Leadership

What Successful Change Management Looks Like

A survey of employees finds that most are disappointed in how leaders communicate around change. A solution: Assume a negative balance of trust, and work to improve it.

Change is good, we like to say. But employees may have a few thoughts about that. 

A recent survey on change management, published in April and conducted by the firms TalentLMS and WorkTango found that employees don’t respond well to change when there’s a lack of communication and training around it. Half of the 1,200 people surveyed—all people at companies who’ve “went through an organizational change”—said their experience negatively impacted their trust in leadership. A majority (59 percent) said it spiked their stress, and nearly half (47 percent) said that during the change “companies failed to provide sufficient learning and development opportunities.”

Some of this can be chalked up to a very human resistance to change: People like steadiness and routine, and dislike disruption. But the findings also point to a shortcoming in leadership: 46 percent of respondents said they “weren’t asked for any feedback on the effects of the change.” And only 15 percent said that “meaningful changes” were made in response to their feedback.

Only 15 percent of employees said “meaningful changes” were made in response to their feedback.

It’s a common message in change management that there’s no such thing as overcommunication during a transition. The report reminds me of something I was told by Irrigation Association CEO Natasha L. Rankin, MBA, CAE, for a 2024 Associations Now story on change management: “I had to assume that I was starting out with a negative balance of trust.

The TalentLMS/WorkTango report echoes that sentiment: “Change doesn’t fail because employees resist it. It fails when leaders overlook the conditions that foster engagement, trust, and adaptability. It fails when speed is prioritized over sustainability, and when communication is treated as a broadcast instead of a dialogue.”

To that end, the report points to a host of actions leaders can take to preserve or increase trust levels during change: Surveys, town halls, Q&As and more can all keep your people in the loop during a transition. But that communication needs to be a two-way street. As the report puts it: “Measuring sentiment is one part of the equation, but it is much more engaging to include employees in sharing their recommended opportunities towards navigating change.”

A lot of that feedback will reveal the need to use both soft and hard skills. Employees say they need wellness support as well as practical training around the shifts in systems, tools, and responsibilities. Change goes down easier if it’s presented as an opportunity to learn and grow, but leaders need to ensure that they provide the resources for that learning and growth. 

Moments of change are where people—and at associations that includes members as well as staff—are most at risk at feeling like they’re treated like widgets. To avoid that outcome, the report suggests, leaders need to recognize that changes “come with significant human consequences. Without thoughtful planning and data-informed decisions, change efforts risk failing businesses and the people at the heart of it all.”

Mark Athitakis

By Mark Athitakis

Mark Athitakis, a contributing editor for Associations Now, has written on nonprofits, the arts, and leadership for a variety of publications. He is a coauthor of The Dumbest Moments in Business History and hopes you never qualify for the sequel. MORE

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