Change Communications Certificate Course
The definitive certificate for communicators leading organizational change
Oct. 22, 29 and Nov. 5 | 1-3 p.m. ET
Two consecutive modules, office hours and peer-sharing
The strategic skills, frameworks and tools you need to communicate effectively through organizational, cultural and AI-driven transformation.
From AI transformation and digital innovation to mergers, restructurings and evolving business priorities, organizations are asking employees to adapt faster than ever. The challenge for communicators is to lead change in a way that builds trust and clarity and inspires employees to move forward together.
Join us starting Oct. 22 to earn your certificate in Change Communications, designed for communicators who want to lead with the Triple C effect: clarity, confidence and credibility. You'll learn practical frameworks for building compelling change narratives, how to prepare leaders for tough questions, when to engage stakeholders, and strategies to measure effectiveness. And, we’ll show you best practices in using generative AI to lead change in your organization.
Across two instructor-led modules and an office-hour session with access to instructors, you'll work through real-world case studies, practical exercises and expert coaching to build communications you can apply to your next change initiative.
You’ll learn how to SHARE:
- S: Shape world-class change communications that calm and address organizational risks.
- H: Harness leaders and managers as your allies to deliver informative, tailored comms that keep stakeholders informed.
- A: Achieve organizational change with greater confidence, credibility and strategic influence.
- R: Reduce risks early using employee feedback, AI-assisted analysis and audience insights.
- E: Evaluate the impact of your communications with practical metrics that connect to understanding, engagement and adoption.
CURRICULUM
It is no longer enough to respond to change. Today's communicators help shape organizational strategy, prepare leaders for uncertainty and build the trust employees need to embrace new ways of working. Learn how to position communications as a strategic business partner while building the relationships, plans and messaging that drive successful adoption.
Learn how to:
- Secure Executive Alignment: Build early alignment among senior leaders around the vision, business rationale, key messages and employee experience before communications begin.
- Develop Change Champions: Identify influential leaders and managers across the organization and equip them with the messaging, tools and confidence to reinforce change throughout every stage.
- Create Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Build lasting partnerships with HR, Legal, IT and business leaders to coordinate messaging, timing and decision-making.
- Develop Change Communications Strategies: Build communications plans that align audiences, leadership, channels and milestones across the entire change journey.
- Assess Risk Early: Identify communication risks through employee feedback, change readiness assessments and AI-powered analysis that surfaces emerging concerns before they become larger challenges.
After reviewing leading change management methodologies, you'll hear how communications leaders successfully guided organizations through some of today's most complex business transformations. Through real-world case studies, you'll explore how communication strategies helped leaders build trust, strengthen employee understanding and accelerate adoption.
Topics include:
- Change Frameworks in Action: Compare leading methodologies including Kotter and ADKAR and learn when each framework works best.
- Leading AI Transformation: See how a Fortune 500 communications team introduced AI across the organization through education, leadership engagement and thoughtful change management.
- Managing Executive Transitions: Learn how one organization navigated a CEO transition through coordinated communications, leadership alignment and close collaboration with HR.
- Communicating Through Crisis: Explore how internal communications balanced transparency, legal considerations and operational realities while helping managers rebuild employee trust.
- Navigating Mergers, Reorganizations and Workforce Change: Learn how communicators partnered with HR and executive leadership to guide employees through restructuring while maintaining engagement during uncertainty.
Successful change extends far beyond launch day. In this final session, you'll learn how to measure employee understanding and adoption, continuously refine your strategy through data and AI-powered insights, and demonstrate the business value of communications to organizational leaders. We'll also discuss how the U.S. midterm elections may influence internal communications and change initiatives.
Learn how to:
- Reinforce New Behaviors: Keep momentum alive through leadership visibility, manager communications and ongoing reinforcement that encourages lasting adoption.
- Measure What Matters: Build practical dashboards and scorecards that connect communications to employee understanding, engagement, adoption and business outcomes.
- Use AI to Strengthen Measurement: Create AI-powered workflows that summarize employee feedback, identify emerging trends and automate reporting for faster decision-making.
- Demonstrate Business Impact: Connect communication metrics to organizational goals and present results in ways that strengthen executive confidence and future investment.
- Turn Data Into Executive Stories: Translate survey results, listening data and employee feedback into compelling insights that guide leadership decisions.
Midterms and Office Hours: Bring your toughest change communications challenges for live discussion while exploring how peers are preparing for evolving political, cultural and business conditions.
BONUS MATERIALS
(Exclusive for Attendees)
- Town Hall Checklist
- AI Prompt Pack for Change Communicators
- Stakeholder Mapping Worksheet (for Crisis)
SPEAKERS
SKILLS YOU’LL LEARN:
- Lead Change with Confidence: The change management frameworks you need to communicate effectively through organizational, cultural and AI-driven transformation.
