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An Agile Approach to Change Management

• Sarah Jensen Clayton

Six lessons on moving quickly under pressure.

In the wake of Covid-19, organizations are fundamentally rethinking their product and service portfolios, reinventing their supply chains, pursuing large-scale organizational restructuring and digital transformation, and rebuilding to correct systemic racism from the ground up. Traditional change management process won’t cut it. The author borrows from agile software development processes to reinvent the change management playbook.

The business world has arguably seen more disruption in the last nine months than in the last nine years, bringing new and urgent demand for change. Initiatives are being launched by the dozen, adoption can’t happen fast enough, and the stakes are higher than ever. In the midst of a Covid-induced recession, and with some industries on the brink of extinction, change isn’t about fine-tuning — it’s existential.

• Sarah Jensen Clayton is a senior partner with Korn Ferry. She works with leadership teams to define, align around, and activate enterprise and ecosystem change.

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• 6 essential steps for a successful chan ...

6 essential steps for a successful change management process

Change management gives you a step-by-step process to handle large transitions—such as adopting a new company-wide tool or bringing new leadership onboard. With a solid change management process, you can help your team adjust and take transition in stride. In this article, we describe how to design an effective change management process in six steps.

Without proper planning, trying to implement organizational change can lead to chaos, confusion, and reduced company velocity. Instead, you need to roll changes out carefully to make the transition as seamless as possible.

Simply put, you need an effective change management process.

In this article, we’ll discuss what change management is and how you can create a change management process for a seamless organization-wide transition. 

What is change management?

Change management is the process of preparing for and managing any new organizational change. During the change management process, you will: 

Prepare for the transition to a new change. 

Gain organizational support for whatever the change is.

Deploy the change thoughtfully over time.

The most important thing for change management is to approach the change deliberately and from several angles. Before you make an organizational change, think about how that change will impact members of your organization at different levels and on different teams. 

For that reason, change management frameworks often include strategies to help teams introduce an organizational change slowly over time, pilot the change with a subset of the company, or ensure buy-in from the right stakeholders before rolling out a new initiative.

Change management is a process, as well as a methodology. You may never have spent this much time thinking about how to roll out a change initiative, and that’s ok. By following a change management process, you can best equip your team and company to prepare for and benefit from a new change.

Our tried-and-tested 6-step change management process

To help new teams adopt Asana, our Professional Services and Customer Success teams built an effective change management process inspired by traditional change models and informed best practices from customers who successfully implemented Asana at their organizations. The resulting methodology, the Asana Way of Change, helps teams roll out new tools or technologies at an organizational level.

Whether you’re implementing Asana or a different tool, here’s how you can use the Asana Way of Change to help your teams adapt to the new process.

1. Define your “why”

Before you introduce a major change to your organization, you first need to ask yourself: 

Why are you doing this? 

What pain points is this change solving? 

Though not every member of your organization will be thrilled with the change—because we’re all pretty change averse—having a concrete reason for why you’re doing this will help.

There are three different elements to defining your “why:”

Craft your “why statement.”

To start, document why you’re implementing this organizational change. This “why statement” will be your compass for all of the work to come.

“[Team/Organization name] is implementing this [change] in order to [manage these projects and processes]. In doing so, we hope to [alleviate these pain points] and [accomplish these goals].”

For instance, if you’re rolling out a work management tool, you might write:

“Our company is implementing this new work management tool in order to improve cross-functional collaboration and visibility. In doing so, we hope to increase company productivity and complete more projects on schedule.”

Define your success metrics

You’ll also want to define what success looks like for your implementation process . Sit down with your change management team to set metrics. You might want to include key performance indicators like:

Deadlines to meet change management milestones

Adoption or training percentages across the company

Utilization rate across the company by a certain date

For example, to roll out a work management tool, you might have some of the following KPIs:

We will start rolling out this tool to a small group on March 3rd. Employees will have the opportunity to opt-in in mid-June. Then, everyone at our company should be onboarded and familiar with the tool by July 17th.

Teams should send weekly project status reports in the work management tool, and work should be managed exclusively in the tool.

100% of employees should be active on the tool by July 30th.

Assemble your Adoption Alliance

Rolling out a significant change isn’t a one-person job. You need a team of people, and your Adoption Alliance—otherwise known as your proxy team—are those people. There are three types of proxy team members:

The Convention Setter: This is essentially a workplace influencer. Your convention setter(s) will help you define how you’ll implement this major change across the company. They might lead trainings or answer questions team members have along the way.

The Awareness Builder: This is a member (or members) of your company’s leadership team. Your awareness builders may not be as close to the change being implemented, but they’ll be the voice of support. The awareness builder should communicate your “why statement” in order to increase team buy-in.

The Product Advocate: These are individual contributors or early adopters who are excited to help build momentum for this change.

2. Discover your “now”

In order to implement broad-scale change, you first need to start small. Choose one workflow to implement in the new system first, so your Adoption Alliance can build practices and examples before you roll it out completely. Ideally, choose a workflow that is collaborative and broad, so you can work out any kinks before you implement change.

For example, to roll out a new work management tool, you might select a team or department, like the Marketing department . Before introducing the Marketing department to your new tool, consider building out demo environments of how they might use it. For example, you might show them how they can run more collaborative marketing campaigns with the new tool.

3. Design your first workflow

This is your chance to test out your new change on one workflow or process. Your convention setter should hold training for the selected team or workflow. Make sure your product advocate is also on hand to help celebrate wins and document the process working effectively.

At this point, you’ll likely run into questions you haven’t thought of before. Make sure to document frequently asked questions (and their answers) so you can implement them in your documentation when you roll this change out more broadly.

To illustrate, in the rollout of your new work management tool, you’ve already built demo environments for the marketing team . All that’s left is to hold training sessions with the team to show them how the tool works. During these trainings, you should:

Encourage participants to plan cross-functional initiatives —like the marketing campaign you demoed—in the new tool tool.

Check in frequently to see how the rollout is going and answer any questions the team might have.

Document their successes so you can use these moments to inspire other teams to adopt the new tool.

4. Enable your team and celebrate wins

While your proxy team is getting set up in your chosen workflow, make sure to check in with them frequently about their progress, and celebrate any wins—even small ones. 

Getting this momentum up front will not only help your change gain steam—it’ll also build an entire cohort of pro-change people who can become product advocates in their own right when you roll this change out more broadly.

5. Set up for future success

At this point, your proxy team should be up and running in the new way of operating. To prepare to introduce this change to rest of your organization, use this time to:

Celebrate the team’s early victories 

Collect regular feedback

Monitor tool adoption 

Build upon best practices 

Including FAQ documentation, help sessions, and a plan for continuous onboarding of new teammates in a central place will ensure long-term success.

6. Measure and expand use

Once you feel like you’ve worked out the issues in your first workflow, it’s time to roll out your change initiative more broadly. Use the training sessions, FAQ documentation, and prep you’ve done with your proxy team to help guide the rest of your organization. 

Depending on the size of your company, plan to hold office hours with your Adoption Alliance to answer any questions. Encourage your product advocate(s) to check in and celebrate wins frequently in order to help your new work management tool gain momentum.

Before you know it, you’ve successfully completed your change management plan!

Benefits of change management

With effective change management, you can introduce new processes without disrupting your team or organization. We tend to be pretty attached to the “old way” of doing things, even if the new way is, objectively, better. A change management plan helps your team realize the value of the proposed change, by making it as minimally disruptive as possible.

With a successful change management process in place, you can expect:

A higher rate of success: By rolling out large changes slowly, addressing issues, and celebrating wins in the early stages of your change management process, you can drive greater benefit realization while also preparing the rest of the organization for success. 

Reduced risk: According to Mckinsey, 70% of change programs fail largely due to employee resistance and lack of management support. Implementing a process that addresses these common roadblocks will lead to less wasted resources and a better chance of success.

Improved management of future changes: Change is frequent in today’s business landscape. By continuously improving your change management process every time a new update rolls out, you’re ensuring the next transition is even smoother than the last. 

Consistency when managing change: You can streamline organizational change management when there is a standard change management model in place. 

Better alignment of practice and values: Your employees are your company’s greatest assets, so positioning a change in a way that aligns with their core values will help them be more receptive to the change process. 

Other change management models

Change management processes go back to the early 1960s, and there have been several models of change management over the years. Here are three traditional change management models that organizations still find effective to this day. 

Lewin’s change model

Kurt Lewin , a German-American psychologist, is best known for his contributions of applied research to communication practices. Lewin’s change model breaks change management into a three-stage process:

Unfreeze: During the Unfreeze phase, you will help your team or company overcome their initial change aversion. Not only will you analyze any aversion to the change, but you’ll also begin convincing your team why you need the change. At this point in Lewin’s change model, your focus is on preparing your team for something new.

