德勤 -大多数企业错失的 4 1 变革管理回报 The 4 1 change management return most organizations are leaving on the table

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The4:1changemanagementreturnmostorganizationsareleavingonthetable

70%ofsurveyedleaderssaytheirlatesttransformationfellshortofintendedvalue.Traditionalchangeapproachesappeartobestrugglingtokeeppacewithcontinuouschange.

ByAllysonDake,ChloeDomergue,JennyAhn,SueCantrellArticle·9-minread·19October2026

THE4:1CHANGEMANAGEMENTRETURNMOSTORGANIZATIONSARELEAVINGONTHETABLE·PG1

Everyyear,organizationspourmillionsofdollarsintolarge-scaletransformations:digitaltransformations,AIimplementations,

restructurings,andoperatingmodeloverhauls.Businessleaders

approvetheseinvestments,expectingthemtopayoffinstrongerbusinessperformance.Yet70%oftheleadersinDeloitte’slatest

changemanagementresearchsaytheirmostrecenttransformationinitiativefailedtodeliveritsintendedbusinessvalue.

IncollaborationwithindependentresearchfirmWorkplace

Intelligence,Deloittesurveyed1,000changemanagementleadersinC-suiteorotherexecutiveleadershiproleswhowereresponsiblefor

large-scalechangeinitiativesattheirorganizationsintheUnited

States,UnitedKingdom,Australia,andCanada(seemethodology).Anorganization’slatesttransformationinitiativeisalsoseldomtheonlychangeworkersarefacing.Eighty-threepercentofsurveyed

leaderssaytheyarerunningmultiplelarge-scaleinitiatives

concurrently.But60%ofchangeleaderssaytheircompanystill

treatschangemanagementasaprojectcost,notabusiness

capability.Thefindingspaintapictureofanincreasinglyfamiliarparadox:Organizationsarelaunchingmultiplemajorchangesat

once,shiftingfromepisodicchangetocontinuouschange,buttheirmanagementandchangesystemshaven’tkeptpace.

Whileorganizationsmightstrugglewithchangeadoption,effortstoimproveitgenerallyfocusonrefiningexistingapproachesrather

thanreimaginingchangeasacontinuous,always-onbusinesscapability.

Ourresearchsuggestsareasontorethinkthattraditionalapproach.Acrossrespondents,themedianreturnoninvestmentforchange

managementwas4:1,meaningthatevery$1investedinchange

managementwasassociatedwith$4inrealizedbusinessvalue.

Companieswiththehighestchangemanagementinvestmentswerealso1.7timesmorelikelytosayemployeeadoptionexceeded

expectations.

Closingthegapbetweeninvestmentandresultslikelymeanstreatingchangemanagementasadurable,always-oncapability,notaone-

offprojectcost.Andbuildingthatcapabilityshouldstartwith

understandingthecombineddemandsofchangeinitiativeson

workersandgivingleaderstheauthoritytoadjustthepace,scope,orsequenceofchangewhenthosedemandsexceedwhatpeoplecan

realisticallyabsorb.

Thecapacityconstraintnosingleinitiativecansee

Changeleadersarenotlackingforobjectives.Thevastmajorityciteambitiousgoalsfortheirmostrecentinitiative,yetfewerthanhalfreportsignificantimprovementintheareastheysoughttochange(figure1).Morethanhalf(55%)saytheirmostrecentinitiative

requiredasignificantrestartormajorcoursecorrection.

