One of my less well-kept secrets is that I used to run an enterprise architecture team. Back in those good old days, we’d spend weeks crafting intricate strategy and reference model diagrams, only to watch them gather dust as the business moved on. Fast-forward to customer experience (CX), and I see a striking similarity in behavior (and lack of impact) as teams pour energy into building journey maps and personas: Unless change management is front and center, those insights rarely drive real outcomes.
Principal Analyst Angelina Gennis and I recorded a CX Cast episode all about breaking that cycle and making change stick. Through the lens of her research, along with my practical experiences in a number of roles trying (with greater and, sometimes, lesser degrees of success) to implement organizational change, Angelina and I unpack why so many CX programs stall right at the point where they should accelerate.
Change Management Is More Than Just A Process
At Forrester, we define successful change management as the ability to continuously sense and respond to shifting requirements, whether those are customer needs or internal priorities. It’s about scaling change across strategy, operations, and leadership to create the conditions for culture change. But as we discuss in the episode, it’s not enough to have the right tools or frameworks. CX leaders need to drive adoption, build resilience, and empower teams to cocreate the journey.
Here’s how:
- Map your change portfolio to understand where technology, people, and process intensity lie across projects. At the sadly now defunct internet bank egg.com, we used spider diagrams to visualize the “shape” of change projects to assess whether it was technology-heavy, people-intensive, or process-driven. By mapping these dimensions across the portfolio, we could see if the organization was overloaded with tech projects or neglecting people-focused change. This strategic lens helped us balance our efforts and avoid change fatigue. For CX leaders, this means regularly assessing not just individual projects but the overall capacity of teams to absorb change, ensuring resilience and readiness.
- Cocreate solutions with teams, focusing on outcomes rather than just tools or frameworks. CX teams often get caught up in perfecting journey maps or measurement frameworks, but real progress happens when employees are involved in solving actual business problems. Instead of teaching journey mapping as a rigid process, drive engagement by sketching out journeys collaboratively with frontline staff to address what matters most to them. Cocreation builds buy-in and ensures that change management isn’t just a top-down directive but rather a shared journey toward meaningful outcomes.
- Personalize communications and interventions, leveraging analytics to address the unique needs of different teams. Generic “one size fits all” communications often fall flat, especially in large organizations with diverse roles and cultures. AI and analytics can help CX leaders tailor messages and interventions to specific departments or demographics. Instead of sending the same deck to executives and shop floor staff, use data to tune the message so it resonates with each audience. This approach increases engagement and helps teams feel seen and supported throughout the change process.
Ready to move your CX program from insight to impact? Listen to the latest episode of the CX Cast for grounded advice, real-world anecdotes, and actionable steps.