- Drive Employee Understanding and Adoption: How to craft clear, compelling change narratives that build trust, reduce resistance and inspire employees to embrace change.
- Deliver Measurable Impact: The practical templates, AI-powered workflows and measurement frameworks that will help you demonstrate the value of your change communications strategy.
- Communication Planning and Stakeholder Engagement: Best practices for cascading messaging, creating transparent feedback loops and tailoring communications to different audiences.
- Learn Measurement Best Practices: How to set meaningful metrics, track progress and gauge the success of change efforts through both qualitative and quantitative data.
- Prepare for Change Readiness: Diagnose communication risks early to proactively address gaps and mitigate crises.
Top reasons to attend this virtual course
- You’ll learn from and have access to top comms experts and instructors.
- You’ll receive a certificate of completion, plus all presentations and handouts.
- You’re guaranteed extensive, how-to instruction you can use immediately.
Secure your seat today for this exclusive change comms course offered by Ragan.
| Early Bird Until September 24 |
Regular Rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate Course Registration | $1,499 | $1,699 |
| Ragan Insider | $1,399 | $1,599 |
| Nonprofit/Gov/Edu | $1,349 | $1,549 |
Group pricing for 3 or more is available when going through the registration process!
If you can’t attend one or more of the modules live, you will receive the on-demand versions to complete the course.
WHO ATTENDS
Communications and marketing professionals from these organizations have earned certificates:
WONDERING IF YOU SHOULD ATTEND?
Here’s what past attendees say about the Change Communications Certificate Course!
The timing and relevance of this certificate could not have come at a better moment—right as we launch a new strategic vision under a new senior leader. The change management certificate offered practical, actionable models and concepts with real-world examples. We are actively applying the knowledge we gained and referring back to the excellent case studies to bolster our communication tactics.
This has truly been one of the best virtual courses I've ever taken. Thanks to my IC peers for the lively chat discussions and LinkedIn connections, to our instructors each session for such insightful and engaging content, and to the Ragan team!
I've not seen this type of content for communicators anywhere else -- especially that covered both the low and high ends of complexity (both of which I needed!).
I thoroughly enjoyed this three-day course. It went so quickly! Jam-packed with insightful nuggets and useful resources. Great instructors, content packaged in a useful way. Will be back for more courses!
Very engaging, thorough training for internal comms professionals no matter how big of an organization you work for.
Get Recognized!
This Change Communications Certificate course equips you with practical frameworks, proven strategies and real-world tools to help employees understand what's changing, why it matters and what's expected of them. You'll leave ready to communicate change with greater confidence and earn your Change Communications Certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Change Communications Certificate Course?
The Change Communications Certificate Course is a live, instructor-led professional development program designed for communications professionals responsible for helping employees, leaders and stakeholders successfully navigate organizational change.
Across three interactive virtual sessions, you'll learn practical frameworks, communication strategies and AI-powered tools that help build trust, reduce resistance, improve employee understanding and drive successful adoption during organizational transformation.
Whether your organization is implementing AI, restructuring teams, introducing new technology, managing mergers or acquisitions, navigating executive transitions or leading cultural transformation, this course teaches you how to communicate change with greater clarity, confidence and credibility.
Participants receive hands-on instruction, real-world case studies, practical templates and a Certificate of Completion from Ragan.
Who should attend the Change Communications Certificate Course?
This course is designed for professionals responsible for planning, managing or supporting organizational change initiatives.
It is ideal for:
- Internal communications professionals
- Corporate communications leaders
- Public relations professionals
- HR and employee experience leaders
- Change management professionals
- Executive communications teams
- Organizational development professionals
- Employee engagement specialists
- Communications managers, directors and executives
- Anyone responsible for helping employees understand and adopt change
Whether you're leading enterprise-wide transformation or supporting a single business initiative, you'll gain practical skills you can immediately apply.
What will I learn during the Change Communications Certificate Course?
You'll learn how to confidently lead communications before, during and after organizational change.
Topics include:
- Building comprehensive change communications strategies
- Creating compelling change narratives that build trust
- Preparing executives and managers to communicate effectively
- Developing change champion networks
- Improving stakeholder engagement
- Measuring employee understanding, adoption and business impact
- Identifying communication risks before they become larger issues
- Using AI to strengthen planning, employee listening and reporting
- Managing communications during AI transformation, reorganizations, mergers, executive transitions and crises
Each session combines proven frameworks, practical exercises and real-world case studies that help you confidently manage your next change initiative.
What is change communications?
Change communications is the strategic process of helping employees and stakeholders understand, accept and successfully adopt organizational change.