THE4:1CHANGEMANAGEMENTRETURNMOSTORGANIZATIONSARELEAVINGONTHETABLE•PG2

THE4:1CHANGEMANAGEMENTRETURNMOSTORGANIZATIONSARELEAVINGONTHETABLE·PG3

Figure1

Changeambitionoutpacesreportedimpactoneverysurveyedobjective

Percentofchangeleaderscitingeachoutcomeasaprimaryobjectiveoftheirmostrecentinitiativeversusthepercentwhosaytheinitiativesignificantlyimprovedthatoutcome

SignificantlyimprovedCitedasa

thisoutcomeprimaryobjective

Financialandoperationalperformance

Innovationorbusiness

transformationcapabilities

86%

Customerorclientexperience

85%

Speedandagility

46%84%

Complianceandriskposture

80%

Employeeexperience

77%

Source:Deloitte2026changemanagementresearch.Desloitte.|

Onepossiblereasonforthegapbetweenambitionandresultsisthatemployeesarebeingaskedtocarryouttransformationwithoutrelieffromtheirexistingresponsibilities.Eighty-fourpercentofsurveyed

changeleaderssayemployeesareexpectedtomanage

transformation-relatedtasksontopoftheirexistingworkload.Thatraisesaquestionofchangecapacity—areadonwhetherthe

workforceabsorbingachangeinitiativehasanyroomlefttotakeit

66%sayemployeeslefttheircompanyasadirectresultofpoorlymanagedchangewhichcouldequatetoanaverageof$20.5millioninpotentialreplacementcosts.

Thefindingssuggestthatemployeesarefeelingthestrain.Sixty-ninepercentofrespondentssaytheirmostrecentinitiativeincreased

employeeworkloadandburnout;66%sayemployeeslefttheir

companyasadirectresult.Thelossesmightincludesomeoftheirstrongestperformers:Forty-fivepercentofsurveyedleadersbelievepoorlymanagedchangehascontributedtothedepartureofhigh-performingemployees.Forthecompaniesreportingsuchturnover,thiscouldequatetoanaverageof$20.5millioninpotential

replacementcosts.

Theburdenbecomesmoredifficulttomanagewheninitiatives

overlap.Seventy-threepercentofleadersreportchangefatigue

amongtheiremployees.Respondentsatcompaniesthattypicallyrunfourormorelarge-scaleinitiativesconcurrentlywere6.4timesmorelikelytoreporthighchangefatiguethanthoseatcompaniesrunningonlyone.

THE4:1CHANGEMANAGEMENTRETURNMOSTORGANIZATIONSARELEAVINGONTHETABLE•PG4

AIalsomakesthecapacityquestionmoreimmediate.Its

implementationcanreachacrossfunctionsandalterhowpeopledotheirjobsevenwhileotherchangeinitiativesareunderway.Sixty-

onepercentofsurveyedleadersfeelAItransformationismoving

fasterthantheiremployeescanhandle.Nearlyhalf(49%)believeAIimplementationhascontributedtoemployeeburnout,unwanted

turnover,andalossoftrustbetweenemployeesandleadership.

AmongleadersoverseeingAIimplementation,estimatedturnover-relatedcostsclimbtoanaverageof$25.5million.Accordingtoourresearch,AIinitiativestendtoseehigherpercentagesofdeparting

employeesthanothertypesofchange.

54%saythatnooneattheircompanyhastheauthoritytoslowdownorpauseaninitiativebasedonemployeechangecapacity.

Yetfeworganizationsappeartobeequippedtoact.Only40%ofrespondentssaytheircompanyproactivelydelaysorredesigns

initiativesbasedonchange-fatiguerisk.Morethanhalf(54%)saythatnooneattheircompanyhastheauthoritytoslowdownor

pauseaninitiativebasedonemployeechangecapacity,and27%

admitthatthere’snoformalprocessfortrackingormanagingtotalchangeload.Aleadermightbeabletomanagethedemandsofonechangerolloutwithoutknowingwhatotherteamsareaskingofthesameemployees—orhavingawaytoresolvethecollision.

Fromprojectcosttobusinesscapability

Managingthecombineddemandsofchangewilllikelyrequireanewcapabilitythatextendsbeyondanyoneinitiative.Forleaderstryingtobuildthecaseforinvestinginchangemanagement,the4:1returnassociatedwithchangemanagementinvestmentinthisresearchisastrongargumentforfundingitonanongoingbasisratherthan

establishingandwindingitdownwitheverynewinitiative(figure2).Astandingchangecapabilityshouldcombinedemandplanning,

assessmentsofcultureandorganizationalreadiness,andongoingtrackingofvalue.