Change: The Change step is when you roll out the organizational change. Keep in mind that Change may be a multi-step process as you run into unforeseen obstacles and work to slowly onboard everyone onto the new system, whatever it may be.

Freeze: You’ve implemented the Change—now it’s time to freeze it in place so the “new” way of doing things becomes the standard.

The ADKAR model

The ADKAR model was created by Jeff Hiatt. ADKAR is an acronym, which stands for:

Awareness of the need for change

Desire to participate and support the change

Knowledge of what to do to ensure successful change

Ability to implement the change

Reinforcement to ensure the change continues to be implemented in the long term

The 8-step process for leading change

Dr. John Kotter invented this method, which he outlined in his book, Leading Change . This process is the main inspiration for Asana’s Way of Change. According to Kotter, the eight steps are:

Create a sense of urgency to emphasize the importance of acting immediately

Build a guiding coalition to guide, coordinate, and communicate the organizational change

Form a strategic vision and initiatives to clarify how the future will be different from the past

Enlist a volunteer army to rally around the change

Enable action by removing barriers in order to provide the freedom your organization needs to generate real impact

Generate short-term wins to energize the organization to persist

Sustain acceleration and be relentless about initiating change until your vision is a reality

Institute change until it’s strong enough to replace old habits

When to use change management

You shouldn’t roll out the full change management process for every organizational change. Change management is only essential when the potential pushback is going to be large or company-wide. Remember that, as humans, we can be averse to change —we tend to like the current system (even if it’s not the best process), and it can be hard for people or teams to imagine working in a new way.

Here are a few examples of organizational changes you’d introduce with a change management process:

New company-wide tool or technology

Change in leadership or organizational structure

Work culture or values updates

Updated company policies, HR programs, or benefits

Merger or acquisition

The most important thing to keep in mind when implementing a change management process is to be thoughtful about when and how you’re rolling out this change to your organization.

At Asana, our Professional Services and Customer Success teams frequently help teams build a change management strategy to roll out a new company-wide tool or technology. With Asana , teams don’t just have a tool to organize and execute work—they’re also rolling out a new approach to team collaboration through work management . Using a change management process can help ensure success and adoption.

The key to organizational change is change management

No matter what organizational change you’re rolling out or which change management methodology you use, a thoughtful, measured process is the key to change management. Help your team successfully adapt to any change by using change management.

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Updated: 19 March 2024 Contributors: Alexandria Iacoviello, Amanda Downie

Change management (CM) is the method by which an organization communicates and implements change. This includes a structured approach to managing people and processes through organizational change.

A change management process helps ensure that employees are equipped and supported for the entirety of the transition. Several reasons constitute a need for change management. Mergers and acquisitions, leadership adjustments and implementation of new technology are common change management drivers. The organizational development needed to compete with rapid digital transformation across the industry leads companies to implement new products and new processes. However, these innovations often disrupt workflows, presenting a need for effective change management.

Successful transformational change goes beyond a communication plan; it involves implementing change throughout the company culture. A change management strategy can help stakeholders to adopt proposed changes more readily than in situations where such a strategy is not employed. By activating employees as change agents by involving them in the workflow, business milestones can be achieved. Leaders can and should establish the benefits of change through developing a comprehensive change management plan.

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Change management should be a thought-out, structured plan that remains adaptable to potential improvements. How change leaders choose to approach organizational change management varies in size, need and potential for employee buy-in.

For example, employees who lack change efforts experience may need a more tailored approach, like receiving guidance from human resources  (HR). Employees who experience change on an organizational level may serve as good candidates on the change management team, offering insightful support to leadership and fellow employees.

Successful change management is a cumulative result of all the key stakeholders’ success in understanding the change initiatives. This requires proactively engaging and supporting a positive employee experience —invite employees to give constructive feedback and continuously communicate the business process or scope changes.

Psychologists and change leaders have developed several methods of organizational change management:

Developed by change consultant William Bridges  (link resides outside ibm.com), this framework focuses on people’s reactions to change. The adjustment of critical stakeholders to change is often compared to the five stages of grief, but instead, the Bridges’ model is described through three stages:

• Endings: The discontinuation of old processes.
• Neutral zone: The uncertainty and confusion as new roles are being identified.
• New beginnings: The acceptance of new ways.

Owned by a joint venture between Capita and the UK Cabinet Office, Axelos developed the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) . The framework uses a detailed guide to manage IT operations and infrastructure. The goal is to drive successful digital transformation through incident-free IT service implementation throughout the change management process.

Over the years, ITIL was improved and expanded upon to enhance the change process. The ITIL framework has four versions, with the latest being ITIL v4. This version prioritizes the implementation of proper DevOps , automation and other essential IT processes. 1  Created to aid in modern-day digital transformation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution prompted ITIL v4.

John Kotter, a Harvard professor, created his process for professionals that are tasked with leading change. 2  He collected the common success factors of numerous change leaders and used them to develop an eight-step process:

• Creating a sense of urgency for change.
• Building a guiding coalition.
• Forming a strategic vision and initiatives.
• Enlisting a volunteer army.
• Enabling action by removing barriers.
• Generating short-term wins.
• Sustaining acceleration.
• Instituting change.

Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed the "unfreeze-change-refreeze" framework during the 1940s. 3  The metaphor implies that the shape of an ice block remains unaltered until it shatters. However, transforming an ice block without breaking it can be done by melting the ice, pouring the water into a new mold and freezing it in the new shape. Lewin drew this comparison for change management strategy, indicating that introducing change in stages can help an organization successfully attain employee buy-in and a smoother change process.

In the late 1970s, McKinsey consultants Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman wrote a book called In Search of Excellence . 4 In that book, a framework was introduced through its ability to map out interrelated factors that can influence the ability of an organization to change. Around 30 years later, this framework became the McKinsey 7-S Framework. The intersection of the elements within the framework differs depending on the culture or institution. Listed in no hierarchical order, those seven elements are:

• Shared values

The Prosci Methodology, developed by the firm Prosci, is based on various studies that examine how people react to change. The methodology comprises three main components: the Prosci Change Triangle (PCT), the ADKAR model and the Prosci 3-Phase Process.

Sponsorship, project management and change management drive the PCT Model framework. This model puts success at the center of these three elements and is used in the overall Prosci Methodology.

ADKAR Model

The ADKAR model addresses one of the most essential change management pieces: the stakeholders. The framework is an acronym that equips change leaders with the right strategies:

• Awareness of the need for change.
• Desire to participate and support the change.
• Knowledge of how to change.
• Ability to implement desired skills and behaviors.
• Reinforcement to sustain change.

The Prosci 3-Phase Process

A 3-phase process that has a structured but flexible framework. The three phases of the Prosci Methodology are to prepare an approach, manage change and sustain outcomes. 5

Stakeholders can vary depending on the size of the organization and the nature of change. For example, if you are changing a process that directly impacts a product you offer clients, then your clients are essential stakeholders. Whereas if you are changing an internal technology tool, your clients might not be critical stakeholders.

To determine the stakeholders necessary for your change management strategy, define the scope of change first. Next, determine who consistently uses and operates these current processes. Begin by engaging those stakeholders; as you go, it may be determined that there are more key stakeholders to consider. As discussed, it is important to be flexible with adjusting your change management process. Additional stakeholders may need to be included in the change management strategy at different stages.

Common stakeholders in change management are typically executives and leadership, middle managers, front-line employees, developers, project managers, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and potentially, clients. To identify the stakeholders involved in change management, consider asking these questions:

• Who leads the business unit undergoing change?
• Who owns the process undergoing change?
• Who are the people sponsoring change?
• Who are the people executing change?
• Who are the people most affected day-to-day by the change?

With the advent of rapid digital transformation and continual innovation, change management is a crucial tool for organizations to succeed. Among the various methodologies of change management are some best practices to consider:

• Clearly define the vision and make goals measurable.
• Ensure employee buy-in is as important as executive sponsorship.
• Be willing to adjust your process, especially if it is not driving the coveted outcomes.
• Engage employees in decision-making when necessary.
• Collaborate with project management on the automation of processes.
• Create your change management plan based on organizational risk tolerance.

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1 ITIL Definition  (link resides outside ibm.com), Tech Target

2 Definition  (link resides outside ibm.com), Kotter Inc.

3 Kurt Lewins Change Management  (link resides outside ibm.com), Tech Target

4 7-S Framework  (link resides outside ibm.com), McKinsey, 2008

5 Methodology Overview  (link resides outside ibm.com), Prosci

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The Basics of Managing Change

Some key questions to get you started in understanding and working with change management:

What is change management?

