The human side of business transformation

When implementing change initiatives, it can be too easy to overlook the people making the changes happen. You have the power to make your team your biggest asset, a real driving force behind your business transformation efforts. Yet, for so many companies, employees are at best a footnote in change plans, and at worst, overlooked entirely.

Neglecting the ‘human side’ is why transformations fail

Research suggests that as many as 70% of all transformations fail. Industry insiders speculate numerous reasons for change failure, and cite endless contributing factors. But what they all boil down to, the common ground, is the relationship between the employees and the leaders – the people factor, or ‘human side’, if you will.

Let’s explore some of the common causes of change failure:

Not aligning staff with your vision

You have a vision for change, but do your teams share that vision? Has it been expressed to them effectively, and are they aware of the drivers behind the change? So many leaders fail to align their workers with their vision. What they convey to them instead is merely a mission, without any of the background or wider picture that generates the full vision. The absence of proper understanding can result in resistance from workers who perceive the change to be futile or tiresome.

Poor buy-in

As a result of lacking information, many leaders will suffer poor buy-in from employees for their change initiatives. A weak culture that isn’t aligned wit