THE4:1CHANGEMANAGEMENTRETURNMOSTORGANIZATIONSARELEAVINGONTHETABLE·PG5

Figure2

TheROlofchangemanagement

invested

$4

realized

EVERY$1INVESTEDINCHANGEM4NAGEMENTWAS

ASSocI4TEDwiS4INREALIZEDBuSINESSvALUE

Notes:*Basedonthemedianvalue-to-investmentratio;Onerespondentreportednoinvestmentinchangemanagement(0%ofprogrambudget)andwasexcludedfromtheanalysisbecausetheratiocannotbecalculatedwhentheinvestmentiszero.

Source:Deloitte2026changemanagementresearch.Desloitte.|

Respondentsalsoseeadirectconnectionbetweenchange

managementandthevaluetheirinitiativesdeliver:Eighty-three

percentofchangeleadersbelievepoorchangemanagement

contributedtotheirlatestinitiativefallingshortofitsintended

businessvalue.Theirassessmentreinforcesthecaseforexamining

howchangeisfundedandmanagedalongsidehowmuchisinvestedinthetransformationitself.

Beyondfunding,leaderscouldalsoconsiderhowastandingchangecapabilitywouldwork.Onlyhalfofrespondentsdescribetheir

company'sinternalchangemanagementcapabilityasverymature(figure3),and53%saytheircompanyusesthesameplaybookforeverychange,regardlessoftype,scale,oraudience.

THE4:1CHANGEMANAGEMENTRETURNMOSTORGANIZATIONSARELEAVINGONTHETABLE·PG6

Figure3

Halfofchangeleadersreportgapsintheircompany'schangemanagementcapabilities

Question:“Howwouldyoudescribeyourcompany'sinternalchangemanagementcapability?”

50%STILLHAvEGAPSTocLoSE

50%Verymature

Wehaveastrong,well-establishedchangemanagementcapabilityandcontinuetoinvestinstrengtheningit.

46%Somewhatmature

Wehaveadedicatedchangemanagementcapability,butgapsremainandadditionalinvestmentisneeded.

Wearebuildingourchangemanagementcapabilityandhavebegunmakinginvestmentstostrengthenit.

Source:Deloitte2026changemanagementresearch.

Adurablechangecapabilityshouldalloworganizationstoadapt

theirapproachtoeachinitiativewhilemanagingcombineddemandsacrosstheenterprise.Whatmightthiskindofcapabilitylooklikeinpractice?BasedonDeloitte'sexperienceguidinglarge-scale

transformations,thefollowingfiveprioritiescanhelporganizationsbuildit.

1.Embedchangesupportineverydaywork

Aroundhalfofrespondents(52%)saytheircompanyreliesmoreonatraditionalapproachtochangemanagement,

primarilyusingcommunications,training,andchange

champions.Theother48%leanmoreonanapproachthat

embedstechnologyorAI-enabledsupportdirectlyintothe

flowofwork,suchasreal-timebehavioralnudges,coaching,andmicro-learning.

Thetraditionalapproachwasbuiltforepisodicchange:a

definedinitiativewithastartandenddate,supportedbyacampaignthatwrapsupwhentherolloutdoes.That

playbookmightbehardertosustainwhenorganizationsarerunningseveralinitiativesatonce,onanongoingbasis.

Approachesthatembedsupportintohowpeoplealreadyworkcouldhelpemployeesadaptwithoutrepeatedly

steppingawayfromtheirday-to-dayresponsibilities.Such

supportislikelybettersuitedtothepaceandvolumeof

overlappingchange,yetfewerthanhalfofrespondentssaytheirorganizationreliesonthisapproach.

2.Managechangecapacityacrosstheenterprise

Workforcereadinessforoneinitiativeonlytellspartofthestory.Withoutvisibilityintothecombineddemandsof

change,it’sdifficultforanysingleleadertoknowwhethertheirinitiativeislandingonaworkforcethathasthe

capacitytotakeitonoronealreadystretchedacrossseveralothertransformations.

