A Science-Backed Approach to Change Can Double the Success of Transformation Efforts, New Accenture Report Finds

Leveraging behavioral science and AI to drive change initiatives is key to higher, better, faster returns

According to a new report from Accenture (NYSE:ACN), the vast majority of global organizations (96%) are planning to invest more than 5% of their total revenues in change initiatives over the next three years—up from 31% planning this level of investment just three years ago. At the same time, research indicates that a relatively small proportion of companies have actually mastered the ability to achieve significant value and impact from change initiatives. Amidst radical shifts in ways of working, changes in technology including generative AI, and the constant potential for unforeseeable disruption, the ability to effectively navigate and measure change has become a critical competency for C-suite leaders.

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According to a new report from Accenture, the vast majority of global organizations (96%) are planning to invest more than 5% of their total revenues in change initiatives over the next three years—up from 31% planning this level of investment just three years ago. (Graphic: Business Wire)

New research from Accenture suggests that there is a critical gap between confidence and ambition. Only 30% of C-suite leaders are confident in their change capabilities, despite 100% of them anticipating changes to their workforce. As business leaders are increasingly committed to driving reinvention across the enterprise, Accenture’s latest report underscores the value of building continuous change capabilities for achieving more predictable, positive impact across the business.

The report, “Change Reinvented: A New Blueprint for Continuous, Meaningful, Successful Change,” reveals key facets of what drives successful change, providing a clear blueprint that links the maturity of change capabilities with value delivered through transformation programs, allowing leaders to build and improve their change capabilities in a systematic manner.

The key to navigating change successfully, according to the report from Accenture, lies in embracing six capabilities of continuous change that high-performing organizations apply consistently to realize positive outcomes for the business and its people. These capabilities include Foundations, or proven practices known to drive success, as well as Innovations—areas of new thinking and practice enabled by technology, data and AI that are focused on turning insights into action. Together, these capabilities form the foundation of Accenture’s Change Capability Quotient, a robust method that codifies the practice of continuous change and, using data to predict the likelihood of successful change efforts, establishes a connection between the maturity of change capability and performance.

Accenture’s latest research found that by increasing the maturity of change practices outlined in this blueprint, organizations can transform into dynamic, resilient entities capable of outperforming expectations and achieving meaningful results. These high-scoring organizations are 2.1x more likely to report successful transformations. And, regardless of sector or size, achieve higher, better, faster returns on their change investments—from increased productivity and cost savings, to lasting benefits and improvements in sustainability targets, to leaving their employees feeling Net Better Off. Yet only 16% of the 1,000 organizations surveyed are implementing all six capabilities of change at scale—suggesting there’s more work to be done.

“The business context continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace and the need for a more systematic and evidence-based approach to change is clear. Today, all leaders need to be successful at leading change in order to develop culture and activate strategy—it's fundamental to growth, resilience and innovation,” said Karalee Close, global lead of Talent & Organization at Accenture. “What’s interesting about this research is that it demonstrates the link between change capabilities and successful outcomes. It’s not just about keeping up—it's about creating positive change to get ahead. Only by approaching change less as an art driven by intuition and more as a science backed by data and evidence, can organizations navigate the complexities of modern reinvention.”

In fact, an organization’s ability to drive successful change is fundamental for reinvention. Accenture previously found that the 9% of organizations with the strongest capability to continuously reinvent, identified as Reinventors, are embedding change as a core competency.

While leading C-suite executives recognize the need to master continuous change to get ahead, it’s easier said than done. Common obstacles on any change journey tend to fall between the insights needed to justify change and the actions needed to put them into practice. For example, managers are twice as likely as the C-suite to think change is happening too fast. Lack of trust is also an issue, with only 25% of leaders confident in their team’s readiness, and 42% of employees feeling capable of handling change.

“Companies that embrace reinvention as a strategy—where they drive a step change in performance through the power of technology, data and AI and new ways of working—are outperforming the competition. These organizations have also made change management a core competency,” said Jack Azagury, group chief executive, Consulting, Accenture. “Change must be built as a capability to continuously reinvent and should be part of the organizational DNA. By leveraging a human-centered and data-led approach to change, organizations will unlock unprecedented value for all stakeholders and shape the future of their industries.”

To learn more about how organizations can fully embrace reinvention by instilling change as a core competency and embedding it in their DNA with measurable results, read the full report: Change Reinvented: A New Blueprint for Continuous, Meaningful, Successful Change.

You can also explore the report Change Reinvented: A New Blueprint for Continuous, Meaningful, Successful Change using Accenture’s Foresight app, which provides a personalized feed of our latest insights, data, case studies, blogs and more. Download the app here.

About the Research 

This report’s insights are anchored in two complementary research approaches: (1) economic modeling, data science and global surveys to understand the broader macro, labor and industry trends surrounding organizational change initiatives and to determine how the dialogue around change has evolved and the direction in which it is headed; and (2) experimental and ethnographic techniques to gather diverse perspectives on the dynamics of change and to analyze the work experiences, perspectives, opportunities and challenges happening at the individual employee and organization levels. Collectively, these survey, interview and other ethnographic approaches yielded data points from over 1,000 c-suite executives and 5,000 workers across the same set of companies headquartered in 17 countries and representing 14 industries.

Please see the Research Methods section of the report for more information.

About Accenture 

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 750,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

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