# The Evolving Change Landscape
For many organizations, the past several years have been a tumultuous time of accelerated transformations and people and change were at the forefront. In response to the pandemic, companies were focused on helping employees navigate large-scale changes. Topics like adapting to remote work, talent acquisition and engagement amid the Great Resignation, and the necessary rapid digitalization of operations took priority.
Now, in this new era, the focus has shifted to attracting and retaining employees through investments in culture and the employee experience. Last year, we saw viral trends like quiet quitting and heated debates about the future of in-office versus remote work. Pair these topics with recent fears around a wider macroeconomic downturn, large-scale layoffs, and succession planning and it becomes clear that companies are under heavy scrutiny as to how they will respond to these external forces while still supporting employees.
No organization is spared from change. It is the constant. The goal of our annual People & Change Insights eBook is to arm leaders with data on the latest people trends while providing resources and actionable recommendations on how to engage and inspire employees through times of heavy change and uncertainty — and more importantly, enable future resiliency.
# Spotlighting the Pressures on People Leaders
The pressures and ripple effects of rapid workplace changes have taken their toll on employees — and their managers. All eyes are on human resources and people leaders to see how they will navigate and mitigate both internal and external pressures while still meeting business goals. From the CEO to the individual contributor, there needs to be a clear line of communication and openness about these issues and the plan to address them.
Change management principles, when leveraged promptly, can help leaders prepare for these pressures as well as communicate and deploy mitigation plans across all levels.
At first glance, 2023 may feel simpler when compared to the past few years; however, our survey results show that may not be true. If anything, the new normal is now a higher level of change and new challenges. It’s becoming clear that deploying change management practices while also engaging people leaders are going to be more important than ever in the coming year.
SURVEY BACKGROUND
# The Champions Behind the Change
Each year, we release our People & Change Insights eBook where we analyze the current people trends and provide change insights to inform leaders on what to prioritize in the coming year.
For our 2023 edition, we repeated several questions from last year’s survey to track movement in trends and added new questions to highlight emerging post-pandemic themes.
About the eBook and Survey
- 400+ US-based professionals surveyed
- Conducted by an independent survey firm
- Complimented by our expertise and insights in leading client transformations
Last year, we saw trends on full-scale organizational transformations and concurrent people investments, people investments on learning and development and evolving work models, the importance of project sponsorship for effective change management, and the employee engagement and retention problems in a hybrid/remote model.
# The 4 key work trends for another year of big changes.
Download the 2023 eBook to dive into the four key trends from last year and what actions you can take to prepare your employees and managers for the upcoming year of changes.
Insight #1:
Compared to the intensity of the last few years, large-scale change is slowing down, yet employees are reporting higher levels of change saturation.
Insight #2:
Technology transformation projects continue to be one of the top changes, and while highly visible, these projects often lack a well-communicated, long-term strategic roadmap.
Insight #3:
Remote work isn’t becoming the future we envisioned, instead, companies are getting creative with hybrid options.
Insight #4:
New workforce models have put a high strain on companies, particularly middle managers, to solve and answer employee concerns.
# Helping Your People Thrive in Change
The pandemic may be in the rearview, but the ripple effects, changing economic climate, and subsequent new challenges facing people leaders will continue to grow if unaddressed.
To succeed in 2023, companies need to embrace an all-encompassing employee strategy that addresses internal and external pressures, tackles change fatigue, supports cross-collaboration, aligns projects to business goals, and empowers middle managers to lead and inspire in their evolving work models.
While change may be constant, leaders can help their organizations and people thrive by incorporating the latest people research, change management best practices, and actionable recommendations we’ve just outlined. With this approach, you will chart a path for sustainable workplace changes with positive outcomes for your people and organization.
“By proactively building your organization’s change capacity and resiliency, you are preparing employees for the future business landscape. The ability to understand and plan for this new rate of change is what will set leaders apart in the modern workforce.”
