Lisa Bodell, Founder and CEO of FutureThink, 2022 Photo by FutureThink via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
of change programs fail to achieve their goals, largely due to employee resistance and lack
of management support.
McKinsey 2015
of business transformations fail to achieve their original ambitions; those that succeed
avoid overloading top talent
Bain 2024
success rate when employees are engaged in the transformation
McKinsey 2021
Change initiatives often fail due to a lack of employee buy-in. The same transformation might be celebrated by senior leaders, while their employees hold a vastly different perspective ✻. McKinsey & Company 2021. “Losing from day one: Why even successful transformations fall short.”Initiatives involving employees tend to focus on empowering select teams to become change agents. These teams are often met with resistance because they differ from employees in other pockets across the organisation ✻. Morrison 2011. “Employee Voice Behavior: Integration and Directions for Future Research.”For instance, I have seen employees in one department avoiding raising ideas after witnessing negative repercussions for colleagues, even after new opportunities had been created by upper management. It is unlikely that central teams are sufficiently aware of the social intricacies at play in various units and departments. Thus, new opportunities to voice might benefit only a select few already heard individuals, leaving other employees even more overlooked.
Organisational culture evolves through employee conversations, building a shared understanding of organisational values and objectives. Employees exchange past experiences and current perceptions of possibilities. Historically overlooked employees are likely to have ingrained beliefs deterring them from voicing ideas - e.g. as a result of intersections of gender, race, and age ▾. Privilege and intersectionality determine whose voices are heard and valued. Historically, dominant perspectives have shaped organisational mechanisms, prioritising certain ways of speaking and evaluation criteria. Power structures tied to race, gender, and other factors ensure some voices are respected while others are ignored. This imbalance limits innovation and excludes critical insights. To foster real inclusion, organisations must challenge these norms, engage unheard voices, and broaden how contributions are recognised and valued. As a result, motivation and perception of opportunities differ across employees. To understand employee motivation and perceptions, it is important to go beyond surface-level insights and dive deep into a full understanding of experiences and stories that inform individual experiences and the company culture. By including representatives who understand a wider variety of situations, the change initiative is better equipped to address nuanced challenges and create trust. Ultimately, genuinely participatory initiatives lead to greater success ▾. Genuinely participatory initiatives bring together representatives from more levels and areas of the organisation to drive meaningful change. Their appeal lies in their ability to tackle immediate issues while supporting wider organisational change. True participation goes beyond having representatives in the same room. It requires active collaboration, where all voices influence equitable decision-making. By fostering dialogue and co-creation, these initiatives build trust, break down barriers, and align employees around shared goals. A combination of workshops, reflections, and training can support these initiatives.
When enough employees participate, take initiative, and express their thoughts, entrenched beliefs about what is possible or impossible are likely to evolve over time ✻. Morrison 2023. “Employee Voice and Silence: Taking Stock a Decade Later.”Cultural transformation often describes a set of required mindsets and norms. However, shifting norms in itself is a lot harder than changing behaviours. Thankfully, employee behaviour informs mindsets and culture, making it possible to shift norms by exemplifying and encouraging desired behaviours ✻. Elsbach and Stigliani 2018. “Design Thinking and Organizational Culture: A Review and Framework for Future Research.”Thus, it is crucial to have people lead by example. That means, a diverse pool of dispersed change agents should not only drive their own change initiatives, but more importantly encourage their peers to engage in their initiatives, to value their contributions equally. Combinations of formal and informal mechanisms are more likely to succeed in capturing a wider array of voices. Formal mechanisms, such as structured feedback channels, provide consistency, while informal mechanisms, like peer mentorship, build trust and inclusivity. That way, employees become increasingly empowered with the skills, knowledge, and opportunities necessary to participate in the change, resulting in higher buy-in and success rates.