December 16, 2025
I can’t think of a client today that isn’t focused on change management. I also can’t think of a company that isn’t battling change fatigue within the workforce. This is why excellence in change management processes has become a key priority for so many organizational leaders.
Manage change well, and you can move mountains. Fumble change plans and you’ll suffer from employee burnout, turnover, poor execution, and failure on all the important measures of change success.
A recent national study we conducted with The Harris Poll underscores this. We found that organizations are at a pronounced change tipping point. While most employees can absorb just 1 to 2 major changes per year, more than 50% of business leaders expect to implement three or more changes in the next two years.
Further, our study found that AI is adding additional pressure to the change fatigue phenomenon. 83% of leaders in our study expect AI to play a major role in future change, and 1 in 4 say it’s the hardest change to implement.
What is Change Management?
Change management is the process organizations follow to implement organizational change, with the goal being to successfully navigate current challenges and succeed in the future.
Ask any employee working today, and two simple words – “change management” – can often prompt an eye roll. Employees see so much change that they’re often suspicious that the proposed changes are well-intended. Employees often worry that the changes won’t result in many positives for them, and instead may just lead to layoffs, added workloads, and more stress.
Even before our study uncovered widespread change fatigue, the signs had been brewing for years. Willingness to support organizational change collapsed from 74% of employees in 2016 to just 38% in 2022, making change fatigue a major challenge for employers, according to a Gartner survey.
These realities are why change management needs to be done carefully – and well. Organizations desperately need better approaches that employees can embrace. Forcing change on a team without their involvement dooms the plan from the start.
What Can Be Done to Manage Change Better?
De-accelerating the pace of change may not be an option for most organizations due to the normal course of change already taking place, combined with a wave of technological transformation led by artificial intelligence.
Yet even when the pace of change can’t be slowed, it can be better supported. In today’s environment, success doesn’t entirely hinge on reducing the volume of change; it also depends on how leaders manage it. That means sequencing efforts wisely, planning and communicating with clarity, and ensuring employees have the capacity and support they need to adapt and thrive.
In fact, The Grossman Group/Harris Poll study found that organizations are three times more likely to succeed in major change when employees are fully bought in. On its own, clear and credible communication doubles success rates.
Leadership is central to whether major changes succeed or fail. Leaders often rely heavily on tools like video messages, town halls, and meetings to drive communication. But as employees see it, that’s not enough. Our study found that 1 in 4 employees are unconvinced that leaders communicate change effectively. While leaders see themselves as clear, employees are left with questions and uncertainty, and crave more visible leadership.
Our takeaway? Change communication cannot be delegated away; employees want to see and hear from their leaders directly.
Examples of Change Management
Across industries, we see that even the most complex change initiative can succeed when leaders focus on communication, clarity, and employee experience. These examples of change management highlight common scenarios organizations face, each requiring a tailored approach to ensure people are informed, engaged, and ready to adapt. Here are several change management examples that reflect the realities of leading transformation today.
1. Organizational Change Management
In some cases, companies need to significantly change their mission and vision as well as policies and procedures to better compete in the marketplace. Often, this is the result of lost market share and changing customer needs. A few major organizational change management examples include:
- Amazon: Now one of the world’s most successful companies, Amazon began as a simple online retailer of books – and was first promoted as “earth’s biggest bookstore.” As demand for online purchases grew, the company evolved its mission and vision. Today, the company’s vision statement is: “to be the earth's most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
- IBM: Long known as a top manufacturer of computers and computer mainframes, the company changed course in the 1990s to abandon computer chips, hard drives, and printers and instead focus on software and IT consulting services, among other things. The change led to profitability and reputational success.
- Netflix: Another company to have transformed itself throughout its history, moving from a physical DVD rental-by-mail company to one of the world’s top streaming providers. The company’s decision to invest in streaming helped change the entertainment industry, and its offerings have steadily grown, vastly enhancing its worth.
2. Company Restructuring
To improve efficiencies, companies may need to merge departments or change the makeup of teams – common change management examples organizations face during restructuring. In this case, companies may eliminate some roles, update job descriptions, or hire for new roles. Support from HR, communications, and the leadership team is critical for these changes to land better and with less upheaval and stress.
Employees may need to take on additional responsibilities, which can cause stress and burnout, so those concerns need to be handled gracefully, with ample opportunity for employee feedback and additional training where needed.
All change often causes resistance, but this kind of change can feel the most overwhelming for employees. They’ll have lots of questions about where the company is headed and what this means for their particular role and job expectations.
3. Mergers and Acquisitions
When companies merge, there’s an immediate need to integrate the two cultures, teams, and processes into one cohesive structure. This can cause a lot of concern if not handled well. Leadership roles need to be clarified, particularly for the acquired team, but truly for everyone.
