Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay. According to a Deloitte Insights report, 61% of respondents say AI will transform their industry in the next 3-5 years with 53% of those polled spending more than $20 million during the past year on AI technology and talent.

AI’s continued integration across industries and its role in driving innovation and efficiency affirm its enduring presence in the way we do business through increased computing power, availability of more data, better algorithms, and new and enhanced technologies. Those improvements will continue to provide exciting possibilities in the field of Change Management. The advancements in technology and a shift to agile methodologies has led to today’s landscape of Change Management which reflects a more dynamic, technology-driven and people-centric approach to managing change initiatives. For the future of AI with Change Management, we can expect advancement in predictive analytics, more personalized change strategies, real-time monitoring of change processes, enhanced employee engagement, and integration with emerging technologies for more immersive Change Management experiences.

Advancement in Predictive Analytics

The future of predictive analytics in Change Management will continue to become more sophisticated, adaptive, and personalized to navigate the continuous complexities of organizational changes. Continued advancements in predictive analytics algorithms will lead to more accurate predictions of potential challenges and outcomes during change initiatives. Organizations may leverage predictive analytics not just in the planning of change initiatives but for continuous improvement allowing for ongoing adjustments in the change process using real-time feedback and data.

Personalized Change Strategies

In the future we can expect to see more personalized insights and recommendations for individuals based on analyzing employee data, tailoring specific change strategies and tools based on individual employee preferences, roles, and past responses to change initiatives. AI driven tools can lead to more personalized learning paths to address employees’ unique needs and learning styles and provide real time feedback and support to employees undergoing change while addressing needs promptly and offering real time assistance and resources. AI analytics can generate behavioral insights that can help managers and leaders better understand how employees respond to different strategies and refine their approaches accordingly.

Real Time Monitoring

As change initiatives have increasingly become more agile, advanced data analytic tools will continue to play a crucial role in offering real-time insights throughout the change process. Immediate insights from real-time monitoring can also assist in the identification of challenges and issues and proactively mitigate them before they escalate. By real-time monitoring of employee engagement, change managers will be able to tailor communication and support and maintain consistent levels of engagement throughout the change process. Change initiatives can be continuously assessed and KPI’s can be monitored in real time providing a comprehensive view of the successes and impacts of Change Management efforts throughout a change initiative.

New and Emerging Technologies

New and Emerging technologies will continue to bring significant changes to the field of Change Management. Machine learning algorithms will continue to get better and used to personalize strategies based on individuals’ preferences. Tools such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) will continue to improve communication throughout a change initiative by generating and enhancing more tailored, effective, and targeted communications to employees undergoing the changes. Integration of Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies will be able to provide immersive experiences by providing more realistic simulations and training scenarios.

The future of Change Management will become more dynamic. We can expect that the integration and advancement of AI will make Change Management more efficient, adaptive, and capable of addressing the evolving needs of changes within an organization. Staying informed and embracing continuous advancements in AI will help change managers foster a culture of continuous learning and development ensuring employees have the skills and knowledge to leverage the latest AI capabilities.

Data seems to be everywhere today. It consumes us. Anything you want to know seems to be at your fingertips. Every year 1.2 trillion searches take place on google. The amount of data in the world was estimated to be 44 zettabytes in 2020. By 2025, the amount of data generated each day is expected to reach 463 exabytes globally. The rate at which we create new data has been growing increasingly for years. Each day on Earth we generate 500 million tweets, 294 billion emails, 4 million gigabytes of Facebook data, 65 billion WhatsApp messages and 720,000 hours of new content added on YouTube. In the first part of the 21^st century we collected more data than in all the rest of our history. That is a lot of data. How do we utilize all this data to our advantage without making our heads spin?

The aim is to make better decisions, more quickly using data in real time. Data can be utilized in various ways to increase success within an organization, increase profits, improve business processes, and retain and gain more customers. But, using data to increase a company’s bottom line is not the only benefit of a company becoming more data driven, leveraging data can also help lead more successful change management initiatives. As companies adapt to the future of digitization this also comes with the need to track and understand data that can support the right type of change. Many organizations face a cultural challenge when changing data behaviors. Currently, studies show that on average, less than half of an organization’s structured data is actively used in making decisions—and less than 1% of its unstructured data is analyzed or used at all. How do we know what data is the right data to use? “Good” data is crucial in making good business decisions. Data is considered “good” data when analyzed, could result in actionable strategies.

As companies are collecting more and more data, data driven business has become a hot topic in recent years. But change management has been slow to react. A recent survey by EY highlights that 81% of businesses agree that data should be at the heart of all decision making. The same report shows that only 31% of companies have significantly restructured their operations to do this. Many companies rely on their internal teams to project outcomes utilizing emotion, intuition, or external pressures. But, as the University of North Carolina’s Community and Economic Development shared “Decision making in the modern world is based on data. Statistical analysis offers the most objective, informed way to analyze a situation and project the impact of different courses of action.” Yet, according to KPMG, 67 percent of CEOs have ignored the insights provided by data analysis because it contradicts their own intuition or experience.” We can use traditional change management tools to capture data to later be analyzed in new and innovative ways to gain a full understanding of what the organization did and did not do well during the change and to provide future changes that help the organization be more successful.

