The Importance of Change Management in an Organization

Businesses are constantly evolving, with the average company undergoing five or more significant, firm-wide changes in just the past three years. This rapid pace of change underscores the importance of managing change in an organization, specifically in navigating transitions. As a result, changes are implemented effectively, and employees are supported throughout the process to minimize disruption and maximize positive outcomes.

Successful organizational change management fosters employee buy-in, ensuring they understand, commit to, and navigate transitions. This proactive approach highlights the importance of change management by preventing lost productivity, reputational damage, and negative financial impacts resulting from poorly managed change. Below, we explore the critical need for and significant impacts of organizational change management.

Why Is Change Management Important for Organizations?

Change management is the discipline that guides how you prepare, equip, and support employees to adopt change to drive organizational success. Effective change management allows organizational transitions to be smoother and less costly in terms of time and resources, which is more timely today than ever. 

Research shows that 88% of businesses with excellent change management programs met or exceeded their objectives. It also means that only 13% with poor programs achieved success in change management. This stark difference explains why change management is important for reducing risks and ensuring successful organizational transformation.

What is the purpose of organizational change management? 

The main goal of change management is to put strategies in place that make change happen and help people adapt to new realities. Traditional approaches focus only on technical aspects, but change management recognizes that organizational change depends on people. Even the most perfect technical solutions can fail if they don’t account for the human element.

The importance of change management in organizations manifests in the following ways:

• Increases employee engagement 
• Reduces frustration with your operational and technology changes
• Guarantees that employees’ feedback and time are respected
• Minimizes the costs and risks of change
• Optimizes project management and improves projects’ returns on investment
• Builds consistency and efficiency in handling change as your organization scales up. 

Change management comes in two types: adaptive changes (minor, step-by-step adjustments led by managers) and transformational changes (bigger shifts in the organization’s culture, structure, or strategy). Whatever the type, good change management reduces disruption, enables seamless transitions, and helps people adopt new ways of working.

How does a change management plan support organizational transitions?

A change management plan supports organizational transitions primarily by reducing uncertainty and enabling successful adoption. Recognizing the importance of change in organizations is the fundamental first step for leadership, prompting them to allocate the necessary resources and attention to the transition period. The resulting plan then serves as a blueprint for action. 

Specifically, it manages the transition by:

• Preparing and supporting employees through the change, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills.
• Facilitating successful use of the new processes, technologies, or structures by minimizing resistance and ensuring engagement.

Companies that use effective change management plans are six times more likely to hit their business targets than those that don’t manage change well. A good change management plan focuses on both technical and people aspects of change. This dual approach will give projects the best chance of success while keeping employees involved during transitions.

Leading organizations value change management in executing transitions, especially as employees experience significant downtime during the process. A survey conducted by Gartner among 473 HR leaders found that 73% of employees are tired of change, and 74% of managers are ill-prepared to handle it. However, these issues can be addressed by planning and implementing any organizational change.

How Change Management Impacts Organizational Success

Change management helps businesses evaluate, redesign, and implement new business processes. Growth and improving business processes are a never-ending journey. The return on investment (ROI) of improved business processes will depend on the optimized process type. Nonetheless, the benefits of change management in organizations can reach the granular levels.

The following ten specific outcomes highlight the multifaceted effects of well-implemented change management strategies. From enhancing professional credibility to mitigating employee burnout, each benefit underscores the importance of change management and its integral role in nurturing a thriving, responsive, and forward-looking organization.

1. Ensures a consistent and professional approach

A defined change management process helps businesses maintain professionalism by providing a consistent, repeatable approach to handling change. This minimizes ad hoc actions and promotes uniformity across the organization. 

To maintain a professional approach, implement best practices in change management, including transparent processes for planning, communicating, and executing changes. It’s also crucial to facilitate knowledge sharing, including feedback on the process, allowing organizations to refine their change management practices over time.

2. Minimizes change-related roadblocks in the organization

If not managed well, change can lead to new friction points as employees try to adapt to new processes, technology, or ways of working (or reject them outright). A change management plan will help identify and address potential friction points before they arise, so the change can be rolled out as efficiently as possible. It achieves this through stakeholder analysis, identifying individuals or groups likely to be impacted and their potential concerns.  

This foresight from change management allows for tailored information or data transmission strategies, addressing common workplace communication issues, anxieties, and misconceptions head-on. The plan also incorporates impact assessments, analyzing how the change will alter existing processes and pinpoint areas of disruption.

3. Establishes better trust across the organization

Smoothly handling change initiatives in organizations as they arise can build employees’ trust in your organization. Employees want a workplace where drastic changes are managed effectively and communicated transparently, highlighting the importance of change management.

Moreover, when leaders share the rationale behind changes, potential impacts, and anticipated benefits, uncertainty and speculation are reduced. Involving employees in the change process, soliciting feedback, and addressing their concerns demonstrates respect and value for their contributions. 

4. Increases productivity and adoption

When everyone understands the objectives of the transition or transformation, no one is left in the dark about how to carry out their roles during the change process. For example, when a company implemented a new customer relationship management (CRM) system, change management initiatives included personalized training sessions and ongoing support forums. 

The result of this strategy is a swift user adoption and a noticeable increase in sales team productivity. This is because the team efficiently leveraged the new system’s capabilities rather than struggling with a poorly integrated tool.

5. Improves employee professional development

Change management involves preparing your employees for other major and minor changes. It creates opportunities for skill enhancement as employees adapt to new processes or technologies, often including targeted training and mentorship programs. 