Change management is a set of ideas, strategies, and skills that can be applied to engage change effectively. These may be applied

• in planning for change
• in implementing change
• in supporting continuous improvement following change

What kinds of change benefit from using change management?

Change management methods may be applied to any type of organizational change, including departmental mergers, technology implementation, creating team-based organizations and professional development. It may be helpful to think about change management methods on two levels :

The first level of change management is generic enough to apply to any type of change, whether it's the creation of a new department or the implementation of a new technology. At this generic level, change management methods are mostly targeted at understanding the human response to change and creating effective strategies for engaging people to achieve change.

The second level of change management includes methods that are specific to a particular change. For example, in technology implementations, specific actions include establishing and communicating the business case for change, ongoing relationship building, communication and training for affected staff, redesigning business processes, and creating and sustaining groups to manage the project. While some of these activities apply to other types of change, this collection forms a boilerplate for technology implementation.

What are some examples of change management skills?

Here's an example of a change management idea : A guideline for assessing the likely success of a proposed change requires evaluating three key elements: the leadership capacity and attention span for driving the change, the business need for the change, and the energy of affected people for and towards the change.

An example of a change management strategy : For a communication plan, a leader should communicate about each step of the change "seven different times and in seven different ways" to encourage support for the change and help ensure its effectiveness.

Example of a skill : At the outset of a change process, a leader should meet with each major stakeholder group (staff, customers, suppliers, sponsors). Combine active sharing of the benefits and tradeoffs of the change with active listening to stakeholder concerns. This makes any resistance visible, discussable, and hopefully resolvable.

How can change management help me deal with change?

There are a number of ways change management helps people deal with change. Three key benefits include

• Change management can help you recognize how powerful the human dynamics are in any change effort, how they dramatically affect the final result, and how you can use that knowledge to attain the best possible outcome.
• A change management strategy can act as a map for guiding action and helping you "stay the course" rather than getting caught up in the complexity and tumult of change.
• Change management ideas and tactics can help you develop the relationships you need to maximize the effectiveness of a change.

What about personal change?

Some resources that may be helpful:

• For professional development changes, MIT's professional development courses can help you identify learning opportunities.
• The MIT Work-Life Center  offers programs to help with changes in personal and family life.
• Your Human Resource Officer or the Ombuds office are good places to start when dealing with work-related conflicts and concerns.

Where can I go for additional information?

Learn more about change management by visiting our articles and tools and recommended resources .

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Video explainers on change

8 Elements of an Effective Change Management Process

By Diana Ramos | December 14, 2016 (updated March 22, 2023)

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In this article, you’ll get an in-depth look at change management processes and principles. We’ve included the critical elements that are essential to facilitate successful change management outcomes. 

Included on this page, you’ll find the 8 essential steps for an effective change management process , common challenges of change management to get ahead of, and supporting tools necessary to implement change management processes .

History of Change Management

The philosophies behind today's change management practices are structured to anticipate the challenges of organizational change. This framework emerged in the 1940s and was adopted by businesses later in the century, and continued to evolve over time.

The concept of change management dates back to the early to mid-1900s. Kurt Lewin’s 3-step model for change was developed in the 1940s; Everett Rogers’ book Diffusion of Innovations was published in 1962, and Bridges’ Transition Model was developed in 1979. However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that change management became well known in the business environment, and formal organizational processes became available in the 2000s.  

There are concrete reasons for accelerated growth in the change management industry. Products, technology, or ideas that used to take years to design, develop, test, and deploy are now being squeezed down to months or even weeks. The evolving consumer expectations for better, faster, and cheaper products also drive the need to reorganize the work culture to meet demand. Books touting these concepts run from the obvious, such as Change the Culture, Change the Game by Roger Connors and Tom Smith, to Alan Deutschman's dire call to action in Change or Die , Linda Ackerman Anderson’s Beyond Change Management , and Daryl Conner’s Managing at the Speed of Change . In addition, models and certifications from The Association of Change Management Professionals have come to life in support of this growing industry.

Understanding Change Management Terminology

As a discipline, change management has evolved to include change management models, processes, and plans that help reduce the negative impact of change on organizations. We’ve broken down the differences between these elements below:  

• Change Management Models have been developed based on research and experience on how to best manage change within an organization or in your personal life. Most Change Management Models provide a supporting process that can apply to your organization or personal growth. 
• Change Management Processes include a sequence of steps or activities that move a change from inception to delivery.
• Change Management Plans are developed to support a project to deliver a change. It is typically created during the planning stage of a Change Management Process. 

Here is a great resource for an overview of effective change models, methodologies, and frameworks. You’ll find theories such as the McKinsey’s change management framework, John Kotter’s change management model, the Prosci ADKAR process, and the Deming Cycle. 

Kotter's Change Model

ADKAR Model

Deming Cycle

8 Essential Steps for an Effective Change Management Process

Change management processes should include the following steps: First, identify opportunities for improvement and secure approval from stakeholders. Then, make a plan and evaluate your processes. Communicate the changes, monitor progress, and continue to assess any risks.

All organizations constantly experience change, whether caused by new technology implementations, process updates, compliance initiatives, reorganization, or customer service improvements. But, this isn’t necessarily negative — in fact, change is often necessary for growth and profitability. A consistent change management process will aid in minimizing the negative impact of change on your organization and staff. 

We’ve outlined the eight essential steps to an effective change management process below.

1. Identify What Will Be Improved   Since most change occurs to improve a process, a product, or an outcome, it is critical to identify the focus and to clarify goals. This also involves identifying the resources and individuals that will facilitate the process and lead the endeavor. Most change systems acknowledge that knowing what to improve creates a solid foundation for clarity, ease, and successful implementation.     2. Present a Solid Business Case to Stakeholders   There are several layers of stakeholders that include upper management who both direct and finance the endeavor, champions of the process, and those who are directly charged with instituting the new normal. All have different expectations and experiences and there must be a high level of "buy-in" from across the spectrum. The process of onboarding the different constituents varies with each change framework, but all provide plans that call for the time, patience, and communication.   3 .Plan for the Change   This is the "roadmap" that identifies the beginning, the route to be taken, and the destination. You will also integrate resources to be leveraged, the scope or objective, and costs into the plan. A critical element of planning is providing a multi-step process rather than sudden, unplanned "sweeping" changes. This involves outlining the project with clear steps with measurable targets, incentives, measurements, and analysis. For example, a well-planed and controlled change management process for IT services will dramatically reduce the impact of IT infrastructure changes on the business. There is also a universal caution to practice patience throughout this process and avoid shortcuts.   4. Provide Resources and Use Data for Evaluation   As part of the planning process, resource identification and funding are crucial elements. These can include infrastructure, equipment, and software systems. Also consider the tools needed for re-education, retraining, and rethinking priorities and practices. Many models identify data gathering and analysis as an underutilized element. The clarity of clear reporting on progress allows for better communication, proper and timely distribution of incentives, and measuring successes and milestones.   5. Communication   This is the "golden thread" that runs through the entire practice of change management. Identifying, planning, onboarding, and executing a good change management plan is dependent on good communication. There are psychological and sociological realities inherent in group cultures. Those already involved have established skill sets, knowledge, and experiences. But they also have pecking orders, territory, and corporate customs that need to be addressed. Providing clear and open lines of communication throughout the process is a critical element in all change modalities. The methods advocate transparency and two-way communication structures that provide avenues to vent frustrations, applaud what is working, and seamlessly change what doesn't work.   6. Monitor and Manage Resistance, Dependencies, and Budgeting Risks Resistance is a very normal part of change management, but it can threaten the success of a project. Most resistance occurs due to a fear of the unknown. It also occurs because there is a fair amount of risk associated with change – the risk of impacting dependencies, return on investment risks, and risks associated with allocating budget to something new. Anticipating and preparing for resistance by arming leadership with tools to manage it will aid in a smooth change lifecycle.   7. Celebrate Success   Recognizing milestone achievements is an essential part of any project. When managing a change through its lifecycle, it’s important to recognize the success of teams and individuals involved. This will help in the adoption of both your change management process as well as adoption of the change itself.   8. Review, Revise and Continuously Improve   As much as change is difficult and even painful, it is also an ongoing process. Even change management strategies are commonly adjusted throughout a project. Like communication, this should be woven through all steps to identify and remove roadblocks. And, like the need for resources and data, this process is only as good as the commitment to measurement and analysis.

Common Challenges of Change Management

Change management, like any other business process, involves some unique challenges. From the evolving approaches to the need for continual adjustment and improvement, change management is a sometimes difficult — but always worthwhile — task.

Due to ever-changing consumer expectations and the competition in the global economy, the science of organizational change is itself constantly changing and evolving. The human element of change management may be one of the most difficult to navigate because people do not inherently like change or adjust to it well. 