Technologycanhelpbycreatingasingleviewofplanned

andongoinginitiatives,mappingeachchangetotheteamsandcapabilitiesitaffects.Dashboardscanhighlight

cumulativechangeload,flagcapacityrisks,andsupport

scenarioplanningwhenleadersadjusttiming,scope,or

sequence.Withtimelydataandclearownership,leaderscanmovefromidentifyingoverloadtoactivelymanagingit,

establishingwhohastheauthoritytoresolvecompetingdemandsandauthorizeadjustmentstotiming,scope,orsequence.

3.Measurethehumancostalongsidethebusinesscase

Aroundoneinfivesurveyedorganizationsdoesn’tformallymeasurethehumanimpactofitsinitiativesorassess

workforcereadinessbeforelaunchinganewinitiative.

Leaderscouldbuildhuman-impactmeasuresintoinitiativesfromthestartandtrackthemthroughout,treating

workload,readiness,andfatiguewiththesamerigorasfinancialmeasures.Thatvisibilitycaninformdecisionstoslowarollout,addsupport,oradjustscope.

ThemeasurementgapisalsoevidentinAIrollouts.Forty-threepercentofchangeleaderssaytheydon’tknowhowAIisactuallyaffectingtheiremployees.Assessingthatimpactthroughoutimplementationcouldhelpleadersrecognize

emergingproblemsandadjusttheirapproach.

4.Connectadoptionmeasurestobusinessoutcomes

Themajorityofsurveyedchangeleaders(61%)saytheir

companyprimarilymeasuresthesuccessofchange

managementeffortsthroughbusinessoutcomessuchascostsavings,productivitygains,orrevenuegrowth.The

remaining39%mainlyuseactivityoradoptionmetrics,suchastrainingcompletion,processcompliance,orstakeholder

engagementscores.

Trainingcompletionandengagementscorescanshowthat

peopleparticipated,buttheydon’testablishwhether

employees

haveadaptedhowtheywork

.Evencompliance

withanewprocessmightreveallittleaboutwhetherit’s

helpingpeoplemakebetterdecisionsordeliverbetterresults.

AnewAIimplementation,forexample,couldassessnot

onlytoolusagedatabutalsohowemployeesarechangingtheirworkflowsandwhetherthosechangesareimprovingtheoutcomesthatmatter,suchasquality,customer

satisfaction,orspeed.Ifparticipationishighbutoutcomesremainunchanged,theapproachmightneedtoberevisited.

CompanieswhereleadersmodelchangearetwiceaslikelytoreportstrongROIandemployeeadoptionthatexceededexpectations.

5.Equipleaderstomodelthebehaviorsthey’reaskingfor

One-thirdofrespondentssaytheircompany’sleadersdon'tconsistentlymodelthebehaviorsandchangestheyask

employeestoadopt.Atcompanieswhereleadersmodel

change,respondentswereatleasttwiceaslikelytoreportastrongpositiveROIfortheirmostrecentinitiativeand

employeeadoptionthatexceededexpectations.

Leadersmightalsoneedsupportthemselves.Thirty-two

percentofrespondentsbelieveleadersandmanagerswouldbenefitfromadditionaltraining,skills,tools,orsupportto

guideemployeesthroughchange.Providingthatsupport

couldhelpleadersdemonstratethechangestheysponsorandguideemployeesasnewwaysofworkingtakehold.

Buildthecapacitytomakechangestick

Thefindingssuggestthatmanyorganizationsarestilltryingto

manageacontinuous,acceleratingrateofchangewithtoolsand

structuresbuiltforaslower,morelinearera.Theinitiativesfallingshortoftheirintendedvalue,thewidespreadburnoutandturnover,andtheAIinvestmentsstillsearchingfortheirreturnpointto

reasonstoreconsiderhowchangeismanaged.

