Change readiness can be defined as an organisation's preparedness, both practically and psychologically, to adapt to upcoming changes.
With 97% of organisations planning significant transformation this year, those who facilitate change readiness within their workforce are 6.4 times more likely to see their initiatives succeed.
However, just as organisations must avoid assuming that any two change projects are the same, its critical to avoid making the assumption that their people are ready to take on this next challenge.
Are we being faced with too much change all at once?
The rate at which the world of work is evolving right now, is unprecedented.
Artificial intelligence has irrevocably changed the working landscape in a shockingly short space of time, leaving 61% of employees feeling overwhelmed by its rapid development, and 1 in 4 saying they need more support. This sentiment is unsurprising when you consider the fact that 70% of skills in jobs will change by 2030, primarily because of AI. People are seeing their skillsets lose relevance in real-time and are desperate to get ahead of the curve.
But with the ground seemingly shifting beneath people’s feet, workloads are also increasing. As newfound responsibility and pressures combine with a severe sense of uncertainty, stress takes hold and growth begins to slow. In fact, nigh on half of employees say they feel stressed at work on a daily basis now, and 86% feel “used up” at the end of the working day. Employees simply have too much on their plates and are increasingly looking to their leaders for support.
Unfortunately, they may find this support hard to come by. According to BDO's 2025 Global Risk Landscape Report, leaders are becoming increasingly paralysed by ongoing crises and are responding to uncertainty with indecisiveness and “defensive stagnation”. It should perhaps come as no surprise then, that a WTW study revealed that 57% of people believe their organisation is poor at managing change; a revelation that feels inevitable when you realise that 1 in 6 change leaders admit they have little or no experience in leading the type of change they’re currently responsible for.
Its factors such as these that organisations must consider when asking themselves: “is now a good time for another transformation initiative?" or perhaps “if we must change, where do we need to focus greater attention to ensure success?”
Considering readiness in the moment
A workforce that has historically shown resilience in response to change, may not necessarily be ready to navigate further disruption right now.
In fact, Gartner research discovered that we’re in the midst of a transformation deficit, whereby the number of employees willing to offer support for organisational change fell to just 38%, when it had previously been 74% in 2016. As such, it’s becoming increasingly common to see individuals who had been advocates for change previously, pull their support when faced with multiple initiatives all at once or in quick succession. People need time and support to embrace new ways of working, before being told there’s another new thing they must learn or come to terms with.
This is where ‘dynamic change readiness’ comes into play, whereby organisations actively consider whether their people can initiate and respond to this change at this time, in ways that create advantage, minimise risk, and sustain performance.
By acting without the best data and assuming a state of change readiness, business leaders run a significant risk of seeing their initiative join the 75% of large-scale transformations that fail to meet their objectives.
Accurate data is the foundation for successful organisational change, which is why we measure your people’s readiness to drive more effective management of your initiatives. To find out more about how we can help you evaluate dynamic change readiness within your organisation to support successful implementation, catch up with our on-demand webinar.