Most change methods agree that change is difficult and cumbersome. Therefore, it’s critical to involve people early on, implement processes, and continuously adjust for improvement. This includes thorough planning, securing buy-in and resources, developing strong communication norms, and continuously evaluating your processes.

Supporting Tools and Components for Implementing Change Management Processes

Effective change management processes rely on supporting activities and tools, which are often developed and managed by the change management team or other stakeholders. We’ve included examples of tools for implementing change management below:

• Product or Business Roadmaps
• Readiness Assessments
• Training Tutorials and Education Sessions
• Stakeholder Feedback Forums
• Post Mortem Review
• Measurements and Analytics
• Resistance Management
• Continuous Improvement Plan
• Business Case

Today, there are numerous proven methodologies. Some models focus on changing the individual as a method of cultural change and some have structures and frameworks to move an entire organization towards focused change and improvement. There is no one "right" solution, but with research, exploration, and resource planning, a change management strategy is possible regardless of organization size or need. If the explosive growth in the change management industry is any indication, the business of change is here to stay.

Managing Change in Healthcare Organizations

The healthcare industry uses digital tools to optimize its processes and procedures. Clinical tests and trials, healthcare credentialing, team onboarding, and clinic openings are all examples of processes that benefit from a more streamlined, automated approach.

However, implementing change in a healthcare organization requires high-level visibility into updates, efficient organization of contracts and timelines, and secure documentation and storage of confidential information. As the demand for better, more standardized processes increases, the need for a collaborative, visible, and real-time tool is more apparent than ever.

Smartsheet is a work execution platform that enables healthcare companies to improve work efficiency, scale repetitive processes, and securely store and share protected health information compliant with HIPAA’s regulatory requirements. Streamline documentation, improve communication across your organization, and modify healthcare processes for the better, while also maintaining top-level data security and compliance.

Interested to learn more about how Smartsheet can help you maximize your efforts? Discover  Smartsheet for Healthcare .

Why Smartsheet is the Ultimate Tool for Managing Processes

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Take your work to the next level. See how Smartsheet can help.

More From Forbes

Forget change management: building an adaptive culture that inspires.

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Annette White-Klososky, Founding Partner at Future Point of View .

Change isn't a one-off pit stop. It’s more of an open road trip, constantly evolving and demanding that you map out new routes on the fly. Enter the concept of building an adaptive culture—the equivalent of swapping out your rigid GPS for a savvy copilot guiding you through every twist and turn. This approach emphasizes flexibility, innovation and empowering individuals to keep up with the pace and even get a step ahead.

Old-school change management often feels like it's always on the back foot, responding to crises rather than anticipating them, leaving organizations stumbling to catch up. Plus, it’s often a top-down deal, forgetting the wealth of knowledge bubbling up from the base of the organization's layers.

True transformation is a team sport, requiring buy-in and participation from every corner of the organization. Trusting solely on the voices from the top, organizations risk missing out on valuable insights from the ground.

An adaptive culture is an organizational mindset that encourages agility, innovation and never-ending learning. Unlike traditional change management with its outside-in approach, an adaptive culture inspires individuals to embrace change as part of their day-to-day work.

Netflix: Marvel Dud Among Movies New On Streaming Service This Week

Houston rockets land third pack in upcoming nba draft, northern lights might be visible again tonight here s the updated aurora forecast, practical strategies for building an inspired, adaptive culture.

Developing an inspired, adaptive culture requires a concerted effort from leaders at all levels of the organization. Below, I discuss the four key principles of building an inspired culture, as well as examples from my own experiences and observations within my organization, Future Point of View. I hope these examples will inspire you during the adaptive culture journey in your own organization.

Fostering A Growth Mindset

In Future Point of View's journey to unlock the full potential of the data assets within a client's organization, we developed citizen data scientist courses. This was a game-changer. It wasn't just about making data analytics accessible to everyone, irrespective of their department or data science background. It was about empowering teams to harness analytical tools and insights, transforming them into data-savvy professionals. This initiative was pivotal in cultivating a growth mindset across the board, giving employees an opportunity to try new things they previously might have seen as too challenging and paving the way for informed decision-making rooted in robust data insights.

The impact was profound—not only did it boost individual skill sets, but it also elevated organizational capabilities in understanding customer behaviors, refining operations and driving innovation. Through this experience, I witnessed first-hand how fostering a growth mindset within departments can significantly enhance organizational competitiveness and agility in the industry.

Promoting Innovation

A great means of promoting innovation is encouraging an "entrepreneurial mindset" within your team. In this, I've consistently found that creating a space in which failure isn't seen as a setback but as a part of the learning curve has been key. At Future Point of View, encouraging team members to take ownership of projects and make independent decisions is a priority. I vividly remember a project during which we ventured into unfamiliar territory. Mistakes were made, but instead of penalizing, we analyzed them in "learning sessions" that were open and nonjudgmental.

This approach not only bolstered our team's confidence but also fostered a deep sense of commitment and accountability. Each member felt like an entrepreneur within the team, driving us to innovate and pursue our targets with a unique vigor and resilience. This experience reinforced my belief that nurturing an entrepreneur-minded team requires cultivating an environment where risk-taking is encouraged and failures are celebrated as stepping stones to success.

Prioritizing Continuous Learning

Another example of building an adaptive culture is Future Point of View's implementation of our executive peer advisory boards. These boards served as a platform for executives to exchange insights, challenges and strategies related to technology and leadership. By facilitating these regular, candid discussions among peers, we were able to foster a culture of continuous learning and ensure that leaders could directly apply these insights to drive their organizations forward.

Another pivotal tool was the development of "Rivers of Information." This continuous learning methodology was custom-designed to curate and streamline relevant industry news, trends and resources. By enabling our team and clients to stay abreast of the latest technological advancements and market shifts, the tool served as a beacon of continuous learning and empowered its users to make informed decisions and adapt to the changing tech landscape efficiently. Through these initiatives, we succeeded in embedding a culture of perpetual learning within organizations, reinforcing our belief that staying informed and adaptable is key to thriving in the technology sector.

Fostering Agility

Recognizing the need for strategic innovation, we launched a think tank initiative for our clients to focus on emerging technologies and concepts. This initiative was more than just a workshop—it was an intensive week-long session during which clients could immerse themselves in rapid experimentation and strategic thinking. By combining individuals from various fields, we aimed to dismantle traditional barriers and cultivate new, groundbreaking ideas. The objective was straightforward—to collaboratively prototype and refine strategies around new technologies within a short timeframe.

The success of this think tank was marked by its encouragement of a "fail fast, learn fast" approach, allowing clients to quickly adapt and refine their strategies. This initiative not only highlighted new solutions and strategies but also significantly accelerated the strategic planning process, demonstrating the power of agility and adaptiveness in today's fast-evolving technological landscape.

Forget change management—building an inspired, adaptive culture is the key to thriving in today's rapidly changing world. By fostering a growth mindset, promoting innovation, prioritizing continuous learning and fostering agility, organizations can create an environment where change is embraced as an opportunity for innovation.

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Driving growth through talent and technology

Thriving organizations are driving change at the intersection of technology and talent. The powerful combination of data and AI and human experience unlocks new work structures, roles and environments which enable people and businesses to thrive.

Talent & organization now

Fortune 500 leaders ranked talent shortages as the #1 threat to their business

of executives say it is more important than ever for organizations to innovate with purpose

Top-line productivity premium when unlocking the growth combination of data, tech and people

of workers are ready to learn gen AI skills, but just 5% of organizations are providing training at scale

Reinvent with talent & organization

Develop leaders and culture to deliver your future strategy.

Reimagine your organization to drive growth

Access, create and unlock the potential of talent across the organization

For businesses to grow, people must thrive, putting people at the center of change.

Your C-suite faces difficult decisions every day. Through a deep understanding of your unique challenges and team dynamics, you can build the capability needed to achieve results.

Transform leadership

Create the conditions for leaders to execute strategy through assessment and development that builds skills and sparks shifts in behavior.

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This starts with developing high-functioning and resilient cultures where leaders support people through the challenges of change to achieve strategic goals.

Accelerate action

Move beyond analysis and strategic planning to enable action that creates real, lasting change for individuals, teams and organizations.

Understand the relationships at play

Illuminate the interplay between individuals, teams and cultures in an organizational system.

Ensure your business keeps pace today and is ready for tomorrow by designing an aligned, healthy and dynamic organization that creates the environment for talent to thrive.

Become a resilient organization

Build a sustainable and resilient organization by uncovering the data and insights you need to define impactful interventions and create and deliver new growth.

Compete with distinctive capabilities

By identifying and building distinctive capabilities, you can achieve ambitious business results and enable new ways of working.

