Survey Shows Business Leaders More Successful at Major Change During the Recession

Maurer & Associates, Inc., a leading change management firm, conducted a new online survey of the challenge of change in today’s organizations. The survey found that 33% of leaders were more successful at implementing major change during the most recent twelve months than they were in the last five years. By comparison, only 14% of leaders stated that they were less successful, and 31% stated experiencing no change at all.

Survey responses further revealed that 48% of organizations have experienced rapid major change during this recession, with 29% of respondents believing that the economic recession has positively impacted employee readiness to change. At the same time, only 20% of respondents indicated a belief that they were highly skilled at leading or managing these rapid changes. A majority of respondents, 55%, share the belief that they were merely somewhat skilled.

“Business leaders are demonstrating the importance of developing strong change management skills. One of the most remarkable findings was that 69% of respondents indicated they were involved in or impacted by major change in their organization several times a year,” said Rick Maurer, president of Maurer & Associates, Inc. and best-selling business book author. “Given the constant demand for change and people’s natural resistance to change, leaders will have to become much more effective at effectively leading change.”

In addition to discovering the frequency and the success rate of major change, the survey also looked at the time it takes to implement major change. Over 36% of organizations specified that it takes one to three years to fully implement a major change, while 23% said that it takes six months to a year.

According to Maurer, “It’s never too late to build strong change management skills, even if your change project has derailed. New skills can be learned to move your project back on track.”