Best Practices in Change Executive

Overview

Management 2014 Edition

A look at Proscis latest
change management
research

In Brief: Since 1998, Prosci has conducted eight benchmarking studies to discover what works and
what doesnt when it comes to managing the people side of change. The findings from Proscis latest
2013 study have been compiled with the findings from the previous studies. The compendium
report, Best Practices in Change Management 2014 Edition, presents this data. With insights from
3400 change leaders, the report is the largest body of knowledge on change management on the
market today. This Executive Overview is a 10-page snapshot of the 250-page report.

Executive Overview
Table of Contents
Participant profile

New sections in the report

Study highlights

Further free information

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 Prosci Best Practices in Change Management

Participant profile throughout the last five benchmarking studies.

As in the 2011 study, the top three job roles of
Eight hundred and twenty-two participants from participants were:
63 countries took part in Proscis 2013 Best Change management team leader
Practices in Change Management benchmarking External consultant
study. This report combines the findings and Project team leader
data from the 2013 study with Proscis previous
seven studies to form one of the largest bodies of
knowledge related to managing the people side of Change management team leader

change based on insights and experiences of more External consultant

than 3400 participants. Project team leader

2013 study 822 participants Change management team member

2011 study 650 participants Internal change management support staff

2009 study 575 participants Project team member

2007 study 426 participants 2013
2005 study 411 participants Human Resources
2011
2009
2003 study 288 participants Project sponsor 2007
2000 study 152 participants Other
2005

1998 study 102 participants

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Percent of respondents
Figure 1 shows the geographic distribution of
participants in the 2013 study. Proportionately, Figure 2 Role of participants
participation dropped from the United States,
Africa, Latin America and Asia and Pacific
Islands. Participation increased from Australia Study objective
and New Zealand, Canada, Europe and the
Middle East. The objective of this study is to uncover lessons
learned from practitioners and consultants so
Latin America, 2% current change management teams can benefit
Asia and Pacific
Islands, 3%
Middle East, 2%
from these experiences. Emphasis is placed on
Africa, 5% what is working and what is not working in all
areas of change management. The 2014 report
also presents emerging trends in change
Europe, 14%
United States, management to identify the changes that have
34%
occurred and the future direction of the
discipline.

Because change management is a holistic system

Canada, 15%
that requires involvement by change
management practitioners, project teams,
Australia and New
executives, managers, supervisors and front-line
Zealand, 25%
employees, this report details the engagement
and role of each of these groups in change
Figure 1 Geographic distribution of
management.
participants

Study participants represented a variety of roles

in relation to the change on which they reported.
Figure 2 shows the role of study participants

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 Prosci Best Practices in Change Management

New sections in the report Factors for estimating change

management resource needs
New questions were added to the 2013 study to Use and sufficiency of change
expand the scope and depth of the research. management budgets
These new areas of focus include:
Factors for estimating change
Expected trends in the discipline of management budgets
change management in the coming five
years Components that make up change
management budgets
How the change management
methodology was used Change management budget profiles
Effectiveness of particular types of Prevalence of integrating change
methodologies management and project management
Rationale, steps and sources for Impacts of integrating change
internally developed methodologies management and project management
Sources and rationale for Steps for integrating change
combination/hybrid methodologies management and project management
Guidance for scaling and customizing a Reasons for integrating change
methodology for a specific change management and project management
and reasons for keeping them separate
Accommodating for organizational
culture in the change management Dimensions of change management and
approach project management integration
Action steps if change management is Tools most commonly integrated
brought on late to a project Steps for integrating change
Most important skills for a great change management and project management
management practitioner processes
Prevalence of permanent positions or job Integration across the project lifecycle
roles for change management Impact of project management maturity
Duration of permanent positions or job on change management and integration
roles Evaluating overall change readiness
Organizational locations of permanent
Evaluating group and individual
positions or job roles
readiness
Number of projects supported by change
Measuring the overall outcome of
management positions
applying change management
Annual salary of change management job
Demonstrating the value-add of applying
roles change management
Career paths in change management
Measuring and reporting on change
Change management team structures, management effectiveness
effectiveness and rationale Measuring individual transitions
Use of change agent networks
Use and sufficiency of dedicated change
management resources

