Barriers to organisational change management

To develop a successful strategy for organisational change, you must understand the types of barriers your business may face.

Top reasons for change management failure

In most cases, failure to achieve organisational change is driven by one of the following factors:

• limited understanding of the change and its impact
• negative employee attitudes
• failure to involve employees in the change process
• poor or inefficient communication
• inadequate resources or budget - see cost of change management
• resistance to organisational culture shift
• lack of management support for the change
• lack of commitment to change
• past experience of failed change initiatives

Other practical barriers can involve a lack of skills, lack of staff, difficulties in establishing service, absence of equipment required for the change, or inadequate organisational infrastructure. If key employees leave or move around the organisation, it may also be difficult to maintain changes after you've introduced them.

Consequences of poor change management

The costs and outcomes of poorly managed change can be significant. They include:

• financial losses
• productivity and performance drops
• a decline in quality of work
• wasted time and resources
• inability to retain staff
• increase in employee sickness levels
• poor staff morale
• inefficiencies
• impact on customers and suppliers
• missed opportunities

You should also consider the damage to your business brand, loss of credibility and general change fatigue, as well as risks to your business continuity.

Overcoming barriers to change management

To avoid your project slowing down or derailing, follow the core change management principles that focus on:

• clear leadership
• clear communication
• understanding the impact of change
• staff involvement
• embedding changes long-term

Start with a change readiness assessment to spot resistance early. Train managers as change champions to build trust at all levels, and use quick wins, like pilot tests, to demonstrate value and gain buy-in.

Read more about the importance of communication in change management.

Certain factors create a business culture ready for change, such as strong leadership, a focus on continuous improvement and motivated staff. Tailor your approach to overcome specific barriers.

Keep in mind that change often takes time, and resistance is common. Assess the scale of your project realistically and decide if small, incremental changes may work better than a quick, full-scale transformation.