Only 67% of organizations include project change management in their initiatives according to KPMG. Although change management is not known as an analytical field. There are many benefits to using data throughout change management initiatives, including predicting risk, improving results and tracking progress. And companies at the forefront of using analytical tools as part of change can set themselves up for success. The use of data is only growing and the increase in the amounts and uses of data will continue to make the business landscape even more competitive. Real change begins when data-savvy leaders and data professionals recognize the role that change management can play in the success of a data-driven organization. Many Change Guides tools are available electronically and can be customized to fit an organizations specific need and help them collect the types of data to maximize their effectiveness for change.

What ways can data be used when managing change?

Replace Traditional Annual Employee Engagement Surveys

According to the 2022 Gallup report, 51% of employees are disengaged in the workplace. The report also shows that companies with a highly engaged workforce have 21% higher profitability and have 17% higher productivity than companies with a disengaged workforce. Real time employee engagement tools like pulse surveys are now available and rather than replace traditional annual surveys, these analytical tools can be used with traditional surveys together.

Capture Data Throughout Change Management Projects

Research conducted by Deloitte shows that high performing organizations are 3.5 times more likely to use data to inform change efforts and 4 times more likely to gain worker input when shaping changes. Often there is no comparison data to compare from project to project. By capturing data in current projects that data can be tracked and used to predict risks, adoption, and sustainability in future projects. Tools such as Change Guides Change Readiness Audit, Commitment Assessment and Change Integration Checklist can be delivered using pulse survey technology or even small focus groups to quickly gain a sense of how things are going before, during, and after changes.

Change Management Dashboards

The typical organization today has undertaken five major firmwide changes in the past three years — and nearly 75% expect to multiply the types of major change initiatives they will undertake in the next three years. Yet half of the change initiatives fail, and only 34% are a clear success according to a recent Gartner poll. A dashboard can present a set of metrics or statistics that give a snapshot of the state of the change management process. Developing and utilizing the Change Guides Change Readiness Audit and the Change Integration Audit can act as Change Management Dashboards that can help an organization understand the trends relating to change management and take appropriate action to pivot and balance change implementation.

As technology continues to advance and more and more data is collected. Recognizing the value of data and increasing data literacy within organizations is changing what it means to be a data driven company. By 2025, it’s estimated that companies across all sectors will cultivate a data-driven culture, with employees using data to optimize nearly every aspect of their work. According to the McKinsey report, smart workflows and seamless interactions among humans and machines will likely be as standard as the corporate balance sheet. Organizations of the future will leverage data in every decision they make to support success. And the field of change management will need to embrace the data-driven model while still focusing on the human elements of change such as communication, collaboration, innovation, motivation, and personal impact.

As I was researching gratitude, I came across this quote by William Arthur Ward, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” Imagine how many opportunities we would miss if we never gave this present to those that deserve it.

Demonstrating trust often means showing an appropriate level of vulnerability. We give power to the person we are grateful for by putting ourselves aside for a moment. When we are vulnerable, we can also admit our mistakes; share the difficulties we have when making hard decisions; and be open to ideas that may be better than our own.

I worked with a leader who joined an organization mired in distrust and dissatisfaction several years ago. Because of some of the baggage left behind by the former chief executive, the new guy had to earn trust from the starting gate from staff members and customers alike.

He made tremendous strides building trust in a very simple way… gratitude. Simple acts of saying and showing thanks.

It would be easy and understandable for him to forget to say thanks. He was busy, just like we are all busy. It would be easy to just expect people to do their jobs and get on with it, but he figured out that showing someone a little appreciation now and then could mean the difference between a “punch the clock” mentality and a committed, engaged, and trusting co-worker, partner, or employee.

He wasn’t just paying lip service to the thanks he was doling out. He truly meant it and people could sense that he was the real deal. When he took the time to show some genuine appreciation for the work people did, the sacrifices they were making, and the extra effort they spent, the nature of their relationships changed; trust grew. Soon, that trust was visible in the quality and quantity of work outputs and loyalty of customers.

Many of us spend more waking hours with our co-workers than we do with our family and friends. Like it or not, you and your co-workers are in it together. You are a team. You are there to catch each other if someone falls. You are there to catapult each other over the wall. If one person in your organization fails, the entire organization suffers.

He figured out that he couldn’t force people to trust him. But he could act in ways that were trustworthy. And over time, trust was built. And trust builds on trust. If you trust me, I am more likely to trust you.

To anyone who works in an organization, be grateful for each other and trust one another. Make sure to say thanks, people will appreciate it and so will you when they say thanks back and place their trust in you.

“The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.” – Charles Schwab

Kate Nelson is a partner in Change Guides, LLC (www.changeguidesllc.com) and the co-author of The Change Management Pocket Guide and The Eight Constants of Change. She can be reached at [email protected].

By Andie Wafzig

It has been said many times – “change is constant”. But for something so common in organizations today, change surely can elicit a myriad of discouraging reactions and responses ranging from fear to doubt to dismay. So, what might be the missing link that can help make a constantly changing environment or organization feel less volatile and even more agile? In a word, knowledge.