Speed up decision-making

An operating model that balances agility and scale can speed up decision-making, ensuring a rapid response to changing market conditions.

Unlock new levels of efficiency

When you understand complexity drivers, leverage economies of skill and scale and harness automation and analytics, your organization becomes simple and efficient.

Enable new ways of working

With strong connections, conversations, and leadership behaviors, you can tie the elements of your organization together seamlessly, enabling new ways of working across the organization.

Sustainable business strategy

By driving a sustainable business strategy and incorporating sustainability throughout all aspects of the operating model, you can meet shareholder value and stakeholder demands.

Access, create, and unlock the potential of talent across the organization

Transform your approach to talent inside and out. With a balanced combination of skills, capabilities and organizational wiring, you can build a thriving, skills-driven organization that is always ready for change. 

A talent strategy that works with your business strategy

Identify areas of focus, uncover meaningful insights about talent, and pick the most impactful talent strategies that go beyond the obvious and deliver lasting and competitive impact.

Focused skills and capabilities give you a competitive edge

Build skills and capabilities that are needed for today and tomorrow's world and that enable advanced ways of working. Go from talent scarcity to talent advantage by attracting, engaging, and retaining the most critical talent, and identifying new diverse pipelines of talent for the future.

Tap into talent insights

Combine the power of human science and data science to transform decision making and ways of working across the entire talent continuum.

Deliver next-level employee experiences

Great employee experiences happen when a deep sense of care, kindness, and connection defines people’s experiences at work every day. By prioritizing employee experience you’ll gain access to people’s true potential. It’s all about taking care of business while taking care of people.

A workforce that’s ready for anything

Continuously develop the workforce required to achieve your business strategy while simplifying the development landscape and clarifying career pathways.  With a data-driven operating model, talent practices, and structures, rapidly respond to ongoing change with speed and agility.

Improve sustainability

Drive a sustainable business strategy by strategically evolving the skills, mindsets, and behaviors needed to meet the organization’s sustainability goals.

What’s trending in talent & organization

Gen AI will transform entire value chains—and the very nature of work itself. Leaders need to lead and learn in new ways to drive business performance and more productive, creative and meaningful work for everyone.

Prioritizing employee experience pays off. Leading companies are better at attracting and retaining talent, and they’re also seeing exponential business growth. Here's the winning approach.

Five imperatives the C-suite must address to reinvent in the age of generative AI.

Accenture outlines what the future of work will look like across industries, from hybrid workplaces to the virtual workplace and the metaverse.

A new type of CHRO is leading their C-suite peers in connecting data, technology and people and cultivating collaboration. These “High-Res” CHROs bring growth and exceptional experiences into higher resolution. 

Accenture details 5 key steps to help companies unlock the full value of their data and technology investment.

Accenture and Marriott International created a new global HR hub that delivers employee experiences as exceptional as the guest experiences that make Marriott, Marriott.

See how Henkel's digital upskilling program fostered growth through the growth of its people and created a culture of innovation worldwide.

How culture change and training initiatives have helped insurance company UNIQA start a movement.

Partners in change

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Leverage the experience of AWS and Accenture with proven technology offerings and industry-ready solutions.

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Supercharge Human Resources and Finance as strategic partners to drive revenue growth.

The winning combination for unlocking your cloud potential.

Reimagining human experiences that reignite growth and accelerate the path to value.

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Awards and recognition

Idc marketscape report: worldwide people & organizational consulting services 2022-2023 vendor assessment, idc marketscape report: worldwide employee experience consulting services 2022-2023 vendor assessment, hfs top 10: employee experience services, our leaders.

Karalee Close

Global Lead – Talent & Organization

Yaarit Silverstone

Senior Managing Director – Talent & Organization, Global Strategy Lead & North America Lead

Senior Managing Director – Talent & Organization, EMEA Lead

Gaston Carrion

Managing Director – Talent & Organization, Growth Markets Lead

Grow your careers at the heart of change

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Faculty Insights

Unbreakable Ceilings: (WSB) Study Reveals Startling Truth Behind Sluggish Progress on Gender Equity

May 13, 2024

(MADISON, WI) –Despite concerted efforts to promote gender diversity in traditionally male-dominated fields, progress remains sluggish. Wisconsin School of Business assistant professor of Management and Human Resources, Jirs Meuris, has found out why.

Meuris and co-author Jennifer Merluzzi, of George Washington University, pioneered a study that reveals a paradox: as organizations strive to increase female representation in male-dominated occupations, they inadvertently trigger an evaluation and reward penalty for all employees, irrespective of gender, when more women enter these workplaces.

Meuris elaborates, “Our research uncovers a perplexing trend: the presence of more women in male-dominated fields can lead to diminished recognition and rewards for all employees. This holds true even for exceptional performers, undermining the notion of merit-based evaluation.”

“Our research uncovers a perplexing trend: the presence of more women in male-dominated fields can lead to diminished recognition and rewards for all employees.” – Jirs Meuris

Drawing from an extensive analysis of performance awards among more than 13,000 police officers over 13 years, the study found that an officer’s individual likelihood of being nominated for a performance award consistently declined when the proportion of women officers in their police unit increased. Both men and women managers enacted this penalty, with men managers penalizing men subordinates more than women subordinates. This pattern was observed for awards recognizing routine and exceptional performance, regardless of gender-typing of the unit or its work tasks.

The study also highlights the pervasive nature of this phenomenon. It transcends occupational hazards, as even high-performing officers in risky roles experience diminished recognition in the presence of more women colleagues.

“Our findings offer novel insights into the challenge of diversifying male-dominated occupations, highlighting the complex interplay between gender composition, performance evaluation, and recognition,” says Meuris.

Moreover, the study underscores the inadequacy of conventional diversity strategies, emphasizing the need for systemic change. “Mere representation is insufficient,” Meuris asserts. “Organizations must overhaul their evaluation and reward systems to ensure equity, regardless of gender composition.”

“Organizations must overhaul their evaluation and reward systems to ensure equity, regardless of gender composition.” – Jir Meuris

This research serves as a wake-up call for organizations committed to fostering gender diversity. By addressing systemic biases in evaluation and reward mechanisms, companies can create environments conducive to equitable advancement for all employees.

For interviews with Professor Jirs Meuris, contact:

Jirs Meuris

Assistant Professor | Management and Human Resources John and Anne Oros Term Professor

About the Research

A Hidden Barrier to Diversification? Performance Recognition Penalties for Incumbent Workers in Male-Dominated Occupations

Climate risk and the opportunity for real estate

Climate change, previously a relatively peripheral concern for many real-estate players, has moved to the top of the agenda. Recently, investors  made net-zero commitments, regulators developed reporting standards, governments passed laws targeting emissions, employees demanded action, and tenants demanded more sustainable buildings. At the same time, the accelerating physical consequences of a changing climate are becoming more pronounced as communities face storms, floods, fires, extreme heat, and other risks.

These changes have brought a sense of urgency to the critical role of real-estate leaders in the climate transition, the period until 2050 during which the world will feel both the physical effects of climate change and the economic, social, and regulatory changes necessary to decarbonize. The climate transition not only creates new responsibilities for real-estate players to both revalue and future-proof their portfolios but also brings opportunities to create fresh sources of value.

The combination of this economic transition and the physical risks of climate change has created a significant risk of mispricing real estate across markets and asset classes. For example, a major North American bank conducted analysis that found dozens of assets in its real-estate portfolio that would likely be exposed to significant devaluations within the next ten years due to factors including increased rates of flooding and job losses due to the climate transition. Additionally, a study of a diversified equity portfolio found that, absent mitigating actions, climate risks could reduce annual returns toward the end of the decade by as much as 40 percent.

Leading real-estate players will figure out which of their assets are mispriced and in what direction and use this insight to inform their investment, asset management, and disposition choices. They will also decarbonize their assets, attracting the trillions of dollars of capital that has been committed to net zero and the thousands of tenants that have made similar commitments. They will then create new revenue sources related to the climate transition.

Building climate intelligence is central to value creation and strategic differentiation in the real-estate industry. But the reverse is also true: real estate is central to global climate change mitigation efforts. Real estate drives approximately 39 percent of total global emissions. Approximately 11 percent of these emissions are generated by manufacturing materials used in buildings (including steel and cement), while the rest is emitted from buildings themselves and by generating the energy that powers buildings. 1 2019 global status report for buildings and construction , International Energy Agency, December 2019.

In addition to the scale of its contribution to total emissions, real estate is critical in global decarbonization efforts for reasons likely to be compelling for investors, tenants, and governments. Significant reductions in emissions associated with real estate can be achieved with positive economics through technologies that already exist. For example, upgrading to more energy-efficient lighting systems and installing better insulation have positive financial returns. Today, newer technologies also make low-carbon heating and cooling systems, such as heat pumps and energy-efficient air conditioning, more cost competitive in many markets and climates. These cost-effective upgrades can create meaningful change while also derisking assets.

