While change is inevitable, successful change is not. With transformation projects becoming increasingly complex and far more regular, their success is determined by the state of readiness within an organisation. Mercer’s global talent trends report says 97% of companies are planning significant change in 2025, while McKinsey found that over 70% of large-scale transformation projects fail to meet their objectives – but why?
When businesses fail to consider the readiness of their people, resistance to change and fatigue will set in. Research from Harvard Business Review found that of organisations going through major change, 60% cite significantly reduced productivity, while layoffs affecting just 1% of the workforce can lead to a 31% increase in voluntary turnover. Meanwhile, our research found that 100% of HR professionals said they’d seen change fatigue in their organisation, resulting in increased stress, attrition and burnout.
So how do leaders ensure their people are onboard with change?
The first step is to ensure everyone is on the same page
In order to succeed in transformation initiatives, organisations and their people have to be aligned. When people feel they have the resources needed to respond effectively to change, and are engaged with the reasons behind it and the benefits it will bring, they move with it – helping their organisation to evolve and remain competitive in the market.
Leaders must understand what is required to implement that change in that moment and treat it as unique from any change that came before it, while employees need to be psychologically ready and capable of adapting their work habits to foster personal growth and contribute towards the advancement of the organisation.
It’s the duality of organisational change that will determine its success, and if either party feels ill-equipped for or unclear on the reasoning behind a project, it will likely fail.
What can organisations and their people do to become more change ready?
Lay the foundations for success
At an organisational level, leaders must shape a culture that supports shared norms, beliefs and practices, while also fostering workplace agility by establishing processes and mindsets for growth. If done correctly, employees are more likely to see change as an opportunity rather than a threat. They’ll be proactive in the way they approach learning and be more willing to adapt their ways of working to better respond to a shifting environment.
But what does this look like in practice?
In order to assess whether an organisation is set up for success in navigating change, leaders should:
- Analyse existing people data from engagement surveys, sickness rates and exit interviews to gain insight into whether there is any hangover being experienced from previous projects, that would prevent employees from fully engaging with upcoming change
- Generate additional data gathered through specific readiness assessments, whether they’re focused on leadership culture, growth mindset within the business, or change fatigue, to ensure they have a holistic overview of how ready everyone is for this change, at this time
It’s then about facilitating and encouraging the necessary behaviours in their people to ensure the organisation and its employees are aligned in their attitude towards change. Employees who are ready for change will:
- Possess a growth mindset and view challenges as learning opportunities
- Proactively remain informed about the organisational priorities
- Regularly connect with their peers and leaders
- Volunteer for projects that stretch their skills
- Actively invest in their own professional development
- Demonstrate healthy work habits that support wellbeing and protect against burnout
In setting up for success in this way, businesses are far more likely to see their transformation initiatives succeed.
Adapting in the moment
However, the complexity of modern change necessitates early planning in order to be sufficiently prepared; but what about when change is already happening and the organisation isn’t ready?
Well, it’s never too late to improve change agility, and here’s four things that can be done:
Ensure key stakeholders are aligned on the message and the vision – whereby they’re able to communicate it with energy and consistency. Failing to engage employees with the organisation’s overarching goal makes change twice as hard.
Be clear on who is responsible for leading the process of change – to generate a sense of accountability. Without allocating ownership of the process to somebody, change projects can stagnate and employees are left unsure of who to turn to should they have questions.
Tailor support to the specific needs of different populations within your organisation – knowing that change will affect different employees in different ways. Taking a one size fits all approach runs the risk of one size fitting none.
Invest in gathering the necessary data – to understand more about how your people are responding to change. Businesses can then better identify areas of burnout risk and change fatigue, allowing them to flex resources as needed.
With the right foundation in place, it’s then about taking action.
Catch up on our webinar to find out how we can support your organisation to become more agile and adaptable in response to the evolving nature of change.
