Hello all! I am working through the 6 meta trends in the change management data section of Prosci Chief Innovation Officer Tim Creasey’s post titled Change Management Trends Outlook 2024 and Beyond. The post is based off of Prosci’s Best Practices in Change Management – 12th Edition research.

As Tim’s post points out, the organization started conducting specific research on change management trends in 2013. From 2013-2023, six meta trends materialized in the data.

• Converging people, culture, and strategy
• Adopting Agile
• Increasing Awareness of the need for change management
• Leveraging technology
• Building organizational change capability
• Integrating change management and project management

This is the last week of the series. This week’s trend is…

Leveraging Technology

When we think of technology and change management, many of us may jump right to Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI and change management may very well be next week’s blog topic, but isn’t the focus this week.

Tim’s post posits that we have virtual work and in-person work figured out. It goes on to say the hybrid workplace challenge requires more attention from change practitioners who need to understand how to best leverage technology and tools for their unique organizations and changes. Tim says, “I see hybrid work as continuing to be one of the most significant change management trends today”.

I see hybrid work as continuing to be one of the most significant change management trends today.

Tim Creasey: Prosci Chief Innovation Officer

As someone who has worked remotely for almost all of the past four years, I’m not convinced that businesses or change practitioners have virtual work “figured out”. I agree with Tim when he mentions that collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and tools like virtual whiteboards are helpful, but I think we as change practitioners can continue to help businesses do more to make virtual work work well for everyone.

I agree that hybrid work will continue to be an important focus area for change practitioners, but not just in understanding how best to leverage technology. I believe we have a big part to play in helping make the creation of hybid work environments and the policies and procedures that support them as inclusive and participatory as possible. If the human beings who will have to operate under the hybrid work environment have a hand in creating that environment and its supporting policies and procedures it seems to me that the hybrid work environment will be much more successful (as defined by those creating it).

Closing thoughts

I want to hear from you! What are your thoughts on and experiences with levering technology in your change management practice? How has involving, or not involving, people in the creation a hybrid work environment gone in projects you’ve been a part of? Let’s help each other become the best change management practitioners and enthusiasts we can be!

Thank you for reading. Until next time, take care and keep up the good work!

Mike