We suggest three actions real-estate players can take to thrive throughout the climate transition:

• Incorporate climate change risks into asset and portfolio valuations. This requires building the analytical capabilities to understand both direct and indirect physical and transition risks.
• Decarbonize real-estate assets and portfolios.
• Create new sources of value and revenue streams for investors, tenants, and communities.

Fundamental changes brought on by the climate transition will open new dimensions of competitive differentiation and value creation for real-estate players. More important, leaders will make a valuable contribution to the world’s ability to meet the global climate challenge.

Incorporate climate change risks into asset and portfolio valuations

Climate change’s physical and transition risks touch almost every aspect of a building’s operations and value. Physical risks are hazards caused by a changing climate, including both acute events, such as floods, fires, extreme heat, and storms, and chronic conditions, such as steadily rising sea levels and changing average temperatures. Transition risks include changes in the economy, regulation, consumer behavior, technology, and other human responses to climate change.

We do mind the gap

As we work with real-estate firms, we notice that investment teams increasingly recognize the impact of climate change on asset values. As one leader of valuations at a major real-estate-services firm recently commented to us: “This is the greatest deviation between modeled valuation and actual price that I’ve ever seen, and it’s because of climate.” A chief operating officer of a diversified real-estate investor told us, “We’ve seen underperformance of a cluster of our assets due to climate-related factors that just weren’t considered in our investment theses.”

The industry at large senses how values are shifting. A recent survey of finance experts and professionals conducted by researchers at New York University found that those who think real-estate asset prices reflect climate risks “not enough” outnumber those who think they reflect climate risks “too much” by 67 to 1 (in comparison with stock prices, in which the ratio was 20 to 1). 1 Johannes Stroebel and Jeffrey Wurgler, “What do you think about climate finance?,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, September 3, 2021. The International Renewable Energy Agency has estimated that $7.5 trillion worth of real estate could be “stranded”; these are assets that will experience major write-downs in value given climate risks and the economic transition, making real estate one of the hardest-hit sectors. 2 Jean Eaglesham and Vipal Monga, “Trillions in assets may be left stranded as companies address climate change,” Wall Street Journal , November 20, 2021.

Physical and transition risks can affect assets, such as buildings, directly or indirectly, by having an impact on the markets with which the assets interact. A carbon-intensive building obviously faces regulatory, tenancy, investor, and other risks; over the long term, so does a building that exists in a carbon-intensive ecosystem. For example, a building supplied by a carbon-intensive energy grid or a carbon-intensive transportation system is exposed to the transition risks of those systems as well. All these changes add up to substantial valuation impacts for even diversified portfolios—an increasingly pressing concern for real-estate companies (see sidebar, “We do mind the gap”).

Physical risks, both direct and indirect, have an uneven effect on asset performance

Several major real-estate companies have recently conducted climate stress tests on their portfolios and found a significant impact on portfolio value, with potential losses for some debt portfolios doubling over the next several years. Notably, they found significant variation within the portfolios. Some assets, because of their carbon footprint, location, or tenant composition, would benefit from changes brought on by the climate transition, while others would suffer significant drops in value. The challenge for players is to determine which assets will be affected, in what ways, and how to respond. There is also opportunity for investors who can identify mispriced assets.

Direct physical consequences can be conspicuous: the value of homes in Florida exposed to changing climate-related risks are depressed by roughly $5 billion relative to unexposed homes. According to the Journal of Urban Economics , after Hurricane Sandy, housing prices were reduced by up to 8 percent in New York’s flood zones by 2017, reflecting a greater perception of risk by potential buyers. 2 Francesc Ortega and Süleyman Taspinar, “Rising sea levels and sinking property values: Hurricane Sandy and New York’s housing market,” Journal of Urban Economics , July 2018, Volume 106. In California, there has been a 61 percent annual jump in nonrenewals of insurance (due to higher prices and refused coverage) in areas of moderate-to-very-high fire risk. 3 Elaine Chen and Katherine Chiglinsky, “Many Californians being left without homeowners insurance due to wildfire risk,” Insurance Journal , December 4, 2020.

The indirect impacts of physical risk on assets can be harder to perceive, causing some real-estate players to underestimate them. For example, in 2020, the McKinsey Global Institute modeled expected changes in flooding due to climate change in Bristol, England . A cluster of major corporate headquarters was not directly affected, but the transportation arteries to and from the area were. The water may never enter the lobby of the building, but neither will the tenants.

The climate transition will affect both individual buildings and entire real-estate markets

The investments required to avoid or derisk the worst physical risks will drive a historic reallocation of capital . This will change the structure of our economy and impact the value of the markets, companies, and companies’ locations. These momentous changes require real-estate players to look ahead for regulatory, economic, and social changes that could impact assets.

Among the most direct climate-transition impacts are regulatory requirements to decarbonize buildings, such as New York City’s Local Law 97. In June 2019, the Urban Green Council found that retrofitting all 50,000 buildings covered by the law would create retrofit demand of up to $24.3 billion through 2030. 4 Justin Gerdes, “After pandemic, New York’s buildings face daunting decarbonization mandate,” Greentech Media, April 23, 2020. Standard property valuation models generally do not account for the capital costs required for a building to decarbonize, and investors and operators are often left with a major capital expense or tax that wasn’t considered in the investment memo.

There is also a host of less direct but potentially more significant transition risks that affect whole markets. For example, some carbon-intensive industries are already experiencing rapid declines or fluctuations. In Calgary, for example, the combination of oil price volatility and market-access issues (driven by climate change–related opposition to pipelines) has dramatically depressed revenues from some buildings. Vacancy rates in downtown Calgary reached about 30 percent, a record high, as of January 2021. Investors exposed to the Calgary market have seen their asset values drop precipitously and are left trying to either hold on and hope for a reversal of fortunes or exit the assets and take a significant loss.

Real-estate players should build the capabilities to understand climate-related impacts on asset performance and values

Real-estate owners and investors will need to improve their climate intelligence to understand the potential impact of revenue, operating costs, capital costs, and capitalization rate on assets. This includes developing the analytical capabilities to consistently assess both physical and transition risks. Analyses should encompass both direct effects on assets and indirect effects on the markets, systems, and societies with which assets interact (Exhibit 1).

Portfolio and asset managers can map, quantify, and forecast climate change’s asset value impact

To understand climate change impact on asset values, landlords and investors can develop the following capabilities to understand and quantify risks and opportunities:

• Prioritize. Create a detailed assessment of the asset or portfolio to determine which physical and transition risks are most important and which are less important (using criteria such as the probability of a risk occurring or the severity of that risk).
• Map building exposures. Determine which buildings are exposed to risks, either directly (for example, having to pay a carbon tax on building emissions) or indirectly (for example, exposure to reduction in occupancy as tenants’ industries decline because of a carbon tax), and the degree of exposure (for example, how high floodwaters would reach). This could require detailed modeling of physical hazards (for example, projected changes in flood risks as the climate changes) or macro- or microeconomic modeling (for example, projected GDP impacts based on the carbon price impact on a local geography’s energy production mix).
• Quantify portfolio impact. Combine assessments of the economic risks on individual buildings into an impact map that enables visualization of the entire portfolio (Exhibit 2). This requires combining knowledge of the potential risk or opportunity and an understanding of what drives the economics of a building (including drivers of net operating income, tenancy mix, and areas of cost variability).
• Take action. These capabilities cannot be isolated in a research or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) function but should directly inform investment management, lease pricing, capital attraction and investor relations, asset management, tenant attraction, development, and other core businesses. The processes within organizations must shift to ensure that climate-related insights can be a source of real competitive advantage.

A portfolio revaluation informed by climate change risks can lead to hard choices but will also open the door to acting on decarbonization and exploring new opportunities.

Decarbonize buildings and portfolios

McKinsey research estimates approximately $9.2 trillion in annual investment will be required globally to support the net-zero transition . If the world successfully decarbonizes, the 2050 economy will look fundamentally different from the current economy. If it doesn’t successfully decarbonize, the world will experience mounting physical risks that will strain the foundations of the global economy and society. In either case, the places where people live, work, shop, and play will fundamentally change.

Decarbonizing real estate requires considering a building’s ecosystem

Ultimately, the only way to reduce the risks of climate change is to decarbonize. Real-estate players have a wide array of options for how to proceed, including low-carbon development and construction ; building retrofits to improve energy efficiency; upgrades to heating, cooling, and lighting technology; and technology to manage demand and consumption. But decarbonization is not solely a technical challenge. To develop the most appropriate path, real-estate players need to understand the range of decarbonization options and their financial and strategic costs and benefits.