For instance, during a restructuring that flattens management layers, a change management plan might include leadership development programs for newly promoted team leads. These cover cross-training initiatives, equipping individual contributors with broader skill sets for increased autonomy and responsibility. Such investment in employee growth cultivates a more agile and capable workforce poised for future organizational challenges.

6. Enhanced risk management

Managing change fortifies risk management within organizations. It provides a structured framework for anticipating potential disruptions and vulnerabilities associated with transformations. 

The importance of organizational change management is clear in its ability to systematize these processes. As a result, it speeds up decision-making, similar to the impact of other business principles like knowledge management.

Consider an organizational reshuffling involving department restructuring. Change management principles would compel leaders to assess the potential impact of this shift on team dynamics, knowledge transfer, and operational continuity before the change occurs. For instance, if a high-performing team is split and its members are redistributed, change management would prompt an evaluation of the risk this poses to project timelines or overall team morale.

7. Reduces employee resistance

Barriers to organizational change can manifest in several forms: employee resistance, technological constraints, budget constraints, and a lack of executive support. Employee resistance occurs when an employee opposes change by not participating or making contrary choices, hindering success, morale, and productivity. 

Change management equips managers to facilitate shifts in the workplace. It also fosters a sense of ownership, transforming employees from passive change recipients to active participants. It demonstrates respect for employee perspectives and reduces resistance as individuals feel heard and valued throughout the transformation.

8. Improves cost management

Poorly managed projects can quickly exceed planned budgets, especially when they take longer than initially anticipated. Recognizing the need for change in an organization is often the first step toward better project outcomes. 

On the other hand, effective change management can help with cost management by anticipating and preventing any delays caused by employee or leadership resistance. It also minimizes costly rework, delays, and disruptions that can inflate project budgets.

For instance, if Company A acquires Company B, change management will identify redundancies in IT systems early on. This action will streamline the integration process and avoid the expense of maintaining duplicate systems for longer than necessary.

9. Build better employee burnout control

Low morale can harm your organization’s functioning and growth, especially if your employees are tired from dealing with organizational changes. Change management helps you communicate changes and roll them out smoothly, so employees experience minimal disruption and understand the long-term benefits.

Furthermore, when organizations implement changes thoughtfully, individuals feel less like uncontrollable tides are sweeping them along and more like active participants in a shared journey. This sense of agency reduces the stress and uncertainty that often accompany change, mitigating feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion.

10. Guarantees goal alignment

Change management acts as a bridge, connecting the desired future state with the current reality. This involves clearly articulating the change’s vision, explaining its rationale, and describing the benefits it offers each stakeholder group. Individuals understand how their roles contribute to the overall objective through consistent dialogue and engagement.

For example, during a corporate restructuring, the change management team clarifies the new organizational structure, defines reporting lines, and outlines revised roles. This prevents confusion, reduces anxiety, and empowers employees to adapt quickly. As a result, it ensures that the restructuring achieves its intended goals of improved efficiency and resource allocation. It transforms a potentially disruptive event into a coordinated effort toward a shared vision.

How an Organizational Change Management Process Works

An organizational change management process consists of five steps: planning, preparation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. These steps lead an organization from its current state to a new desired one. The change management process is viable and effective when introducing new tech, rebranding, or restructuring your organization (just to provide a few examples). 

At first, change leaders need a complete planning phase. They identify the scope, look at effects, and create strategies that match their organization’s needs. The team needs to prepare the organization through stakeholder involvement and clear communication plans. 

The implementation happens through carefully arranged activities:

• Communication rollout based on the original plan
• Training delivery to build needed skills
• Coaching support to build new behaviors
• Quick response to any resistance

Monitoring becomes crucial during this change trip. Teams can measure adoption rates and spot areas that need more support. Leaders should keep track of both technical progress and people’s adoption through specific metrics.

The final evaluation looks at how well the change worked and captures lessons to make future changes better. This repeating process helps organizations implement and maintain changes.

How Knowledge Management Helps With Change Management

Despite the perceived complexities, building a successful change management process is doable, especially if you leverage knowledge management and seamless sharing in the process. It requires significant effort, but you can succeed through consistency and commitment.

Knowledge management fuels successful change management by strategically capturing knowledge and big data, and by analyzing and distributing pertinent information. It fosters a culture of organizational learning, transforming each change initiative into a valuable opportunity for growth. 

The accumulated wisdom derived from successes and setbacks becomes institutional knowledge. Knowledge management creates a dynamic feedback loop that continuously refines and strengthens an organization’s capacity for future change.

Using a KMS to Facilitate Change Management

When using any type of knowledge management system (KMS), information related to change management should be prominently displayed on the platform (e.g., pinned on the homepage) to stay at the top of your employees’ minds. It could also be pushed out through notifications (both on the platform and via email or an integrated chat app like Slack or Microsoft Teams).

Giving all employees on-demand access to this information can help keep teams aligned during the period of change, ensure no one misses important updates, and allow the change to go smoothly and start benefiting your organization sooner.

Leveraging Change Management Effectively

The importance of managing change in organizations that evolve into industry leaders cannot be understated. However, a key element often overlooked in change management is creating a learning loop. Whether successful or not, each change initiative provides valuable data for refining future change strategies. This is where knowledge management becomes essential. 

Therefore, to ensure a successful change management plan, maximize the use of a knowledge management system tailored to your organization, such as Bloomfire.

Note: This blog was published in January 2023 and was most recently updated and expanded in December 2025.

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About the Author

Emma Galdo

Emma Galdo is a customer success leader with deep expertise across the full knowledge management lifecycle—from implementation to long-term value realization. Throughout her tenure at Bloomfire, she’s held leadership roles across customer success, product operations, and marketing—giving her a 360° view of what it takes to build knowledge programs that scale.