Harvard Business Review has some insights into digital transformation.
A Gartner survey revealed that employees’ willingness to support enterprise change collapsed to just 43% in 2022, compared to 74% in 2016.
We call the gap between the required change effort and employee change willingness the “transformation deficit.” Unless functional leaders steer swiftly and expertly, the transformation deficit will stymie organizations’ ambitions and undermine the employee experience, fueling decreased engagement and increased attrition.
Today’s most common mistake in change management is trying to build momentum for transformation by hitting the accelerator. A 2022 Gartner survey found that 75% of organizations adopt a top-down approach to change, where leaders set the change strategy, create detailed implementation roadmaps, and deploy a high volume of change communications. Their goal is for workers to buy into the new path and for managers to lead the charge as champions and role models for their teams.
Unfortunately, navigating the pandemic asked many employees — and while they delivered, it came at a cost. Relentless sprinting means many employees are running on fumes. Gartner’s research reveals the following:
- Fifty-five percent of employees took a significant hit to their health, team relationships, and work environment to sustain high performance through disruption.
- Only 36% of employees reported high trust in their organizations, with onsite workers reporting the least trust.
- Half the employees reported needing help finding the information or people they needed to do their job on an ever-increasing volume of tasks.
The article recommends three ways to manage change fatigue.
1. Build in periods of proactive rest to sustain change energy.
2. Move away from a top-down approach and open source your change plans.
3. Reimagine the role of managers in change.
Change fatigue is real, and with all the conversations about helping customers navigate their digital transformation – you know, investing in technology – speed matters, and full speed ahead has a cost. I’ve linked to the research because this element of project management is where there is a significant opportunity to shine.