Decarbonizing real estate

To decarbonize, industry players can take the following steps:

• Understand the starting point. Quantify baseline emissions of each building. This helps real-estate players prioritize where to start (for example, individual buildings, asset classes, or regions) and determine how far there is to go to reach zero emissions.
• Set targets. Decide which type of decarbonization target to set. There is a range of potential target-setting standards that take different approaches (for example, measuring absolute emissions versus emissions intensity, or setting targets at the sector level versus asset level). Players should develop a “house view” on targets that achieve business, investor, stakeholder, regulatory, and other objectives.
• Identify decarbonization levers. Build an asset- or portfolio-level abatement curve. A marginal abatement cost curve  provides a clear view of the potential cost/return on investment of a given emissions-reduction lever along with the impact of that lever on emissions reduction. This approach can be complemented with market and policy scenarios that change the relative costs and benefits of each potential abatement lever.
• Execute. Set up the mechanisms to effectively deploy the decarbonization plan. These may involve making changes to financing and governance, stakeholder engagement (investors, joint-venture partners, operators, and tenants), and a range of operational and risk-management aspects of the business.
• Track and improve. As investors, lenders, and tenants make their own decarbonization commitments, they will need to demonstrate that their real estate is indeed decarbonizing. Thus, much of the value of decarbonizing will come from the ability to demonstrate emissions reduction to potential stakeholders. Building the ability to monitor and progressively reduce emissions on the path to net zero will create an opportunity for players to differentiate.

Create new sources of value and revenue streams for investors, tenants, and communities

As the economy decarbonizes, real-estate players can use their locations, connections to utility systems, local operational footprints, and climate intelligence to create new revenue streams, improve asset values, or launch entirely new businesses.

Opportunities include the following:

• Local energy generation and storage. Real-estate firms can use their physical presence to generate and store energy. For example, property developers have been outfitting buildings with solar arrays and batteries, helping to stabilize energy grids and reduce the costs associated with clean energy. 5 “5 ways clean tech is making commercial RE more energy efficient,” Jones Lang LaSalle, April 20, 2021.
• Green buildings to attract more tenants. Developers and property managers can invest in developing green buildings or retrofitting older buildings to make them green to meet the growing appetite for sustainable workplaces and homes.
• Green-building materials. Players can explore the advantages of green steel, tall timber, modular construction, and other emerging technologies and materials that may have additional benefits, such as faster and lower-cost construction.
• Extra services on-site. Firms can introduce new revenue streams, including vehicle charging, green-facilities management, and other on-site services that enable occupants’ sustainable preferences.
• Services for reducing and tracking emissions. Firms can support occupants by tracking emissions and offering solutions to reduce carbon footprints. These services could include smart sensors and tracking energy consumption through heating, cooling, lighting, and space management.
• Differentiated capital attraction. Given the volume of capital that has already been committed to achieving net zero, firms that are able to decarbonize will have an advantage in attracting capital. Real-estate players may, for example, create specific funds for net-zero buildings or investment themes that support community-scale decarbonization.

The coming climate transition will create seismic shifts in the real-estate industry, changing tenants’ and investors’ demands, the value of individual assets, and the fundamental approaches to developing and operating real estate. Smart players will get ahead of these changes and build climate intelligence early by understanding the implications for asset values, finding opportunities to decarbonize, and creating opportunity through supporting the transition.

Real estate not only will play a critical role in determining whether the world successfully decarbonizes but also will continue to reinvent the way we live, work, and play through these profound physical and economic changes.

This article was edited by Katy McLaughlin, a senior editor in the southern California office.

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Eller Students Analyze Impacts of Low Mortgage Rates at 2024 Meritage Case Competition

Every year, student teams from the Financial Real Estate Class and the Commercial Real Estate Club come together for the annual Meritage Case Competition, sponsored by Meritage Homes. 

The competition consists of student teams researching and reporting on a current real estate issue and presenting their findings to a panel of industry professionals. This year’s topic was: 

What is the impact of past low mortgage rates on current and future existing home inventory? How has the lock-in effect contributed to the current lack of inventory? With new construction currently making up about a third of housing inventory, how long will it take to return to a more balanced market?

Each of the five student teams had roughly 15 minutes to present their insights, followed by a round of questions from the panel of judges, which included Arizona real estate professionals and executives from Meritage Homes. 

“I expected to come here and listen to things I already know about from the industry,” Hilla Sferruzza, chief financial officer of Meritage Homes, said during the event. “But I actually learned so much!”

The winning team at the 2024 Meritage Case Competition was comprised of Avery Hurley ’25 BSBA (Finance), Jack Marko ’24 BSBA (Finance), Will Brock ’25 BSBA (Finance and Entrepreneurship) and Ryan Gutierrez ’24 BSBA (Finance), who took home a $3,000 prize. 

“ I was incredibly impressed by the energy and focus reflected in this year’s competition. Each team completed a thorough research process and brought unique perspectives to their presentations,” says Phillippe Lord, president and CEO of Meritage Homes. “Meritage is proud to sponsor this annual competition and support students on their path toward meaningful careers.”

Second and third-place teams won $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.

“There is no better way to learn beyond classroom instruction than to gain hands on experience on a current and relevant topic within real estate industry for our students,” says Aamir Kahn, senior lecturer in finance and organizer of the Meritage Competition. “And all thanks to Steve, Hilla and Phillippe on making this possible for our students at Eller with the Meritage Homes Case Competition! “

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Explore the Levels of Change Management

What is Change Management and How Does it Work?

Tim Creasey

Updated: February 23, 2024

Published: March 31, 2022

Although it is sometimes called the soft side of change, managing the people side of a change is often the most challenging and critical component of an organizational transformation.

Consider a merger or acquisition. The technical side of the change is certainly complex. You must work out the financial arrangements of the deal, integrate business systems, make decisions about the new organization's structure, and more.  But getting people on board and participating in the merger or acquisition can make the difference between success and failure.

Why? Individuals will need to perform their jobs differently. The degree to which they change their behaviors and adopt new processes has a significant impact on the initiative. This is why the soft side of change can be the harder side of change. Fortunately, you can apply a structured approach to managing the people side of change and make a big impact on overall success.

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The People Side of Change

Change management addresses the people side of change. Creating a new organization, designing new work processes, and implementing new technologies may never see their full potential if you don't bring your people along. That's because financial success depends on how thoroughly individuals in the organization embrace the change.

Change management is the application of a structured process and set of tools for leading the people side of change to achieve a desired outcome. Ultimately, change management focuses on how to help people engage, adopt and use a change in their day-to-day work.

When defining change management, we recognize it as both a process and a competency. 

Change Management as a Process

During Phase 1 – Prepare Approach , we ask and answer:

• What are we trying to achieve?
• Who has to do their jobs differently and how?
• What will it take to achieve success?

During Phase 2 – Manage Change , we ask and answer:

• What will we do to prepare, support and engage people?
• How are we doing?
• What adjustments do we need to make?

And during Phase 3 – Sustain Outcomes , we ask and answer:

• Now, where are we? Are we done yet?
• What is needed to ensure the change sticks?
• Who will assume ownership and sustain outcomes?

Change Management as a Competency 

At the organizational level, change management is a leadership competency for enabling change within an organization. It is also a strategic capability designed to increase the change capacity and responsiveness of the organization. 

For senior leaders, change management competency means being able to lead change for the organization, including being an effective sponsor of change and demonstrating commitment to the change, both individually and organizationally. For people managers working with front-line employees , competency relates to effectively coaching direct reports through their change journeys. Although competency varies according your relationship to change, organizations are more effective and successful when they build change management competencies throughout their ranks.

Change management is not just communication and training. Nor is it simply managing resistance. Effective change management follows a structured process and employs a holistic set of tools to drive successful individual and organizational change.

Why Do We Need Change Management?

There are numerous reasons to employ effective change management on both large- and small-scale efforts. Here are three main reasons:

Organizational change happens one person at a time

Ignoring the people side of change is costly.

• Change management increases the likelihood of success

It is easy to think about change only from an organizational perspective. When you consider a merger or acquisition, you might focus on financial structuring, data and systems integration, and physical location changes. However, organizational change of any kind occurs one person at a time. That is because an organization-wide change only occurs when Andre, Becky, Carlos and Dharma do their jobs differently.

Organizations don’t change, people do. It is the cumulative impact of successful individual change that brings about successful organizational change. If individuals don’t make changes to their day-to-day work, an organizational transformation effort will not deliver results.