Recognizingthatmismatchcouldhelpleadersmakemoredeliberatechoicesabouthowtheyfund,sequence,andsupporttransformation.Andtreatingchangemanagementasadurablecapabilitycouldgivethemaclearerviewofwhatemployeescanabsorbandawayto

adjustwhenthedemandsbecometoogreat.Theorganizationsthatrecognizethismismatchandinvestaccordinglymightbebetter

positionedtoturntheirnextinitiativeintoonethatdelivers.

THE4:1CHANGEMANAGEMENTRETURNMOSTORGANIZATIONSARELEAVINGONTHETABLE•PG7

Methodology

Thisarticleisbasedonfindingsfromthe2026Deloittechangemanagementstudy,whichsurveyed1,000change

managementleadersacrosstheUnitedStates,UnitedKingdom,Australia,andCanada.ThesurveywasdevelopedincollaborationwithresearchfirmWorkplaceIntelligenceandwasfieldedbydatacollectioncompanyWalrinJuneandJuly2026.

Respondentsworkedacrossfiveareasofchangemanagement:businessoroperatingmodelchange,costoptimization,digitaltransformation,Alimplementation,andmergersandacquisitionsorrestructuring.Allrespondentswererequiredtohaveledatleastoneend-to-endlarge-scalechangeinitiativefortheircompanywithinthepasttwoyears;nearlyall(92%)hadoverseenatleasttwoinitiativesduringthistimeperiod.

Alarge-scaleinitiativewasdefinedasaninitiativethataffectedmultipleteams,functions,orbusinessunits,orhadatotalbudgetof$1millionormore.Inthisresearch,themedianbudgetrespondentsreportedfortheirmostrecent

initiativewas$10.6million.

Respondentswererequiredtohaveahighleveloffamiliaritywiththeoutcomesassociatedwithchangeprocessesin

theirareas,aswellasfullvisibilityintothetotalbudgetoftheinitiativestheyoversee.Mostrespondents(81%)saidthattheyleadchangemanagementstrategyandexecution,while19%indicatedthattheyoverseeachangemanagement

team.Respondentsheldthefollowingroles:fifty-onepercentheldC-suiteroles(chiefexecutiveofficer,chieftechnologyofficer,chiefinformationofficer,chieffinancialofficer),37%helddirectororvicepresidentroles,and12%heldother

executiveleadershiproles(president,executivevicepresident,seniorvicepresident).

Continuetheconversation

Meettheindustryleaders

AllysonDake

ManagingDirector|U.S.Strategy&TechnologyChangeMarketOfferingLeader|AcademyforChange

Leader

DeloitteUnitedStates

ChloeDomergue

Principal|DeloitteConsultingLLPDeloitteUnitedStates

THE4:1CHANGEMANAGEMENTRETURNMOSTORGANIZATIONSARELEAVINGONTHETABLE•PG9

BYAllysonDake

DeloitteUnitedStates

JennyAhn

DeloitteUnitedStates

ChloeDomergue

DeloitteUnitedStates

SueCantrell

DeloitteUnitedStates

ENDNOTES

1.Forthe66%ofrespondentswhoreportedturnover,thenumberofemployeeslostwasestimatedusingcompany-sizeandturnover-sharemidpoints.Thisvaluewasthenmultipliedbythecosttoreplaceanemployeeintherespondent’scountry,whichwascalculatedby

multiplyingthemedianannualsalary(convertedtoUS$)intheUnitedStates

($65,052

),theUnitedKingdom

($52,018

),Australia

($52,605

),andCanada

($48,783

)by50%—thelow-endof

Gallup’s

estimateofthecosttoreplaceanemployee;Note:Themean(average)of$20.5millionispulledupwardbylargeenterprises(25,000+employees),whichrepresent20%ofthecompaniesthatexperienced

turnover.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Editorial(includingproductionandcopyediting):CorrieCommisso,ShyamiliM,AnuAugustine,andPubaliDey

Design:NataliePfaffandManyaKuzemchenko

Coverimageby:ManyaKuzemchenko

Knowledgeservices:RohanSingh

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