How to Beat the Odds of Organizational Change Failure

Change is hard…super hard. We often don’t talk about how likely it is that our change initiative will fail because we don’t want to jinx it. However, studies have put organizational change failure rates at over fifty percent. Just think about that…we’re more likely to fail than succeed. We have to break this failure cycle!

I’ve led organizational change for most of my career—from “boots on the ground” to large-scale, global change. I’ll share key areas to consider when implementing change, so that the change engages, sustains, and delivers strong results.

1. Communicate the Purpose of the Change and How You’ll Measure Progress

There is a reason for three-year-olds asking why all the time. They are trying to make sense of how and why things work. Employees don’t outgrow this innate need when they get to the workplace. When implementing change, we need to communicate the reason for every change. As we implement change, we should also be measuring if we’re getting the value we expected from the change, so that we can improve and refine the change as we go forward.

2. Understand the Existing Work When Designing the New Work to be Done for the Change

How many times has organizational change been “done to you” where the initiator never took the time to understand the way the current work was being done? We can do better by having a deep understanding of the existing work before we design the new work required by the change initiative.

3. Engage and Develop Employees Involved in the Change

Communication, rewards, recognition, and capability building are critical in engaging employees in the change. Let’s start with communication, which is so much more than just telling people about the change. Communication involves a robust communication PLAN that includes two-way feedback, anticipating and answering employee questions, and creating a compelling vision.

Capability building is so much more than just training employees. It involves ensuring that employees have the tools and resources they need, such as coaching and mentoring. We can’t be successful in change without employees who are engaged in the change. We need to super-charge engagement to build positive momentum for success.

4. Leaders Must Actively Demonstrate Visible Support for the Change

One reason often cited as a major cause of organizational change failure is the lack of visible leadership commitment. Leaders have an outsized impact upon the success or failure of the change. We need more from leaders than just lip service. Dare I say it?  We need leaders to LEAD the change! Yes, they can!

5. Culture Eats CHANGE for Breakfast

It’s strong. It’s pervasive. It’s illusive. It doesn’t care. It can BRING DOWN your change initiative. We probably can’t change culture (so many people have tried), but we can leverage it to support the change and mitigate the risks where it will work against the change.

Wow! This is so Much Work!

Yeah…it takes a lot of work to plan a successful change. The alternative?  Don’t do the prework…just roll out the change…and then fail half of the time. Which one takes more work? Honestly, it’s worth it to plan for success.

Remember, If at First You Don’t Succeed…

It’s really true—try, Try Again! No change is perfect. No plan is perfect. So, don’t expect perfection. Put in checkpoints to see if your change needs to be changed so that ultimately it succeeds.

Implement change that sustains!

You can do it!  You can learn to engage employees and leaders in change that delivers lasting results.

Interested in diving deeper into change, culture, and problem-solving? The COE Summit 2024 will feature leading researchers and industry experts well-versed in connecting innovation to implementation, including Lynn Kelley!

The Ohio State University Center for Operational Excellence Summit, now in its 11th year, is a 3-day event dedicated focused on the latest best practices in leadership and problem-solving. With 4 engaging keynotes, 20 breakout sessions, and exclusive opportunities for networking and hands-on learning, the COE Summit is a high-value opportunity to equip your team with tools and tactics to spark sustainable transformation.

Learn more and register for the COE Summit 2024