59 Change Management Statistics

Change is inevitable, but success? That’s a different story. According to the Harvard Business Review, 70% of change initiatives fail, leaving organizations scrambling to recover lost time, money, and employee trust.

Whether it’s a company’s digital transformation process, a new operating model, or a shift in business strategies, the success of any transition depends on strong change management skills to ensure growth rather than workforce disruption.

With organizations facing market competition and the pressure to improve productivity, leaders need more than good intentions. They need effective change management models and strategies backed by data.

The change management statistics we’ve compiled here provide valuable insights into why employees resist change, how leadership plays a role, and what strategies can drive successful change.

Success & Failure of Change Initiatives

1. According to change management statistics, 85% of executives and project managers report a rise in the number of change management projects. Of these, 56% have seen an increase of more than 25%, while 25% report a surge of over 50% (Harvard Business Review, 2023).
2. Open-source change management principles can increase the probability of change success from 34% to 58% (Gartner, 2019).
3. The average organization has undergone five major changes, yet only 34% of those initiatives are successful (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
4. More than half of workplace leaders and staff say their organizations struggle to set well-defined measures of success for change initiatives, making progress tracking more difficult (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
5. 50% of leaders admit they are unsure whether recent changes within their organizations have been successful (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
6. Only 25% of organizations say their senior leaders excel at managing change (WTW, 2023).
7. Organizations that adopt open-source change management strategies are 24% more likely to successfully implement change (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
8. Only 43% of employees believe their organization is effective at managing change initiatives, marking a decline from nearly 60% in 2019 (WTW, 2023).
9. 25% of organizations fail to review past change management initiatives. As a result, many change initiatives fail because the same mistakes are repeated (Oakland & Tanner, 2007).

Resistance to Change

1. According to change management statistics, employee resistance to change remains a major challenge, with 37% resisting organizational change management. The top reasons include a lack of trust in leadership (41%), lack of awareness about why change is happening (39%), fear of the unknown (38%), insufficient information (28%), and changes to job roles (27%) (Oak Engage, 2023).
2. While employees are generally willing and capable of adapting to change, only 26% successfully implement change management in practice (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
3. Due to top-down communication, 28% of employees actively resist change, experiencing anger and anxiety that foster skepticism and disengagement from the change process (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
4. 23% of employees feel excluded from change-related decisions, which leads to greater opposition to organizational changes (Oak Engage, 2023).
5. Younger employees show the highest resistance to change, with reluctance decreasing with age. Employees aged 16 to 24 are the most resistant, followed by 41% of those aged 25 to 34 and 36% of those aged 35 to 44. Resistance drops to 29% among employees aged 45 to 54 and 28% among those 55 and older (Oak Engage, 2023).
6. 39% of employees struggle with adaptability to change, reinforcing the challenges organizations face when implementing new processes (Oak Engage, 2023).

Attitudes Toward Change

1. In 2016, 74% of employees were willing to offer change management support. However, by 2022, that number dropped to just 38%, highlighting a significant decline in employee willingness to engage in change management support (Gartner, 2022).
2. Employee reactions to change vary widely: 24% of employees feel excited, 16% report feeling happy, 20% of employees feel neutral, and 29% experience worry, reflecting uncertainty about new workplace initiatives (Oak Engage, 2023).
3. 40% of employees feel anxious about change, making it the most common emotional response to workplace transitions (Oak Engage, 2023).

1. 50% of communications leaders report that employee resistance and change fatigue are their top challenges in implementing change initiatives (Gartner, 2019).
2. 78% of employees expect constant change in their workplace (Capterra, 2022).
3. Only 27% of surveyed employees agreed that their leadership is trained to lead change, and more than half of those who agreed did so only slightly (Change Synergy, 2022).

The Role of Communication in Change Management

1. 29% of employees report that organizational change is not communicated clearly, leading to confusion and uncertainty about transitions in the workplace (Oak Engage, 2023).
2. Unclear change communication is a widespread issue across all age groups. 25% of employees aged 16 to 24, 26% of employees aged 25 to 34, and 33% of those aged 35 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 and older believe their organization does not communicate change effectively (Oak Engage, 2023).