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Study highlights
Greatest contributors to success
For the eighth consecutive study, active and
visible executive sponsorship was identified as
the greatest contributor to success. Six of the
seven contributors were consistent with previous
studies, with a slight change in ranking.
Engagement and integration with project
management is a new addition to the list of the
greatest contributors to success.
1. Active and visible executive sponsorship
2. Structured change management approach
3. Dedicated change management resources
and funding
4. Frequent and open communication about
the change and the need for change
5. Employee engagement and participation
6. Engagement and integration with project
management
7. Engagement with and support from
middle management
Greatest obstacles to success
The top five obstacles to success identified in the
2013 benchmarking study are similar to findings
from the 2011 study; however, poor
communication was not identified as a top
obstacle. A new obstacle, division between project
management and change management, was
identified.
1. Ineffective change management
sponsorship
2. Resistance to change from employees
3. Insufficient change management
resourcing
4. Division between project management
and change management
5. Middle management resistance
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Prosci Best Practices in Change Management
What to do differently on the next project
By a two-to-one margin, the top suggestion by
participants for what they would do differently on
their next project was to more effectively engage
sponsors by involving them early and ensuring
they are active and visible throughout the
project. The next most common responses were to
secure sufficient resources for change
management and emphasize the preparation and
planning activities.
Top trends in change management within
organizations
For the fourth consecutive study, the top trend
identified by participants was a greater
awareness of the need for and value of change
management. Additional trends included the
broader application of change management,
increased leadership support for change
management and the establishment of dedicated
functional groups or a Change Management
Office (CMO).
Top trends in the discipline of change
management
For the first time, participants in the 2013 study
identified the trends they expected in the
discipline of change management for the coming
five years. The top trend identified was the
continued maturation of the practice of change
management, including continued formalization
and evolution of the discipline and its
methodologies and tools. Participants also
expected a greater focus on building internal
capabilities and organizational core competencies
in change management in the future.
Change management effectiveness
Projects with effective change management
programs were more likely to meet objectives,
stay on schedule and stay on budget than those
with ineffective change management. This direct
correlation mirrors the findings from the 2007,
2009 and 2011 studies. Projects with excellent
change management programs were six times
more likely to meet or exceed their objectives
than those with poor change management
programs.
 Prosci Best Practices in Change Management

100% common uses of the methodology were to provide

Percent of respondents that met

general guidance and as an activities checklist.

or exceeded project objectives

90% 96%

80%

70% 77%
Scaling and customizing the methodology
60%

50% Participants highlighted inputs used to

40% 46%
effectively scale their methodology to the
30%
particular change, including project
20%
characteristics, change management
10% 16%
assessments, organizational attributes and
0%
Poor Fair Good Excellent resource availability. When the methodology was
(n=244) (n=653) (n=834) (n=165)
scaled, participants noted a greater focus on
Overall effectiveness of change management program change management activities and on impacted
audiences.
Figure 3 Correlation of change management
effectiveness to meeting or exceeding objectives
Accommodating for organizational culture

Practitioner advice Organizational culture was accounted for by

tailoring change management activities, adapting
Experienced practitioners shared advice on how communications and seeking input and
to apply change management. Practitioners engagement from various impacted groups.
identified the three most important activities at Sponsors in various parts of the organization, as
the beginning of an engagement, with effective well as networks of key influencers, were also
communications being the top recommendation. important in accommodating for organizational
Participants identified four challenges or hurdles, culture.
the top one being ineffective sponsorship.
Communication, timing, integration with project
Change management job roles
management, building buy-in for change
management and sponsorship were the five Participants in the 2013 study reported a much
topics of advice for new practitioners. higher prevalence of change management
permanent positions or jobs roles in their
Motivation for change management organization, compared to 2011, with over half of
participants having change management job
Participants identified two primary motivations roles. Most organizations have had permanent
for applying change management. The top positions for less than three years, and less than
response was as a necessity stemming from the 20% have change management career paths,
nature of the change, including the complexity, although over 25% were developing them. The
number of people affected and breadth of impact. Project Management Office (PMO) and Human
The second primary motivator was to contribute Resources (HR) were the most common
to overall project success, as change management organizational locations for change management
was viewed as a key success factor and driver of job roles.
buy-in and adoption.
Attributes of a great team member
Use of a methodology
Communication skills and change management
The percentage of participants that reported competencies were the top attributes of a great
using a particular methodology increased to 79%, change management team member, followed by
up from 72% in 2011, 60% in 2009, 58% in 2007, flexibility and interpersonal skills.
55% in 2005 and 34% in 2003. Participants who
reported using a particular methodology reported
higher levels of overall change management
effectiveness than those who did not. The most

