Effective change management not only increases your return on investment, but also enables you to achieve a higher level of performance. In fact, a Boston Consulting Group study of 40 digital transformations showed that companies focusing on culture rather than simply implementing new technologies were five times more likely to achieve exceptional performance than those that did not.1
People at the heart of transformation
Technology is now evolving at a frenetic pace, making it increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest trends. Fortunately, one variable remains constant at the heart of the storm: human nature. The environment around us is changing rapidly, but our way of reacting as human beings remains the same.
Indeed, whatever change management methodology is adopted, whether it be McKinsey’s 7S, the ADKAR model or Kotter’s 8 steps, the key themes remain the same. Even the Dalai Lama’s approach to change bears similarities to the most popular models!
“In an approach aimed at bringing about positive changes within oneself, learning is only the first step. There are other factors as well: conviction, determination, action, and effort.” – Dalai Lama2
Change management, as simple as 1, 2, 3?
Change management models seem quite simple to follow. Many include charters to fill in and communication tools. You can even find pre-filled templates online. With all these tools at our disposal, it is normal to think that we should get good results.
However, 70% of digital transformations do not achieve the expected results, mainly due to human factors. How can we increase our chances of success and challenge the statistics?
10 Strategies for Effective Change Management
Change management remains a major challenge, but you can increase your chances of success by adopting the following strategies:
- Conduct a cultural diagnosis upstream of your transformation to proactively identify factors that could influence your success.
- Build a simple, clear, and inspiring vision for your transformation.
- Analyze the various change management models to choose the one best suited to your situation.
- Ensure you have a qualified and diverse change management team.
- Identify change agents who are close to your employees.
- Openly discuss the emotions aroused by change with your employees and colleagues.
- Regularly gauge your teams’ sentiments by asking questions and adjust according to their feedback.
- Celebrate not only organizational successes but also individual efforts throughout the process.
- Communicate, communicate, and communicate! The frequency of communications should be on average three times higher during a transformation period.
- Finally, get support. A change management specialist will bring an external perspective to your business and build on your strengths while proactively detecting flaws.
The best technology will not achieve maximum return on investment if change management is not effective. It is therefore important to place change management at the heart of your transformations, whatever their scope.
Generative AI was not used in the ideation, writing, or revision of this article.
