I’ve been racking my brain, trying to get to the root of the HR problem. How do you do more with less in a constantly changing and evolving landscape? It’s inevitable that HR will need to continue to assess their approach to change, especially in 2025. Do you have a change management strategy?

“HR shouldered the burden of tracking evolving rules and regulations and supporting employees affected by the virus. Then, just as workplaces were adjusting amid the pandemic, the Great Resignation hit. Again, in the battle to attract and retain talent, HR stood at the forefront of organizational success.” – SHRM

From fluctuating legislation and compliance, economic downturns, and societal traumas like the pandemic and workplace violence, change happens for HR. A lot. How can you build your capacity and ability to deal with change? The future leaders of HR are proactive in approaching every initiative in the same way.

According to a Sapient Insights Group’s 2024 annual HR system survey, 39% of HR have a sporadic or no criteria with change management. This creates a “chicken with its head cut off” working style which naturally results in overwhelm and burnout. Without a change management plan, HR is stuck reacting rather than responding.

Our businesses are constantly changing. It takes more than one email or announcement to change people’s behavior. Managing change effectively demands empathy, understanding, and the ability to navigate complex transitions.

Sapient 2024 report says, “Projects with excellent change management in the U.S. were 8X more likely to meet or achieve project objectives than those with poor change management.” That means successful change management directly correlates with achieving objectives.

For HR leaders to be successful today, it’s important to have a strategy to deal with this chaotic landscape and prepare for change, especially in 2025. Sapient provides a framework in terms of approaches in order to be successful in this arena.

The following styles represent three approaches HR can take to change management. When a new initiative hits your department, how do you respond? Do you create a separate project plan to execute that initiative, or do you fold it into your existing initiatives, creating a structured approach?

Here are three styles to assess your approach:

Adaptive Change Management

To ensure positive, lasting outcomes, all change events are continuously assessed with ongoing governance, communication, feedback, and measurement.

Project-based Change Management

Projects of significant size, budget, or stakeholder involvement receive standard change efforts, such as short-term governance, communication, and measurement.

Sporadic Change Management

Done on an ad hoc basis, with no criteria nor standard approach to change efforts.

“Organizations that practice adaptive-style change management efforts see higher HR, talent, and business outcomes. Despite a compelling business case, the number of organizations that practice or incorporate adaptive change management has declined over the past three years. During this time, many organizations have shifted to sporadic change management while consistent change management practices have diminished.”

Sapient Insight Group’s 2024 Annual HR System Survey

A common misconception is that HR doesn’t have power when influencing leadership on employee engagement, performance metrics, or the culture. However, Sapient Insight Group says, “HR understands people better than anyone else and is uniquely positioned to lead the charge.”

HR can assess key stakeholders, use survey tools, and tap available HRIS data that are critical components of success for any change effort. They have more tools available to them than almost any other department. Cross functionally, their perspective is key to the success of the organization’s goals.

The way HR leads the effort, the approach you take, and how you execute that approach is critical to the success of the outcome of those organizational goals. How effective are you at managing organizational effectiveness? How effective are you in influencing others in your vision for change?

Simon Taylor, Head of Organizational Effectiveness at Gap, Inc. defines organizational effectiveness as your ability to optimize how an organization operates, how it can achieve its goals, and how it can effectively deal with change. It’s a way of thinking and operating.

When HR takes a systems thinking approach to organizations, they are looking at the business needs at any given time when it comes to talent management, leadership development, diagnostics, strategic planning, and employee engagement, etc.

Taylor recommends identifying leading indicators and lagging indicators to proactively address change. A leading indicator has the power to deliver positive results across the organization, while a lagging indicator is a negative result or outcome.

For example, attrition is a lagging indicator. Departures from a company, for any reason, whether voluntary or involuntary (resignation, termination, death, retirement), are all considered attrition. You’re late on identifying this indicator when employees are putting in their resignation notice. Checking in with leaders, performing stay interviews, and engaging in leadership check-ins can help you stay ahead.

He recommends augmenting ways of thinking to drive results. He is a big advocate for culture, which is considered a leading indicator that has the potential to drive all aspects of the business forward. If the business has poor results, Taylor asks what is the culture like? What are the mindsets, ways of working, etc.? If your leading indicator (culture) isn’t great, your lagging indicator (attrition) isn’t great.

Assess how your teams are working with each other that is producing poor results. How do you operate? How do you collaborate? Do your leaders have the capacity to meet the organization’s needs? Are people open or self-censoring? These are signs and indications of a poor culture. A culture’s primary role is to support the strategy of the business.

HR has to level up to have an impact on stakeholders and to be influential in the organization to make change. Practicing a strategic, proactive approach can instill greater trust from the organization in future projects spearheaded by HR.

“64% of organizations practicing strategic change management are viewed as having strategic HR functions. And just 43% of organizations doing sporadic change management are viewed as strategic.”

Sapient Insight Group’s 2024 Annual HR System Survey

Sapient’s survey recommends an adaptive approach, which means creating a plan that can pivot and remain flexible as the criteria changes.

There are 3 phases to adopt this approach: anticipation, adopt, and adapt.

During the Anticipation phase of the project, the change team is focused on planning activities. This phase may include developing a project vision, building the business case for change, identifying and aligning leaders, and establishing a baseline of organizational readiness.

The second phase, or Adopt phase, is where the most visible change activities happen; stakeholders are engaged, communications are developed and distributed, training is developed and delivered, and organizational changes are made.

The adapt phase is where an authentic culture of change management is built and where HR can have a profound impact. When organizations take the time to measure success, monitor new behaviors for sustainability, and account for lessons learned in the overall approach to change, they build the muscle memory for future changes.

Download our How to Create a Change Management Approach to see this plan in action.

When managing the unmanageable in HR, it comes down to your ability to handle change and your strategy for change management because having a well thought out plan to handle the unexpected, when it keeps happening, is the sanest thing you can do.

We know there is change coming with the results of the election, so before legislation changes, you want to set out a solid plan that you follow each time a new initiative is presented.

HR has tools at their disposal to help influence the workplace and drive successful outcomes, including training, coaching, monitoring people’s data, and more. When these tools are used and presented effectively, the HR role is viewed as having a strategic approach to change.

It’s recommended to begin by assessing your current approach. Is it adaptive, project-based, or sporadic? Do you follow the same plan or have a different approach each time? Taking this step back from all competing priorities in HR can help you determine how to successfully manage multiple changing initiatives and develop a process for a stronger, more resilient way to work in 2025.