AI will change all businesses and most leaders are not ready

Amid radical shifts in ways of working, technological advances through generative AI, and the constant potential for unforeseeable disruption, the ability to navigate and measure change has become a critical competency for C-suite leaders.

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That’s the conclusion of the latest research from Accenture, ‘Change Reinvented: A New Blueprint for Continuous Meaningful, Successful Change’. However, only 30% of C-suite leaders surveyed feel confident in their change capabilities, and even fewer (25%) believe their teams are ready to embrace change.

Here are the top findings of the Accenture research on change reinvention: 

• 80% of organizations have ‘change’ as part of their long-term vision
• 95% of organizations have undergone two-plus transformations in the past three years, and 61% have had more than four and as many as eight.
• 96% of C-suite leaders will dedicate more than 5% of revenue to change projects in the next three years
• 100% of C-suite leaders anticipate significant changes to their workforce
• Only 30% of business leaders feel confident about their change capabilities

The research attempts to answer this question — as the pace of change accelerates and organizations invest more than ever in transformational change, how can C-suite leaders ensure that they achieve higher, better, and faster returns on their investments?

Measuring change

Accenture defines the capabilities of continuous change that can be used to predict the likelihood of success, with this measure known as the Change Capability Quotient. The measure covers six components: data, influencers, experience, value, purpose, and behavioral science. Organizations that score highly on the Change Capability Quotient are 2.2x more likely to be Reinventors.

A significant portion of the research focused on data maturity in business. The report emphasizes using data to increase the use of new technologies. The importance of using data to drive insights is also highlighted. 

The report notes that using real-time data and AI in change initiatives can help leaders understand what changes are happening, which areas of the company are most affected, and what actions are best to maximize their investments.

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The research reveals that AI can change the nature of data, helping the business find new ways to understand patterns of behavior and actions that best benefit stakeholders. Companies are going beyond data collection towards outcome-based measurement of key factors, including:

• Business readiness – Are employees ready to embrace change?
• Engagement – How are employees responding to the elements of a change program, such as leadership messaging, learning interventions, and tools to support performance?
• Effectiveness – Are the designed programs delivering the desired results, and are outcomes continuously improved by capturing data, generating insights, and tailoring action?
• Sentiment – What is the impact of change on the employee experience? Is change leading to increased psychological safety to help people express sentiment and manage emotions in ways that can lead to higher engagement and retention?
• Data-driven action – Is the planned action achieving results statistically correlated with insights from data analysis, behavioral science, and past experiences?

The research highlights how only 16% of the 1,000 organizations Accenture studied stand out as leaders, with a high Change Capability Quotient, indicating that they excel in all six capabilities.

The report reminds business leaders of the importance of change management, purposefully, deliberately, and optimistically. Change is fundamentally about impact and getting new things done. 

Companies with a high Change Capability Quotient will be more productive, creative, and profitable. To unlock your boundless potential, the foundational elements of change capability include purpose, value, and experience. The innovation building blocks are behavioral science, data, and influencers. 

Accenture found that 55% of organizations with a leading Change Capability Quotient continuously monitor data on employee needs, well-being, and engagement, and use digital technologies and tools to achieve their vision. 

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Almost two-thirds (64%) of companies with leading Change Capability Quotient scores leverage behavioral science and AI-powered recommendation systems to suggest personalized change strategies for different stakeholder groups based on their preferences and concerns. 

A culture of trust plays a big role in change. One in two organizations with a leading Change Capability Quotient foster a culture of trust and openness, empowering people to seek guidance from influencers during times of change.

To learn more about how successful companies approach change reinvention, visit here.