The number of companies expecting to have to undergo some form of organizational change in the near future has mushroomed, according to new research, but a gap is opening up between those expecting change and those confident of doing it successfully.
Based on a survey of 1,100 business leaders, the Regus/JBA study shows that 83% are expecting change but only 61% feel confident it will be successful based on past performance. This leaves a "change gap" of 22%, the report states.
When the survey was taken in 2006 only 65% expected change and the gap was 8%. Report author John Blackwell told Management Issues that declining confidence was not a matter of change being new to them but that the pace of change needed has accelerated.
He said: "Business leaders are wrestling with a broader set of challenges and this introduces even greater risk and uncertainty. The volume of change has leapt up but organisations' ability to change has not kept up the pace."
The Workplace of the Future report also shows that organizations anticipating and preparing for more change than is required perform better than those taking a complacent approach to change.
Blackwell: "Better performing organizations accept change as a state of being. They also look at change holistically across the entire organization. They don't just tinker with a policy here and there.
"Just because you paint the spare bedroom it doesn't mean you have turned it into a ballroom. It may be a different colour but it is still the same place. It is the same with an organization. True change is about tearing up the rulebook," he told Management Issues.