Telltale Signs of Change Over-saturation

Change often feels uncomfortable because it moves us out of our known patterns. It forces us to think and move differently. We all know even the smallest of changes can be hard to handle, so what happens when we are juggling multiple changes at once? Let's imagine a full glass of water – add one more drop, and it spills over the top – usually not our intended outcome. 

Now imagine this water glass is your organization's capacity for change. One change too many, and we reach a state of change oversaturation. In the workplace, change oversaturation can be incredibly detrimental to employee engagement and morale.

Why does this happen? 

There are many factors at play regarding how well an organization absorbs change; current culture, recent changes, history of changes, organizational structure, employee perceptions, or even external market pressure. 

When we embark on change and fail to make these considerations, we often underestimate the magnitude of a change's impact. Today's workplace favors agility and asks employees to wear many hats - meaning, talent is frequently pulled in many directions and constantly asked to embrace cross-functional change - can exacerbate these problems.

Additionally, external pressures in the marketplace and rapid technological advancements push companies to embrace change even more quickly. It is increasingly important we keep a pulse on the change saturation in our workplace.

How do we become aware?

• Take inventory of the changes within your organization and take note of change impact overlaps. If there is a specific group of employees experiencing multiple changes, take the time to proactively check in and assess their engagement/morale.

• Pro-tip: place someone at the head of managing your complete change portfolio. Change oversaturation often occurs when many changes are underway, but no one is holistically managing all change efforts.

• Invest in Change Intensity. At Pioneer, we have developed a software tool to measure change impacts at your organization from a macro perspective. An executive dashboard allows you to input stakeholder groups and see change impact across your organization.

What should I look for as indications of change oversaturation?

Look for signals in your employee base:

• Is there lower morale and engagement?

• Are we experiencing turnover?

• Has productivity or accountability decreased?

• Are teams being defensive of work or taking an uncollaborative posture?

• Are individuals being overly critical of a change?

Look for signs in your project deliverables:

• Are projects running over budget?

• Are we missing key milestones?

• Are we re-working projects or experiencing a dip in work quality?

How do we mitigate change oversaturation?

• Pause and evaluate! Make sure your change initiatives are prioritized. If you are sensing your organization is reaching change saturation, pause on initiatives that are lower priority.

• Talk to your impacted stakeholders to understand if there are quick wins or ways to make changes easier. Often, even just listening to employee perspectives can help employees more positively engage with a change.