Effective change communications explain what is changing, why the change is happening, how it affects employees and what actions people need to take. Strong change communication builds trust, reduces uncertainty, encourages engagement and increases the likelihood that organizational change efforts succeed.
This course teaches practical frameworks that help communicators lead change with clarity, transparency and confidence.
Why are change communications important?
Organizations are constantly adapting to new technologies, AI, restructuring, market changes, leadership transitions and evolving business priorities.
Without effective communication, employees often experience uncertainty, confusion and resistance that can delay adoption and reduce trust.
Strong change communications help organizations:
- Build employee trust
- Increase understanding
- Reduce resistance to change
- Improve leadership credibility
- Encourage faster adoption
- Maintain engagement during periods of uncertainty
- Support successful business transformation
Communicators play a critical role in helping organizations navigate change successfully.
What types of organizational change does the Change Communications Certificate Course cover?
The course prepares communicators for many of today's most common organizational change scenarios, including:
- AI adoption and digital transformation
- Organizational restructuring
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Executive leadership transitions
- Return-to-office initiatives
- Business transformation
- Culture change
- Workforce changes
- Crisis and sensitive organizational communications
- Enterprise technology implementations
The principles taught throughout the course can be adapted to nearly any organizational change initiative.
Will I learn established change management frameworks like ADKAR and Kotter?
Yes. The course introduces widely recognized change management methodologies, including ADKAR and Kotter, while showing communications professionals how to apply these frameworks in real organizational situations.
Rather than focusing only on theory, you'll learn when each framework works best and how communications supports successful change adoption throughout every stage of transformation.
How does AI fit into change communications?
Artificial intelligence is changing how organizations communicate, manage transformation and understand employee sentiment.
Throughout the course, you'll learn practical ways to use AI responsibly to:
- Analyze employee feedback
- Identify emerging communication risks
- Improve change readiness assessments
- Summarize listening data
- Automate reporting
- Support measurement
- Strengthen strategic decision-making
You'll also examine real-world examples of organizations successfully communicating AI adoption and organizational transformation.
Will I learn how to measure the success of change communications?
Yes. Measurement is a core component of successful change communications.
You'll learn how to build dashboards and scorecards that measure:
- Employee understanding
- Engagement
- Change adoption
- Leadership effectiveness
- Communication reach
- Employee feedback
- Business outcomes
You'll also learn how to present meaningful results to executives in ways that demonstrate the strategic value of communications.
How will the Change Communications Certificate Course help my career?
Organizations increasingly expect communications professionals to lead strategic business transformation rather than simply communicate announcements.
By completing this course, you'll strengthen your ability to advise executives, guide organizational change, improve employee engagement and demonstrate measurable business impact.
The practical frameworks, AI skills and change communication strategies you'll learn can help position you as a trusted strategic advisor within your organization.
Is the Change Communications Certificate Course appropriate for someone new to change communications?
Yes. The course is designed for both experienced communicators and professionals who are newer to organizational change.
You'll build a strong foundation in change communications strategy while also learning advanced approaches for measurement, AI, stakeholder engagement and executive communication.
Because the course emphasizes practical application rather than theory alone, professionals at all experience levels can benefit.
Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. Participants who successfully complete the program receive a Certificate of Completion from Ragan recognizing their achievement in Change Communications.
The certificate demonstrates your commitment to professional development and your ability to lead organizational change using proven communications strategies.
Will I receive presentation materials and course resources?
Yes. Attendees receive presentation materials, practical templates, handouts and exclusive resources designed to help you continue applying what you've learned after the course concludes.
These tools are intended to support future change initiatives and provide practical reference materials for your organization.
What happens if I can't attend a live session?
If you're unable to attend one or more live modules, you'll receive the on-demand recordings so you can complete the course on your own schedule.
This flexibility allows you to benefit from the full curriculum regardless of scheduling conflicts.
Why should I take a Change Communications Certificate Course now?
Organizations are experiencing unprecedented levels of transformation driven by AI, digital innovation, evolving workforce expectations, economic uncertainty and shifting business priorities.
Communicators who understand how to build trust, prepare leaders, engage stakeholders, measure adoption and guide employees through change have become essential strategic partners.
The Change Communications Certificate Course provides practical frameworks, AI-powered tools and immediately applicable strategies that help you confidently lead organizational transformation while advancing your career.
Who do I contact with questions?
For registration or speaker questions about Ragan's Change Communications Certificate Course, please contact the appropriate member of our team:
Registration: Contact: Shallon Blackburn, Director of Client Services
Programming and speaking inquiries: Alyssa Smith, Senior Director of Event Programming
How do I register?
Register directly at the event registration link.
