In the constantly changing business environment, transformation has become the key for enterprises to achieve long-term growth and competitiveness. Faced with increasingly complex challenges, change is no longer a multiple-choice question, but a necessary path for the survival and development of enterprises. However, how to change remains a pressing issue that most enterprises urgently need to address.
Recently, Accenture unveiled its latest research report "Reshaping Change - A New Blueprint: Achieving Sustainable and Efficient Successful Change" at the 7th China International Import Expo, proposing for the first time the "Enterprise Changer" system aimed at helping Chinese enterprises more effectively promote organizational transformation, enhance overall competitiveness and market responsiveness.
Robert Hah, President of Accenture's Greater China Strategy and Consulting Division, stated in an interview with Southern Financial News that despite the urgent need for Chinese companies to transform and the expectation that 100% of surveyed companies will invest at least 5% of their revenue in change over the next three years, only 20% of Chinese executives are confident in their ability to manage change, and this confidence gap has become a major challenge for companies.
Strong demand for enterprise transformation
Research shows that in the past three years, 68% of surveyed Chinese companies have implemented two or more organizational transformations, covering multiple areas such as strategy and mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing, human resources, finance, and supply chain. With the transformation of work methods and the rise of technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, Chinese enterprises will pay more attention to strategic, research and development innovation, operational optimization, and information technology in the next three years.
To help companies better cope with transformation challenges, Accenture has proposed the "change agent" system, which reveals six capabilities that drive successful change, divided into two dimensions: cornerstone and innovation. The cornerstone level includes change methods that have been validated through practice, while the innovation dimension focuses on new thinking and practices driven by technology, data, and artificial intelligence.
A study found that out of 1000 surveyed companies worldwide, 16% have already started deploying all six major change capabilities on a large scale. Enterprises with high maturity as' change agents' have a 2.1 times higher likelihood of successful transformation compared to other enterprises.
The challenges of change remain severe
Knowledge is easier than action. Although enterprises generally recognize the importance of continuous change, research also points out that in practice, change still faces many challenges. 40% of surveyed Chinese corporate executives stated that high financial costs are the most common obstacle in the transformation process. In addition, slow decision-making cycles (30%), lack of measurement standards (26%), and employee resistance (20%) are also issues that cannot be ignored in the process of corporate change. Meanwhile, a lack of trust is also a major obstacle, with only 22% of executives believing that employees "strongly identify" with the company's future transformation direction.
Ha Yihui emphasized that enterprise transformation is not only to respond to market changes, but also to promote innovation and enhance the long-term competitiveness of the enterprise. He believes that in this process, companies must establish more comprehensive change capabilities and enhance employee trust to ensure smooth progress of change and ultimately achieve expected results, achieving long-term competitiveness and sustainable development.