Some Interesting Statistics Around Change!

The ramifications of poorly handled change are perhaps bigger than most would expect, notes Steve Simpson, leading international speaker on Business Culture and Change.

He notes that a recent study found that in organisations that manage change well, 60% of employees were engaged and around 63% of staff reported they intended staying with the organisation for at least five years. However, In organisations where change was not managed well, only 6% of employees were engaged and only 40% considered remaining for a relatively long period.

Poor change management resulted in 75% of employess feeling negatively about the company’s ability to attract talent. This compared with 9% in those companies where change was handled well. The ability to attract the right individuals keeps a company relevant. When a company becomes an aspirational goal for employees the company deliverables, no matter whether they are services or product, remain competitive.

Many times the need for change is identified by business owners and the implementation is left to the opertaional team, without any consultation. This will always create a “we” and “them” scenario and never allows for individuals to feel that they are truly part of the process of the business.

This research points to some remarkable findings. In essence, it says that change handled badly substantially impacts on employee engagement, increases the likelihood employees will leave, and minimises the organisation’s capacity to attract talent.

These findings alone should prompt management teams into thinking hard about their planned change initiatives and processes!

Are you engaging with your team regularly on change activity?