We analysed 300,000 change journeys to determine the pathways that resulted in success and failure. Embarking on the change process within an organisation is like a journey through rugged mountains.
To do so would increase the risk of not reaching one’s destination, jeopardise the safety of travellers and could make the journey more uncomfortable than it needs to be. Ideally, you’d also like some advice that would enable you to optimise your route and arrive at the destination in good shape with the minimum expenditure of energy and resources.
Managers struggle to identify the underlying drivers of change and look in the wrong place to find the answers. While leaders recognise the potential to improve performance by undertaking change, organisations routinely do so without even the minimum requirements for such a difficult journey – and then wonder why they struggle to deliver the outcome promised in the business case. This poor track record continues in spite of, or perhaps because of, an overwhelming volume of information about managing change.
We applied Science to Change Management
How can you put facts on the table and move beyond guesswork? What factors would need to be measured to confirm, in advance, if change is on or off track? How could they be measured? ChangeTracking began in 1998, when ChangeTrack Research initiated new research to answer these questions.
If you were travelling to a foreign country for the first time, you would depend greatly on the knowledge of others who have been there before you. Given change is a journey, the most obvious source of wisdom then is asking change travellers about their journeys and recording their answers. Did they have sufficient resources for the trip? Were their loads too heavy? Were they going too fast or too slow? How well did their leaders communicate? How clear were their roles?
In order to understand the many links between people’s attitudes, their behaviours, teamwork and all other variables in play during the course of a change journey, ChangeTrack Research has rigorously monitored and analysed the journeys of 300,000 individuals in more than 250 organisations around the world engaged in change journeys.
All types of change have been systematically analysed across a range of industries, including growth, restructuring, cost reduction, mergers and acquisitions, shared service implementations, culture change, downsizing and technology transformation programs. A full range of people factors were explored, including feelings, communications, involvement, accountability, leadership, clarity of direction, management competencies and organisation values. Change journeys have been tracked across time, links to hard financial and outcome data have been proven in longitudinal studies, and the impact of change interventions on company results has been examined.The wisdom from this research is embedded in our change Maps and Models.
Sophisticated analyses to find patterns in the data
This database provides an extremely rich source of new knowledge when combined with sophisticated analyses that can find patterns and common pathways in complex data sets. We use this for ongoing research in collaboration with global consulting companies, universities and research groups.
In recent years, organisations have been recognised as complex systems, but measurement techniques and tools to manage change have failed to keep pace with the level of sophistication required. CTRE has worked for 5 years with CSIRO Australia’s leading science organisation to develop our methodology. The application of advanced non-linear methods such as Self-Organising Maps (SOM’s) to organisational data is breaking new ground.
“Recognition that the behaviour of large organisations is a complex system is the power of the new approach by CTRE. Very large data sets are necessary, ideally covering long time sequences. Graphical ways of visualising and analysing the data are essential and to show what needs to be done to the system in order to “guide” it in another direction and then track those changes. CTRE have developed these ingredients and the Self Organising Map (SOM) concept provides the graphical interface that enables one to make sense of the vast amount of data.”
Dr Bruce Hobbs, former Executive CEO of CSIRO
Investing in Research
CTRE has a proven track record of undertaking innovative R&D and commercialising products. We invest heavily in research spending around 20% of our turnover each year on R&D activities. Our research has been externally validated by the CSIRO Australia’s leading scientific organisation, has received funding from the Australian Government and elements of our research have been published in professional journals. Extensive collaboration with large global consulting firms, such as Accenture, has enabled us to carry out very practical research in ‘real-time’ by working alongside consultants as they plan and implement change in their client organisations.
Researchers interested in working with CTRE on a research project contact Warren Parry
Read our research findings: To gain access to a wide range of research papers and findings that have come out of our database, simply register. Registration is free.