Every company naturally has its own way of doing things, so the acquired employees deserve the proper support, training, and time to adapt to new ways of working. Particularly in cases when a larger company acquires a smaller team, it’s important that the larger organization properly welcomes and supports the newcomers. There may also be job shifts and team reorganizations from the acquisition, which may require an adjustment period for the entire organization.
4. Digital Transformation
A wide range of technological advances have clear impacts on teams. One of the most common is the adoption of a cloud-based project management system. Smart change management involves assessing employee training needs, a pilot of the system, and teams of “change champions” to support the new system’s implementation.
Naturally, transitions to AI systems and processes also have huge implications for teams and need to be thoughtfully managed, with strong communication and opportunities for employee engagement and input throughout.
5. New Product Launch
The launch of a major new product requires a thoughtful change management plan that helps the launch team have clear roles and responsibilities and gives the organization a sense of the impact of the new product on the overall business.
6. New Leadership
Whenever a new leader comes on board, particularly at the top levels of an organization, but throughout the management line, change management processes help a lot in making the transition smooth. Employees will have lots of questions about the leader’s philosophy and approach, why the company made a change, and where the leader plans to take the organization.
Given all the questions, employees deserve a smart roll-out process, with ample opportunities for questions and interactions with the new leader. These should occur in informal settings (small group lunches), larger team meetings (all-hands calls and town halls), and front-line interactions from the leader wherever employees work – factory floors, hospital rooms, distribution centers, retail stores, restaurants, and the like.
7. Sustainability or Environmental and Social Responsibility Changes
The best-run companies are constantly looking to improve their corporate responsibility practices, such as reducing impacts on the environment, promoting charitable work, or committing to carbon neutrality within the next decade.
Such initiatives need careful change management planning to be successful and fully embraced by the entire organization. Thoughtful change management in this realm should involve clear metrics and goals, and the company should regularly communicate progress and challenges.
8. Cultural Changes
As many leaders say, culture is everything. Yet implementing culture change has to be planned and well-intentioned, far from simple words on a website.
Cultural changes run the gamut from diversity and inclusion efforts to new well-being programs, employee engagement initiatives, and employee recognition efforts. In each case, change management is critical to ensure employees are brought along on the change journey and can feel the initiatives are genuine and well-intentioned.
9. AI Adoption and Workforce Upskilling
As organizations accelerate their use of artificial intelligence, many underestimate the degree of behavior change, mindset shift, and skill-building required for employees to adopt AI confidently. AI isn’t just a technology change; it’s a fundamental change initiative that affects workflows, decision-making, roles, and cultural norms. We find that sustainable AI integration requires more than tools and training; it requires a deliberate change management strategy focused on clarity, readiness, and hands-on support.
When supporting organizations with AI change adoption, we help them identify where employees are today, from enthusiasm to skepticism, and build a tailored plan to bridge the gap. This includes assessing employee sentiment, understanding real use cases, mapping skill needs, and providing a structured adoption journey with pilot programs, champions, and iterative feedback loops. Leaders also play a critical role: modeling AI usage, communicating the “why,” and reinforcing that AI is designed to augment employees, not replace them.
The result is an AI transformation that feels accessible rather than overwhelming. When employees understand how AI supports their work, and when leaders communicate with transparency and empathy, AI adoption accelerates. With the right change management approach, organizations unlock the full promise of AI, including increased productivity, stronger decision-making, and capacity for higher-value work, while strengthening trust and engagement along the way.
A Smart Process for Change Management Initiatives
With the pace and volume of change only expected to increase, managing change effectively in the years ahead won’t just be a nice-to-have; it will be essential to avoid overwhelming employees and to deliver on business goals. We call this the “5 Ss of Managing Change.”
The process offers a practical framework to help leaders and communicators navigate change better:
1. Scale.
Organizations need to review the size, scope, and sequencing of any change to ensure that it’s manageable for teams, given everything else that’s happening.
2. Story.
Write your story well, with a clear, consistent message that explains the “why” behind the change, even when not all answers are known.
3. Strategy.
To succeed, organizations need a clear roadmap for success that aligns business objectives with a communications plan that delivers the right tactics, timing, and resources.
4. Stakeholders.
Leaders, champions, and influencers must be engaged to execute and support any change.
5. Sentiment.
The feedback loop is essential. You need to have a clear eye on how employees are experiencing the change because that guides the necessary adjustments.
Other key tips for managing the change process well:
- Anticipate resistance: Expect and plan for resistance rather than being surprised by it.
- Communicate purposefully: Strategic communication before, during, and after change initiatives is essential for overcoming resistance.
- Involve employees meaningfully: Give people a voice and choice in the change process to transform resistance into engagement.