1. Organizations that prioritize open-source talk communication reduce employee anger from 24% to just 5%, while anxiety levels drop from 51% to 29%. Additionally, hopefulness toward change increases from 17% to 35%, and workplace pride rises from 27% to 59% (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
2. Companies with effective communication strategies increase success by 38% (Gartner, 2019).
3. Communication leaders face major challenges in managing change, with 45.6% struggling with information overload and 35.6% finding it difficult to adapt to digital trends and new technologies (Gartner, 2019).

Leadership & Employee Engagement in Change

1. 74% of leaders believe they actively include employees in shaping change strategies, but only 42% of employees feel they have a say in creating change strategies (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
2. 62% of organizations rely on implementation plans that are primarily developed and controlled by leadership, limiting employee involvement in the change process (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
3. Only 42% of employees believe they have a say in their organization’s change strategy (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
4. 74% of employees believe that leaders need to do more to understand why employees resist change (Oak Engage, 2023).
5. 64% of employees delay taking action during change initiatives because they wait for leadership direction instead of proactively engaging in the process (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
6. 45% of employees believe that if leaders made a greater effort to understand change resistance, workplace productivity would improve (Oak Engage, 2023).
7. Employees in participatory change environments are 19% more likely to go above and beyond in their roles (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
8. Less than a third of employees say their organization considers their ability to adapt to change when creating development plans (Change Synergy, 2022).
9. Intent to stay with an organization increases by 46% when employees are actively engaged in major change initiatives (Gartner, 2019).
10. Just 31% of employees report that their organization effectively prevents them from becoming overloaded by change-related demands (Change Synergy, 2022).
11. Only 37% of companies believe they are fully leveraging the employee experience during transformation efforts (WTW, 2023).
12. 71% of employees risk wasting effort on the wrong activities due to leader-created change plans that are not directly relevant to their day-to-day work (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).

The Speed of Change Implementation

1. 53% of leaders believe their organizations need to move faster when implementing change management (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
2. 66% of HR leaders feel change moves too slowly and needs to be executed more efficiently (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
3. Companies that use an employee-driven change approach complete the process about 33% faster than those using a top-down strategy (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).
4. Employees save 12.6 hours per week on change management tasks when involved in a more collaborative and transparent approach to change (CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2016).

Change Fatigue & Workplace Stress

1. 71% of employees feel overwhelmed by the amount of change at work. 86% of employees aged 16 to 24 report feeling overwhelmed by workplace changes (Capterra, 2022).
2. 32% of change-fatigued employees say they feel less productive, and 48% report feeling more tired or stressed at work due to excessive workplace changes (Capterra, 2022).
3. 73% of employees impacted by organizational change experience moderate to high change fatigue (Gartner, 2019).
4. Change-fatigued employees perform 5% worse than the average employee (Gartner, 2019).
5. Among change-fatigued employees, 83% feel their employer does not offer enough tools to support their adaptation to workplace changes (Capterra, 2022).

The Business Impact of Change Management

1. Organizations with strong change management strategies-referred to as “change accelerators”-experience 264% greater revenue growth than those with below-average change effectiveness. This translates to 2.6 times more revenue growth (WTW, 2023).
2. Transformation failure costs businesses millions, with 31% of CEOs being fired due to poor change management (LeadershipIQ).
3. Successful change initiatives improve market competition by 40%, driving better financial results (Gartner, 2019).
4. Companies driven by purpose are three times more successful in fostering innovation and leading transformation compared to other organizations (Deloitte, 2019).
5. Organizations that prioritize purpose experience 30% greater innovation and 40% higher employee retention rates than their industry peers (Deloitte, 2019).
6. Organizations that align operating model changes with effective change management are 50% more likely to achieve long-term growth opportunities (WTW, 2023).
7. Workers experiencing change fatigue are 54% more likely to consider finding a new job (Capterra, 2022).
8. Among change-fatigued employees, only 43% plan to stay with their company, whereas 74% of those experiencing low fatigue intend to remain (Gartner, 2022).

The Right Change Strategies Matter

With 70% of change initiatives failing, it’s clear that organizations need to rethink their change management approach. Whether you’re navigating a company’s digital transformation process, shifting an operating model, or making key stakeholders part of change-related decisions, the numbers don’t lie.

The most successful change efforts are those that involve employees, set clear success metrics, and prioritize effective communication. But, without change management consulting and implementation planning, even the best intentions can lead to transformation failure.At Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, we help organizations craft effective change management strategies that minimize employee resistance, reduce workplace stress, and boost long-term success. If you are ready to integrate change management, contact us today.