUpdated November 17, 2021

Is a Prosci Certification Worth the Investment?

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Is a Prosci Certification Worth the Investment?

A Prosci certification can help business professionals advance their careers in change management, learn best practices, improve change project outcomes, and more.

But is a Prosci certification worth the investment?

There are, after all, several different options when it comes to change management training, and not all offer the same advantages.

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Below, we’ll learn about the certification in detail, its pros, its cons, and who should invest in this training.

Types of Prosci Certifications and Trainings

Prosci offers a number of training solutions for professionals at every skill level.

These include:

  • Change management certification. Prosci’s most widely attended training program is its change management certification program. This core program offers essential change management knowledge that can help managers learn principles, best practices, and practical tools.
  • Train-the-trainer programs. This program is designed to help change managers coach and train frontline employees during a project. The ability to coach employees during a change process is essential, as change managers know, since employee engagement directly impacts the outcomes of change projects.
  • Integrating agile and change management. Agile change management is the fusion of agile methodologies with change management best practices. This approach to change management has become more common in recent years, making this workshop useful for change managers who want a more modern approach to change management.
  • Immersion workshops. This intensive program is designed for advanced change management professionals who want to learn about data-based change management methods and network with other change management professionals in an immersive environment.
  • Change leadership programs. Change leadership and change management are both crucial to the success of a business change project. To successfully drive change, managers and business leaders must be able to take charge, embody the change they are seeking, and proactively guide teams through a change.
  • Enterprise change management workshops. To lead change successfully, organizations must have a formal change management capability. That is, they must build an enterprise change management function. Prosci’s course on this topic is ideal for any professional who wants to enhance their organization’s ability to implement change.

Clearly, each of these certifications has its own set of benefits and its own use cases. As we’ll see below, it pays to evaluate each program based on its relevance to one’s own situation.

Who Should Invest in a Prosci Certification?

There are several roles that can benefit from a Prosci certification, including:

  • Change management professionals. Chances are, change management professionals have a certification or degree already. Prosci’s more specialized training, however, can be very beneficial for those who want to advance their careers even further or gain more targeted skills.
  • Managers involved in business change projects. Any manager who helps coordinate organizational transformation and change efforts can benefit from change management training, regardless of their specialization or department. After all, those who have more skills in change management will help the organization produce better outcomes.
  • HR professionals. Since organizational change depends on the engagement of the workforce, HR involvement is a must. Among other things, HR assists with communication, employee training, and the implementation of various aspects of the program.

It is also worth noting that as one’s experience level changes, so too do learning needs. Those with more experience in change management will need a more advanced curriculum.

This demonstrates another benefit of Prosci’s change management training: versatility and depth.

Change managers who want to go beyond basic certifications, therefore, can continue learning over the course of their career and gain even more expertise in change management.

In contrast, other types of change management training rarely offer this level of depth and specialized training.

Is Prosci Right for Everyone?

Clearly, there are many advantages to obtaining a Prosci certification.

However, it is not right for everyone and there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

For instance:

  • Prosci’s training focuses on its own proprietary change management methodology. The Prosci ADKAR method focuses on the individual side of change and its three-phase organizational change model focuses on the organizational side of change. Both of these have been developed by Prosci and are widely recognized, but professionals who want exposure to other methods may want to investigate different options.
  • Some employers may prefer or recognize other types of certifications. In some cases, employers may prefer a different approach to change management, such as ACMP’s approach or John Kotter’s approach. In those instances, Prosci’s training would do little good.
  • Prosci’s certifications are not accredited. For some professionals and institutions, accreditation matters. While Prosci’s training provides content that is both practical and useful, they are not an academic institution. If accreditation matters, then it may be necessary to look elsewhere for change management training or supplement Prosci’s training with certification from an accredited institution.

As we have seen, Prosci’s training programs certainly have their advantages. Ultimately, however, each person will need to evaluate their own circumstances to determine whether Prosci’s training is suited to their needs and goals.

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