- Support comprehensively: Provide the resources, training, and emotional support needed to navigate transitions successfully.
- Lead authentically: Demonstrate genuine commitment to change through consistent words and actions.
Change Management Case Studies
Real change management success isn’t theoretical – it happens when leaders and communicators come together to support people through uncertainty. These change management case studies illustrate how organizations can turn strategy into action, overcome resistance, and build momentum. Each example shows what’s possible when communication, leadership, and employee experience align.
Employee Culture Shift Among Rapid Organizational Change
Employees of a global pharmaceutical company we worked with were change-weary from the volume of ongoing change. In a span of months, the organization rebranded, restructured, changed leadership, and closed manufacturing sites. Feelings of uncertainty and frustration were rising.
Partnering with the communications team, we helped create a first-of-its-kind reset moment – and ultimately enduring campaign – to re-engage associates in what truly mattered: their all-important mission to transform patient lives.
As a kind of “day of inspiration,” we held a special event that was well outside the norm of the typical town hall. Content was inspirationally toned and focused on impact, versus simply focusing on the state of the business. The event featured both internal and external speakers who helped associates take stock of how they could find inspiration from their patients, one another, and within.
The result inspired associates for the future and their role in the company’s success, and additional similar events were held yearly. We sustained the effort through print and digital storybooks highlighting patient and employee successes, patient stories across internal channels, and leader toolkits to help managers guide employees through change.
Employees reported in subsequent surveys that the work made them feel far more inspired in their role, more confident in the organization’s future, and more connected to the organization’s mission.
Merger of Two Professional Service Firms
After two professional service firms agreed on a merger, we brought together 30+ high-potential leaders to forge deep alignment on what they aspired to be together – drawing on each organization’s legacy and challenging both teams to live up to their new brand ambition (and avoid the ”sea of sameness”).
With follow-up meetings, we aligned on a construct that captured the very best of the new company. The construct also defined the new company's DNA, including the actions and behaviors required to bring the employees’ commitment to exceptional client service to life.
Throughout the process, key stakeholders across the organization weighed in as well, so everyone felt they had a hand in creating the new culture, and we tested the concepts with 12 focus groups across the firm, representing more than 120 associates in varying roles and geographies.
Further, the project involved training more than 100 team members to be “DNA culture champions,” which helped drive unprecedented alignment across the firm.
Building Understanding and Support for Executive Leadership Changes
A year after acquiring a medical data and technology company, its private equity owners determined that a leadership change was necessary to drive the company’s growth. The ownership team tapped The Grossman Group to quickly assemble a strategic communications plan that covered everything from when and how the outgoing CEO would be notified of the change to a comprehensive internal and customer communications plan.
In addition to developing the plan, our team created all of the communication materials, including a leader toolkit, town hall scripts, Q&A, etc. When a new CEO was selected four months later, we again stepped up to handle communication, including developing a plan for the first 100 days of leadership for the new CEO. This helped the leader connect more meaningfully with customers and employees. We also worked with the CEO on a listening and learning tour that helped him quickly establish and get stakeholder support for his vision for the future.
How The Grossman Group Can Help with Change Management Initiatives
We understand that change management initiatives are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Our specialized expertise in managing resistance to change has helped countless organizations successfully navigate complex transformations while maintaining employee engagement and productivity.
We partner with organizations to develop and implement strategic communication plans that specifically address resistance to change through:
- Strategic Change Assessment: Before implementing any communication plan, we conduct thorough analyses to identify potential resistance points, understand organizational culture, and assess readiness for change. This allows us to develop a plan that addresses your specific challenges.
- Message Development and Cascade Planning: Our team crafts compelling change narratives that resonate with employees at all levels. We develop clear, consistent messaging that articulates the "why" behind changes, addresses anticipated resistance points, and creates an emotional connection to the future state.
- Multi-Channel Communication Strategies: We design comprehensive communication plans utilizing the most effective channels for your organization's culture and workforce. From digital platforms to face-to-face forums, we ensure your change message reaches employees where they are.
- Approaches to Engage Employees Along the Change Journey: We build custom solutions to help employees feel like change is happening with them and not to them, so they feel part of the solution, aligned, and ready to embrace what’s ahead.
Contact us to start a conversation about how we can tailor a change communication strategy that works for your organization and your people.
The Bottom Line
We know from working with hundreds of organizations that most transformations fail not because the strategy is off, but because employees weren’t brought along in the right way.
Leaders who take the change management process seriously, lead alongside communicators, and plan and sequence change strategically will be the clear winners in the years ahead.
What do you see as the keys to change management success inside business today?
—David Grossman
Want to see what sets successful transformations apart? Our latest research with The Harris Poll uncovers the tipping point of change – and how leaders can turn it into a competitive advantage. Download The Change Tipping Point research report today.
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