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Change management team structure
The most prevalent team structure in use had the
change management resource sitting on the
project team, followed by the change
management and project resources being one and
the same. In over one-third of cases, the team
structure was a deliberate decision for the
project. Over four in five participants (81%) used
change agent networks of employees within the
organization who were not considered formally
part of the change management team to support
their projects.
Impacts of having a dedicated change
management resource
Just under three-quarters of participants
reported that their project had a dedicated
change management resource, a slight decline
from the 2011 study. The greatest advantages of
having a dedicated change management resource
were improved focus on change management and
having a single point of contact with clear
responsibility and accountability. The greatest
consequence of not having a dedicated resource
was neglected change management activities.
Use of a dedicated change management resource
correlated to more effective change management
programs.
Estimating change management resource needs
Participants identified a number of factors that
went into their estimation of change
management resource needs, including the scale
and complexity of the change, the project plan
and timeline, resource availability, resource
capability and past experiences.
Change management budget
Just over one-quarter (27%) of participants had a
dedicated change management budget. The most
frequent cost components for the change
management budget were change management
resource costs, training costs and communication
costs. Change management budgets were
typically comprised of between three and six line
items. Participants considered the scale and
complexity of the change, the project plan and
timeline, overall availability of resources and
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Prosci Best Practices in Change Management
specific costs when estimating a change
management budget.
Integration of project management and change
management
Seventy-one percent of participants integrated
change management and project management on
their projects. Those who integrated reported
higher levels of change management
effectiveness and a higher likelihood of meeting
project objectives. Working collaboratively was
viewed as key in integrating the two work
streams. Integration happened at the people,
process, methodology and tool levels. The most
commonly integrated tools were the
communications plan, project plan, training plan
and schedules.
Change readiness
In terms of evaluating readiness, 43% evaluated
general readiness, 53% evaluated readiness for
the specific change, 54% evaluated readiness at
the group level and only 33% evaluated readiness
at the individual level.
Change management measurement
Improving employee adoption of the change and
delivering on intended project results were the
two primary focuses for participants measuring
the overall outcome of change management and
demonstrating the value-add of applying change
management. Only 39% measured change
management effectiveness while 45% had to
report on change management effectiveness.
Participants provided reports on individual
employee metrics, overall project performance
metrics and change management activity
metrics, most often to senior leaders. Speed of
adoption, ultimate utilization and proficiency
were measured by 24%, 39% and 30% of
participants respectively.
Sponsorship
Participants identified active and visible
participation in the project as the most important
activity for sponsors in support of change,
followed by direct communication to employees,
and building and maintaining a healthy coalition

of support. There was a direct correlation
between sponsor effectiveness and meeting
project objectives. Participants engaged sponsors
in the change by holding regular meetings and
updates, outlining objectives and communicating
directly with sponsors.
Managers and supervisors
Participants identified the most important
activities for managers and supervisors during
change as communicating the change to their
direct reports and advocating for the change.
Managers and supervisors were least effective at
coaching direct reports through change and
managing resistance. Communicating effectively
and building awareness of the need for change
were identified as approaches to get managers
and supervisors on board with the change so they
can effectively lead their direct reports.
Preferred senders of change messages
As in previous studies, an employees supervisor
was identified as the preferred sender of personal
messages, while senior leaders were identified as
the preferred senders of business-level or
organizational-level messages about why the
change was needed and how the change aligned
with the organizations direction.
Communication messages
The business reasons for the change were
identified as the most important messages for
employees and the second most important for
managers and senior leaders, behind
expectations and their role in the change. Change
details were often low on the list relative to the
reasons for change.
Use of social media
Just over one in four participants used social
media in communications (26%), up from 19% in
the 2011 study. Reach and channel variety were
the most common drivers for using social media.
Over half of participants used social media only
occasionally or once or twice. Nearly 40%
evaluated social media as Somewhat effective
while just under 35% evaluated it as Effective.
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Prosci Best Practices in Change Management
Project-related training
The most common roles played by change
management resources in project-specific
training were design, training providers and
support, and start-to-end accountability. Face-to-
face training was the most commonly used
vehicle followed by on-the-job training. Training
was most commonly delivered during the
implementation stage of the project.
Resistance
Participants provided five tactics for identifying
resistance, led by observing behavior and using
feedback tools. Resistance was most severe
during project implementation. The top reasons
for employee resistance and manager resistance
paralleled previous studies, led by a lack of
awareness of the need for change.
Reinforcement and sustainment
Participants shared insights on how they planned
and resourced for reinforcement and
sustainment. Over half of participants (61%)
planned for reinforcement and sustainment
activities, while less than half (44%) allocated
resources for reinforcement and sustainment. In
both cases, those that did reported a higher
likelihood of meeting or exceeding project
objectives. Tactics were shared for sustainment,
individual reinforcement and group
reinforcement, as well as using performance
appraisals and measures to encourage adoption.
Consultants
Participants reported a slight decline in the use
of an external consultant for change
management, from 48% in 2011 to 46% in 2013.
Having sufficient internal capabilities was the
top reason for not using a consultant, while a
lack of internal competencies and resources was
the top reason for using a consultant. The most
common roles played by consultants were change
management lead, advisor to the change
management team and provider of change
management tools.