I was recently at an amusement park with my five-year-old son for the first time. In the first ten minutes, the size of the crowds and the extreme height of the rollercoasters had my anxiety on alert. We rode some kiddie rides a few times and then decided to walk around to other parts of the park. As we continued to walk, we came across more and more people with soaking wet clothes. Looking toward the direction they were coming, we quickly found the source – a giant, twisty-turny water ride, complete with a looming drop and the consistent, collective screams of ride goers as their log boat teetered on the top of the hill and plunged into the pool below. Much to my surprise came the arm tugging, pointing, jumping up and down and cries of “please, please, PLEASE” from my son. My stomach lurched. No way! This isn’t a kiddie ride. We came for the kiddie rides! He probably isn’t even tall enough. If he is, he will surely hate it, or be scared or heaven forbid fall out. I don’t want to walk around in soggy clothes the rest of the day. I don’t even like thrill rides anymore – I’m a mom!

To make a long and slightly wet story short, I gave in. He was tall enough. I came for the kiddie rides, but he had different expectations for the day. He loved the ride! He wasn’t scared at all. He (thankfully) did not fall out. We barely got wet at all; as it turns out, the soaking wet patrons I’d seen before were likely coming from other, more adventurous water rides nearby. And for the biggest surprise of all, the thrill-seeker in me hadn’t died with my age or my mom-status. I had a blast and we quickly hopped in line to do it all again.

So, what gives? Why the quick rush to fear and judgement?

In the absence of information, fear and doubt always find a way into our thoughts and, if we’re not careful, into our decision-making. This is as true in our personal roller-coaster-riding lives, as it is in our professional lives as employees, managers and leaders. The one way to combat this rush to judgement during times of change is to gather all of the facts, understand what is and what isn’t and grow your knowledge base in order to make more informed and ultimately, better decisions. In organizations, we call this Knowledge Management.

The Gartner Group defines knowledge management as “a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, capturing, evaluating, retrieving, and sharing all of an enterprise’s information assets. These assets may include databases, documents, policies, procedures, and previously uncaptured expertise and experience in individual workers.”

More simply put, Knowledge Management is a practice that aims to make sense of all the information and knowledge that flows in, out and through an organization. And it is becoming more and more critical, in today’s world of big data and rapid decision-making.

As a leader, if you don’t know what your organization knows, it can be hard to make a simple decision, let alone plan for the future. In order to innovate or try to stay ahead of your competition, leaders first must have a good grasp on the current state of their business. And, we’re not talking solely about what the numbers say, rather what is the individual and collective wisdom within the organization that can help you assess organizational capability or readiness? When faced with change, how quickly can your organization mobilize, make decisions and implement a new solution?

Let’s come back to the amusement park for a moment. With the proper information, the experience could have been much different. A quick web search would have equipped me with more information than I could possibly have needed to prepare me and my son for the day ahead. Knowledge and insight would have taken the seats at the table that doom and gloom were vying for.

In an organization, however, there is rarely an all-encompassing web search option that can answer any or all business-related unknowns. More likely, an employee’s options for finding an answer to a question are limited to their own knowledge and that of their closest peers and co-workers. Yet the need for information and speed to insight continues to grow. This is why organizations turn to Knowledge Management solutions – to identify the knowledge needs of the organization and connect people to the right resources, at the right time in order to make better and faster decisions.

With a Knowledge Management practice in place, an organization can better address all of the nuances that often accompany a change implementation. And, the people involved and impacted by the change will have a smoother transition from current state to future state, when organizational knowledge is shared and leveraged.

How are you defining success? Is it getting new technology launched or is it about how much it is being leveraged? Is anyone sticking around to see how employees’ mindset and behavior changed or are all off to the next project? Is leadership tracking how much changed compared to the business case or have they already shifted their focus? Success shouldn’t be defined by “implementation” but by “adoption.”

To help ensure success is focused on adoption, use something like our Change Integration Checklist tool after go live. Organizational change is a process, not an event. Just because go live is a “date” doesn’t mean the change happens overnight. No matter how well planned, implementations experience setbacks and unexpected challenges. Resistance from stakeholders is still a real possibility.

In order to assess what actions are needed to reinforce new behaviors and sustain the change, lead a discussion with your team and impacted management about the people, transition, and adoption. Below are a few items taken from our Change Integration Checklist. Like all tools, you’ll want to customize your approach and add a few more questions to the list.

1. Are leaders still championing the future state and vision?

2. Is there a safe outlet for feedback – reactions, concerns and comments?

3. Do employees have appropriate tools to be successful?

4. Are employees well trained to do their revised jobs?

5. Are we tracking and reporting measures that reinforce the new behaviors?

6. Are we recognizing early adopters and successes?

Projects are stressful and long. By implementation, most are ready to flee. However, the right thing to do is to keep the big picture in mind, fight to stick around and assess (or help management assess) what really changed (or didn’t). Only after such an assessment can leaders and managers take appropriate action to help ensure all the work and money that went into
implementation wasn’t for naught.