Having a change manager / change management professional on the transformation project is too expensive.
We don’t need anyone to work with change, our HR department can do that. Or even better Project manager can sure cover this. It’s just a communication that needs to be send out.
How many times have you heard this? Or lived this?
And yes, this is when change becomes a very expensive item in your final transformation bill.
Why is that?
People don’t have clarity on WHY this is happening. And what is changing for them.
Change gets delivered by a surprise communication. There is no buy-in. No trust.
Stakeholders feel left out and don’t support the change.
No room for feedback from impacted groups because the change is being done in “a secrete room with chosen ones”. And this results in no or a very low adoption.
People going back to their old ways of working. Managers not supporting the change and standing on the side of employees.
Money thrown out of the window.
This can all be a different story only if:
You hired the change management expert to work on the strategy and change management plan
You included change management expert into decision making, not only into activities delivery.
You trained your HR department on how to deliver transformation following the full change management cycle
Do you want to know more how to deliver business transformations that work and last – for business and for people?
How expensive is change?
Sometimes change looks “too expensive”.
Sometimes it looks like “just comms”.
Sometimes it looks like “HR or the PMO can cover it on the side”.
I keep hearing:
“We don’t need a change manager.”
“HR can handle the people stuff.”
“It’s just a communication that needs to be sent out.”
That’s exactly when change becomes one of the most expensive items on your transformation bill.
Because here’s what usually happens when you SAVE on change:
→ People have no clarity on WHY this is happening
→ They don’t know WHAT is actually changing for *them
→ The new way of working arrives as a surprise announcement
→ Stakeholders feel left out of decisions and quietly stop supporting the change
→ Feedback from impacted groups never makes it into the design
And the result?
Low or zero adoption.
People drifting back to old processes.
Managers standing with employees on the sidelines instead of backing the change.
That’s not resistance.
That’s money thrown out of the window the form of:
– Rework and extra fixes
– Delayed benefits
– Shadow processes and manual workarounds
– Another “failed transformation” people remember next time you launch something big
Because here’s the truth:
❌ Skipping change management ≠ saving costs
❌ Handing it to “comms” ≠ building buy-in and trust
❌ Asking HR or the project manager to “cover change” ≠ real engagement
It can look very different when you:
→ Bring in a change expert to co-create the strategy and change plan
→ Involve them in decision-making, not just in sending emails and running training
→ Equip your HR and leaders to work with the full change cycle, not only with announcements
That’s when your transformation isn’t just delivered.
It’s actually used. And it lasts – for the business and for the people.
How are you budgeting for change right now:
as a cost to cut – or as insurance for your transformation investment?