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What change management covers
Change management brings together the methods used to prepare, implement and sustain organisational change: a new structure, a system, a merger, a move or the introduction of AI. It includes communication, training, management support and employee participation.
The important question is when that work begins. If it starts only after the plan is complete, much of it becomes an effort to secure acceptance. Involving people before decisions are fixed can improve the plan itself.
Question the familiar 70% failure claim
The statement that 70% of transformations fail is widely repeated. In a 2011 paper in the Journal of Change Management, Mark Hughes examined its origins and found no valid empirical basis for treating it as a general failure rate. He traced its circulation through earlier estimates and repeated assertions.
The lesson is practical: ask what a statistic measures, how it was collected and whether it applies to the decision in front of you. A familiar number is not automatically a reliable planning assumption.
Understand objections in context
Resistance should not be treated as a fixed employee characteristic. Coch and French’s 1948 study helped establish the importance of the context in which change takes place. Its age and methodological limitations matter; it is a historical contribution rather than a source of universal percentages.
An objection may contain knowledge the plan has missed: an exception, a customer constraint, a useful skill or an informal practice that keeps work moving. Ergonomics research and guidance from Anact, the French agency for improving working conditions, emphasise the difference between the work as designed and the work as performed.
Five steps to build the plan with teams
1. Assess the work before deciding. Ask how people work, what they work around and what they fear losing. Their answers should be able to change the decision. Explain confidentiality and invite everyone affected to contribute.
2. Test the proposed change against real situations. Walk through concrete cases with the people who handle them. Find where the new process would fail, add work or create uncertainty, then adjust it.
3. Name the losses as well as the gains. Change can reduce the value of a skill, remove autonomy or alter responsibilities. Discuss those consequences precisely and early. Enthusiasm alone does not address them.
4. Give participation a real effect. Be clear about what can change and what has already been decided. Ask for input where it can influence the outcome, and explain how it was used.
5. Build confidence through delivery. Resolve a small number of problems raised during the assessment, show what changed and establish short, regular reviews. Kept commitments create a stronger basis for trust than a launch presentation.
Organisation and assessments
Make organisational decisions with a clear assessment
Our assessments identify practical changes to help your teams and processes work together.
Training, communication and support still matter
Participation does not remove the need for support. Training should focus on actual tasks and decisions. Managers need time to help during the transition, and employees need clear points of contact. A plan shaped with teams can reduce avoidable objections, while still requiring practical help during implementation.
Change management when AI is already in use
AI use can spread faster than a formal programme. Start by understanding which tasks people already use it for and what changes they need. Then decide what AI should handle, where it should assist people and what human responsibilities the organisation should protect.
Compare the executive view with daily experience. A plan built only on dashboards and management reports can miss the adjustments people make to keep work moving. Direct accounts and concrete examples help test that picture.
How to recognise progress
Look beyond satisfaction with the launch. Detailed questions can show that teams are testing how the new arrangement will work. Fewer workarounds may indicate that the new process meets their needs. Early objections can reveal a willingness to engage, provided people feel able to raise them.
None of these signals proves success on its own. Silence, in particular, can have several causes. Check understanding, confidence and practical results directly.
Before announcing the final plan, show it to the teams affected. Do they recognise their work, constraints and contributions? Their answers can expose the last gaps while there is still time to act.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
When should change management begin?
When should change management begin?
Before the plan is final. Early conversations and practical tests can change its content. Once implementation begins, communication, training and support help teams put the agreed decisions into practice.
What are the main steps in change management?
What are the main steps in change management?
Understand the work, test the proposed change, discuss losses and gains, define where employees can influence the plan, then build confidence through delivered commitments and regular reviews.
Why do employees resist change?
Why do employees resist change?
Reasons vary. Objections may reflect uncertainty, a loss of autonomy or knowledge of constraints the plan has overlooked. Examine the specific context and give employees a meaningful role in shaping what happens next.
Do 70% of transformations really fail?
Do 70% of transformations really fail?
This is not an established universal rate. Mark Hughes’s 2011 review found no valid empirical support for the widely repeated claim. Define success for your programme and use evidence relevant to its scope.
Sources
Hughes M., ‘Do 70 per cent of all organizational change initiatives really fail?’, Journal of Change Management, 11(4), 2011, pp. 451–464. DOI.
Coch L., French J.R.P., ‘Overcoming Resistance to Change’, Human Relations, 1(4), 1948, pp. 512–532. DOI.
Anact, French-language guides on involving employees in organisational change. Anact.
Guérin F. and colleagues, Comprendre le travail pour le transformer, Anact / Octarès.
