LOVELAND, Colo., Oct. 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Prosci Research's fifth longitudinal study shows a direct correlation between meeting project objectives and managing the people side of change. More than 400 project leaders and change management practitioners representing organizations from 59 countries share lessons learned and key success factors in this new benchmarking study.
"Projects with excellent change management programs met or exceeded objectives 88% of the time, while projects with poor change management met or exceeded objectives only 17% of the time," stated Tim Creasey, Prosci's Director of Research and Development and co-editor of the new study.
The 2007 edition of the report titled "Best Practices in Change Management" (ISBN 978-1-930885-55-4) looks at the most critical change management activities, the biggest mistakes and what project teams would do differently next time. http://www.change-management.com/best-practices-report.htm
"The evidence is undeniable that the better we manage the people side of organizational changes, the more likely we are to achieve our goals. The data also shows that projects are more likely to stay on schedule when structured change management is applied," confirmed Creasey.
As in previous years, the study includes sections on communication, sponsor actions and responsibilities, methodology, change management activities, resistance to change and reinforcing change. The 2007 study also addresses several emerging topics including change saturation, change management team structure, resource allocation, introducing change management into the organization and key roles for managers and supervisors.
"Change management has emerged over the last decade from a fuzzy concept to a concrete discipline," said Jeff Hiatt, president of Prosci Research and co-editor of the new report. "The biggest change identified by participants, by a three-to-one margin, was a greater recognition of the need for change management. This report provides tangible and specific actions project teams can take to improve their effectiveness."
The fifth report builds on four previous studies from 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2005. The newest report is the most comprehensive to date, containing 40% more content than previous reports with input from 426 participants and 59 countries. A majority of participants were change management team leaders, external consultants and project team leaders. They shared lessons learned and best practices through reflection on projects that they supported.
About Prosci Research
Prosci is the worldwide leader in change management research with data from more than 1300 organizations in 59 countries. Over 2500 leaders have been certified in Prosci's change management process, 58% of Fortune 500 companies use Prosci's change management tools and methodologies, and more than 32,000 members are supported in Prosci's Change Management Learning Center community. Prosci offers several engagement options, including free weekly tutorials and articles, a comprehensive bookstore for change management resources, ongoing webinars for project teams, monthly public seminars, on-site training and certification in change management. Learn more at http://www.change-management.com.