💓 Change Management Pulse Check: Trends and Opportunities

“You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.”

– Maya Angelou

With the year quickly approaching its mid-point, we decided to take a pulse on what’s happening in the world of change management. For those unfamiliar with change management, it is the process of helping people, teams, and organizations adapt to new technologies, situations, structures, and practices. The purpose of change management is to minimize resistance, maximize commitment, and ensure the value and benefits for changing are realized.

Change management is not a new concept, but the practice continues to evolve in response to the unprecedented challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. The global pandemic, the rapid adoption of digital tools and AI, the skills gap, the diversity and inclusion movement, and the changing expectations of employees and customers are some of the factors that are reshaping the way change is planned, implemented, and sustained.

In this article, we will explore some of the key trends that are influencing the practice of change management today and highlight some of the opportunities we see for change leaders in 2023.

Current Trends

In early May, the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP Global) held its Global Connect 2023 virtual conference, which featured speakers and presenters from all over the world. There were several presentations covering tried-and-true topics, such as best practices for digital transformations, data-driven change management, and strategies to build change agent networks, as well as a noticeable increase (compared to 2022) in the number of conversations about developing change resilience, coaching skills for change leaders, and culture change.

We see a few other factors shaping the practice of change management:

• The use of digital adoption platforms to facilitate and support change. Digital adoption platforms (DAPs) are software tools that provide just-in-time training and in-app guidance for software application users. Some software solutions (e.g. Oracle) have this capability directly integrated into the application. DAPs make it easier to train and engage users, and to identify and address issues thanks to real-time analytics and feedback on user behavior, performance, and satisfaction.
• The focus on managers and early adopters as change agents. Change agents are people who initiate, lead, or support change efforts within an organization. Historically, this role has been filled by external consultants or internal specialists who have expertise in change management methodologies and techniques. As change becomes more frequent and decentralized, there is a growing need for change agents at all levels within the organization. Managers and early adopters are well-positioned for this role because they understand the needs and challenges of their teams, have built-in trust and credibility, and often, are looking for opportunities to increase their exposure or take on more responsibility.
• The convergence of change management, culture, and values. The practice of change management has long been linked to projects with a definitive start and end point. Organizational change today, however, is now a continuous and iterative process that requires constant adaptation and learning. For employees to thrive in this environment, organizations must embed change management into the culture and values by embracing experimentation, encouraging multi-way feedback, and establishing values and norms that support stakeholder readiness and resilience.

Near-Term Opportunities

As with any trend, it’s important to evaluate whether benefits will be short-lived, or if your investment of time, money, and resources will sustain over the long term. Based on the trends identified above, we see the following as opportunities for change leaders in 2023 that will also produce value in the year ahead:

• Using DAPs and artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate change planning and delivery. Change leaders must learn how to leverage technology to reduce the amount of time it takes to prepare for and implement change. While DAPs will enable change leaders to quickly deliver personalized, contextual, and interactive guidance to end users, the use of AI-powered solutions will enable change leaders to rapidly develop materials to educate, communicate, and engage stakeholders.
• Evolving change agent networks into communities of practice. With the role of the change agent becoming increasingly critical, change leaders must evolve change agent networks from time-bound, project-based coalitions to sustainable communities of practice that engage participants through continuous learning and development. If a change management function or center of excellence exists within the organization, change leaders can set the standards for strategic execution and the role of the change agent.
• Continuously learning and upskilling to enhance performance. With so many jobs and tasks being replaced by technology and AI, business acumen and people skills will become even more important. Change leaders who prioritize development in the areas of leadership and self-management, which includes stress tolerance and individual resilience, will enhance their value and effectiveness as facilitators of organizational change. At the same time, with the transition to the digitized workplace, learning about design thinking, UX/UI design, and how to use time-saving digital tools (e.g. AI) can empower change leaders to bridge the gaps that exist between ideation and execution.

While there will always be a need for change management practitioners who are trained and experienced, the modern change leader has a diverse skill set that enables them to be highly responsive to the ever-changing needs of the business and stakeholders. By understanding the current trends and opportunities, change leaders can create their own tailwinds while also helping create environments where people love to work, and change thrives.