Swiss companies worse prepared for change
Swiss companies have been surprised by the dynamics of technological and economic change - and they still significantly overestimate their ability to change. In the process, a relapse into rigid organizational structures and a revival of hierarchical management culture can currently be observed.
The ability of Swiss companies to change has surprisingly declined over the past two years. This is the result of the second Swiss Change Readiness Index (CRI), which was published as part of the recently published study "Success in Change" by the management consultancy Staufen.Inova. The CRI was surveyed for the first time two years ago and provides information - on a scale of 1 to 100 - about the change capability of local companies. It covers the fields of action structures, processes, management and corporate culture, as well as employees and qualifications, thus translating complex interrelationships and multi-layered information into an abstract and thus comparable value.
Less well attuned to change
Since the first survey, the index has now fallen from 63 to 59 points. This slight decline clearly shows that companies are struggling to cope with technological and economic change and still have a long way to go in preparing for the challenges of tomorrow. One reason for the surprising decline in the ability to change is the unforeseen vehemence and dynamism with which change has occurred over the past two-year period. Whereas just over half of the companies in the last survey had expected to change strongly or very strongly in the next two years, now, in retrospect, over three quarters had to recognize that they had changed strongly or very strongly during this period.
Overconfidence, regression and potential
The companies surveyed continue to rate their efforts very highly in all the fields of action covered - and tend to overestimate themselves. This perception gap is particularly striking in the case of leadership culture: At 72 points, the companies rate themselves significantly better than the actual ability to change surveyed by the study (56 points). Many companies obviously still find it difficult to actually implement modern management methods in their day-to-day operations. But there are also comparable gaps in the fields of structures, processes, and employees and qualifications.
The surprisingly strong dynamics of change have now led to many good intentions falling by the wayside since the last survey: instead of agile and flat organizations, the focus is once again on the old hierarchical, metrics-driven structures, and instead of creativity and personal responsibility, on control. This development harbors a certain potential danger, as it additionally hinders the urgently needed transformation of companies.
Majority on a good path
However, a majority of the companies surveyed are still well on the way toward an open organizational structure. The study results also show enormous differences between the companies, between pioneers and hesitants. Nevertheless, they all have room for improvement. The best way to leverage this potential, according to the clear findings of this study, is to implement lean management: this method visibly increases a company's ability to change. Compared with the 2017 study, this positive effect has even increased noticeably in 2019.
Source: Staufen.Inova