Poorly managing or ignoring the people side of change has many consequences:

• Productivity declines on a larger scale for a longer duration than necessary
• Managers are unwilling to devote time or resources needed to support the change
• Key stakeholders do not show up to meetings
• Suppliers begin to feel the impact and see the disruption caused by change
• Customers feel negative impacts of a change that should have been invisible to them
• Employee morale suffers and divisions between “us” and “them” begin to emerge 
• Stress, confusion and fatigue increase
• Valued employees leave the organization

Projects also suffer from missed deadlines, budget overruns, rework and even abandonment. These consequences have tangible impacts on project health and the organization. Fortunately, you can mitigate these issues when you deploy a structured approach to the people side of change.

Change management increases the likelihood success

A growing body of data shows the impact effective change management has on the probability of a project meeting objectives. Prosci’s Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking studies revealed that 88% of participants with excellent change management met or exceeded objectives, while only 13% of those with poor change management met or exceeded objectives.

In other words, projects with excellent change management were seven times more likely to meet objectives than those with poor change management. What may be most enlightening about the research is that poor change management correlates with better success than applying none at all.

Prosci research even shows a direct correlation between effective change management and staying on schedule and on budget.

Individual vs. Organizational Change Management

Effectively managing change requires two perspectives: an individual perspective and an organizational perspective.

Individual Change Management

The individual perspective is an understanding of how people experience change.   Prosci’s ADKAR Model   describes successful change when an individual has:

Organizational Change Management

The organizational perspective of change management is the process and activities that project teams use to support successful individual change. If the ADKAR Model describes what an individual needs to make a change successfully, organizational change management is the set of actions to help build Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement across the organization. The Prosci Methodology is based on more than two decades of research and includes assessments and strategy to support targeted change management plans : 

• Master Change Management Plan
• ADKAR Blueprint
• Sponsor Plan
• People Manager Plan
• Communications Plan
• Training Plan
• Resistance Management Plan
• Change Agent Network Plan
• Sponsor Coalition Plan
• Sustainment Plan
• Other custom plans

Change Management Roles

The change practitioner is like the director of the play working behind the scenes to enable actors on the stage. As a change enabler, the practitioner works to develop the change management strategy and plans while supporting and equipping senior leaders and people managers to fulfill their unique, employee-facing roles. 

For example, research shows that employees prefer to receive organizational messages about change from leaders a t the top of their organization. And they prefer to receive messages about the change's impact on their day-to-day work from their immediate supervisor .

The practitioner's job is to enable key leaders and people managers to perform these and other employee-facing roles effectively. During times of change, the effectiveness of senior leaders and people managers in these critical roles will determine whether a project or initiative succeeds or fails.

How You Can Effect Successful Change

What can you do to become a more effective change leader? Begin applying change management on your projects and build change management competencies in your organization. These are the first steps to ensuring projects deliver their intended results.

The people side of change is not the soft side of change, it is the harder side of change. Investing the time and energy to manage the people side of your organizational efforts pays off in the end in terms of your effort's success and avoiding the numerous costs that plague poorly managed change.

Tim Creasey is Prosci’s Chief Innovation Officer and a globally recognized leader in Change Management. Their work forms the basis of the world's largest body of knowledge on managing the people side of change to deliver organizational results.

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Planning, Analysis, and Change

Office of information technology, success stories, transforming license management: the success story of cu denver's adobe licensing project.

The Adobe Licensing Project, managed by the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Project Management Office at CU Denver, epitomizes a success in navigating challenges to enhance university operations. Originating from the impending expiration of CU Denver's Adobe licensing contract, the project embarked on a mission to secure a new agreement aligning with institutional requirements while achieving significant cost savings.

Throughout the negotiation process, OIT provided focused effort during contract renegotiation, culminating in a new agreement that delivered substantial financial benefits to the university. Despite encountering technical hurdles, particularly in devising novel registration and payment protocols, the project team adeptly crafted user-friendly processes for license acquisition and payment facilitation. Concurrently, a tailored chargeback system and streamlined procedures were established to cater to departmental needs and licensing in lab environments.

A key aspect of the project's success was the emphasis on effective communication and collaboration strategies. The communications team ensured successful transitions for end-users and mitigated potential issues with data integrity during the migration. Collaboration emerged as a cornerstone of the project between cross-divisional teams within CU Denver and CU Anschutz OIT, and with the outstanding support of departmental IT administrators to ensure license access for faculty and staff, and for the student laboratories. Finally, the project delivered an ongoing licensing management plan, establishing a defined foundation for managing the CU Denver Adobe licensing program and negotiating future Adobe licensing contracts.

In summation, the Adobe Licensing Project underscores the significance of progressive planning, collaborative teamwork, and effective communication in driving successful organizational initiatives. Through meticulous execution and dedication, the project team delivered tangible benefits to CU Denver, exemplifying a model of excellence in project management and institutional stewardship.

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When to Upgrade Your Customs Management Software?

In this third blog of the series, we look at when to know it is time to make a change of customs management solutions, with the aim of helping guide businesses through the key indicators that necessitate a shift…

Within the dynamic landscape of international trade and commerce, the decision to transition from existing customs filing solutions to something new is a critical juncture for businesses. The intricacies of global trade, regulatory adjustments, and the constant need for efficiency and compliance make choosing the right customs filing solution paramount. As we delve into the nuances of when and why it might be time for a change, this exploration aims to guide businesses through the key indicators that necessitate a shift. Whether prompted by regulatory shifts, the imperative for scalability, integration demands within the supply chain, or a pursuit of cost-effectiveness and technological advancements, each consideration plays a pivotal role in steering the course towards an optimal custom filing solution.

What drives the need to change customs filing solutions?

Ultimately, the decision to change customs filing solutions, whether it is an existing software platform or a third-party broker, depends on the specific needs, goals and challenges faced by the business. Outlined below are just a few scenarios that drive change.

Regulatory Changes

If there are significant changes in customs regulations or procedures, it may necessitate a switch to a new custom filing solution. New requirements or modifications to existing regulations could make the current system obsolete or insufficient for compliance purposes. Adapting to updated regulations may require a more advanced or specialised customs filing solution.

Scalability and Efficiency

If the business is expanding or experiencing a higher volume of shipments, the existing customs filing solution may struggle to handle the increased workload efficiently. In such cases, a more scalable and robust solution may be necessary to manage the growing demands. A new system might offer features like automation, integration with other business processes, or enhanced data processing capabilities, leading to improved efficiency.

Integration with Supply Chain Partners

When there is a need for better collaboration and integration with supply chain partners, a switch to a different custom filing solution might be considered. Seamless data exchange and interoperability with other stakeholders in the supply chain, such as freight forwarders, customs authorities, or trade partners, could be vital for streamlining operations and reducing delays. Incompatible or outdated systems may hinder effective collaboration, prompting the need for a change.

Cost-effectiveness

If the current customs filing solution is expensive to maintain, and alternative solutions offer cost savings, businesses may consider switching. This evaluation could include considering the licensing fees, transaction charges, implementation costs, and ongoing support expenses associated with the existing solution. A more affordable solution that provides comparable functionality might be appealing, especially if it aligns with the organisation's cost-saving goals. Our pricing model and return on investment calculator is a good place to start visit [add in link to pricing page]

Enhanced Compliance and Risk Management

In some cases, businesses may find that their existing customs filing solution lacks robust compliance and risk management features. If there is a need for more comprehensive risk assessment, compliance monitoring, or audit capabilities, a switch to a new solution with advanced features could be advantageous. Improved compliance and risk management can help avoid penalties, reduce the likelihood of errors or delays, and ensure smoother customs processes.

Technology Advancements

The rapid pace of technological advancements in customs and trade management can render existing solutions outdated. If competitors or industry peers are adopting newer technologies that offer advantages like real-time tracking, predictive analytics, it may prompt a haulier trader, or broker to consider switching their customs filing solution to stay competitive and leverage the latest tools available.

It's important to conduct a thorough evaluation of the existing system or processes, assess the requirements, consider available options, and choose a solution that aligns with the organisation's objectives and future growth plans.

In the realm of customs filing solutions, the decision to embrace change is not just a response to evolving needs; it is a strategic move to align with the dynamic contours of global trade. As businesses navigate the intricate web of regulatory landscapes, scalability challenges, integration imperatives, and technological advancements, the realisation dawns that change is not merely an option but a prerequisite for sustained success.

By conducting a comprehensive evaluation, embracing innovation, and aligning solutions with organisational objectives, businesses can fortify their customs filing processes, ensuring not only compliance but also resilience in the face of a rapidly transforming global trade environment.

If you are interested in delving deeper into each of these aspects and gaining a comprehensive understanding of what to look for when selecting a customs management solution, then contact us below. A Descartes Customs management solution can not only help to meet your current needs but also offer solutions that can help you to seamlessly adapt to the dynamic nature of international trade.

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