Training on change management
Participants in the 2013 study reported much
higher levels of training specifically on change
management for groups within their
organization. The most common vehicles used to
provide change management training were
formal classroom training and informal
information sharing. Participants outlined the
common topics addressed in these training
sessions, including change management plans,
methodology, tools and change management
principles. Participants recommended delivering
more training than they were actually able to
deliver.
Change management capability and competency
building
Overall, participants in the 2013 study identified
that their level of organizational maturity in
change management had increased in the past
two years. Over half of participants (53%)
reported that they were actively working to
deploy change management, up from 46% in
2011. Leadership commitment to and support of
change management were critical factors for
building change management capabilities and
competencies.
Change Management Offices (CMOs)
Thirty-eight percent of participants reported
having a functional group or Change
Management Office, an increase from 36% in the
2011 study. Participants identified the
responsibilities of this group, with the most
common being owning and maintaining the
change management methodology, owning and
maintaining change management tools, and
providing consultative support to resources on
project teams. The Project Management Office
(PMO) was the most common location for the
CMO, followed by Human Resources (HR) and
Organizational Development (OD). Over three-
quarters of participants (77%) reported having
the group in a single organizational location
while 16% reported having it in two locations.
Participants outlined the advantages of having
the CMO in different locations within the
organization.
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Prosci Best Practices in Change Management
Common and shared definition of change
management
Participants reported that there was a more
common and shared definition of change
management in their organization today than
there was two years ago. Participants also
identified a higher recognition of the value and
need for change management within their
organization relative to 2011 study results.
Percent of projects applying change management
Overall, participants reported that 39% of
projects in their organization were applying
change management; however, nearly half of
participants (49%) stated that less than one in
four projects in their organization applied change
management. Compared to the 2011 results,
more projects were applying change
management.
Justifying change management to project teams
Nearly two-thirds of participants (64%) had to
justify change management to some degree to the
project team they were engaging. The primary
focus of their justification was improvement of
project results and outcomes, increased focus on
adoption and the people side of change, and
minimized risk associated with poorly managed
change.
Justifying change management to senior leaders
Three in five study participants had to justify
change management to senior leadership teams.
Impact on benefit realization, financial outcome,
project results and risk mitigation were the most
common ways change management was justified
to senior leaders.
Change saturation and portfolio management
More participants reported being near, at or past
the point of saturation than in previous studies
(77% of participants in 2013, 73% in 2011, 66% in
2009 and 59% in 2007). Forty-eight percent
reported saturation universal across the
organization while 37% reported localized
saturation. Participants outlined several specific
change management tactics for their particular
project to address the organizational level of
 Prosci Best Practices in Change Management

saturation. Less than one-third (32%) reported

that they were actively managing the portfolio of
change and only 20% reported that there was a
high or extremely high interest in addressing the
portfolio of change. The top motivator for those
managing the portfolio of change was to mitigate
and alleviate change saturation.

Unique change types

Participants identified specific change
management issues and provided
recommendations for seven unique change types.
1. Changes that spanned wide geographic
areas
2. Changes that had impact across various
cultures
3. Changes that occurred over a long time
frame
4. Changes that had little or no whats in it
for me? (WIIFM)
5. Changes that occurred in a union
environment
6. Changes that had layoffs or significant
staff reduction
7. Changes that involved a merger or
acquisition

Aligning change management with specific

approaches
Participants identified action steps and
recommendations for aligning change
management with several specific approaches.
1. Program-management
2. Continuous Process Improvement (CPI)
3. Lean
4. Agile
5. Six Sigma

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 Prosci Best Practices in Change Management

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