Bring Employees Along with Change Management

On a daily basis, most of us have already integrated digital tools — Skype, WhatsApp and the like. As Jérôme Wallut recently shared with us, audiences have developed strong digital maturity. Yet companies still encounter internal resistance to change. So what if the problem isn't the tools? What if the real challenge of digital transformation is actually about rallying and supporting human capital? The answer comes from the Anglo-Saxon world: it's called "change management."

From digital transition to change management

Transformation is a process. Change doesn't happen in a day — it unfolds through a series of actions and implementations that take varying amounts of time. That's why we speak of a "digital transition": the period between the before and the after transformation. Throughout this adaptation phase, companies sometimes adopt a new business model, but also new internal processes to become more competitive and responsive in an economic environment where disruption keeps accelerating. All these changes are driven by the organization — and the organization is, above all, made up of people. That's where change management comes in.

Change management is the hidden part of the iceberg — what happens behind the scenes, fundamentally transforming a company. What exactly does it involve? Simply put: helping employees embrace new methods, new processes, and new ways of working. The goal is to bring all employees along so the organization itself is capable of changing. The aim is to build buy-in and ensure effective implementation of change. As we keep hearing today, investing in the technical side matters — but digital transformation is, first and foremost, a human endeavor.

Change management: from front-line managers to the CMO, HR, and the CEO

Anglo-Saxon countries have strongly embraced "change management." It is even a dedicated function, often carried by the CM — the "change manager" — or even the CMO, the "Change Management Officer." In France, dedicated roles are still rare (although "change manager" job listings are gradually appearing, a sign that things are shifting), yet many people can carry change management responsibilities. Starting with managers themselves! In a top-down information cascade, it is important that the topic first be championed by company leaders, then communicated by senior managers to front-line managers, and from there to employees — to share the company's vision and encourage everyone's buy-in. That said, this is far from a purely top-down model. The goal is to implement ground-level actions and gather feedback, desires, and concerns from everyone.

Change management values individual support — each person moving at their own pace toward adopting digital tools. Resistance to change often stems from a lack of proximity, dialogue, and attentive listening. In practical terms, this translates into educational tools: explanation, coaching, communication, and training.

Change management is a complete discipline — a mindset, a holistic approach. In addition to individual support, it takes into account the organizational level of the company. Once again, it's impossible to do without the company's leaders, who must instill a true culture of change so that digital transformation becomes embedded in the company's DNA — in its structure, processes, internal communication, external communications, and commercial activities. As Emmanuel Vivier, founder of Hub Institute, recently shared with us: "A company culture is not collaborative by itself — it has to be created and instilled within teams." In this context, virtually every department is concerned: HR, internal communications, front-line managers, CDO, IT. But how do you get everyone involved?

Read: Arnaud Rayrole: "Everyone is an actor in transformation"

The heart of change management: employee engagement

When it comes to actions and strategy, the scope goes well beyond communication and training — even if those are good practices.

The engine of change management is employee engagement. The entire framework revolves around this idea, with a corollary that includes exchanges, communication, user feedback, and co-creation. If there were one guiding principle to follow, it might be this: spark the desire for change where it doesn't already exist, provide knowledge and build skills, and then consolidate them.

Here are some pointers inspired by the renowned American consulting firm Willis Tower Watson, which defines 4 stages: Inform, Engage, Enable, Build Trust.

1. Start with the basics: define the company's vision once transformed. It is essential to share and communicate this forward-looking work to all employees, including all the changes it entails in both internal and external processes. In other words: build cultural awareness.
2. From there, create a collaborative dynamic that fosters employee engagement — making room for exchanges, between people and across departments, and encouraging information to flow upward. The idea is to involve employees before the transformation itself, so they feel heard from the outset and engage of their own accord with the changes in processes and ways of working.
3. Then dive into implementation: deploying the tools. This is the innovation phase itself. It can be supported by certain methodologies, such as the agile method or lean UX.
4. Finally, let employees make the tools their own — even propose new ones and share their feedback freely. Building a climate of trust that fosters collective intelligence is essential.

More concretely, take care to identify the people most impacted by the changes, then work with the "target group" to uncover blockers. This target group can include people from different departments and teams.

Don't underestimate the importance of feedback either — which can be gathered through dedicated tools but also, and above all, in the field, by meeting employees directly. This approach yields more qualitative insights than statistics, particularly when it comes to well-being at work. Because the ultimate objective here is to make tools a means of working together more comfortably — and to restore meaning and fulfillment in work.

Today, "change management" means putting employees at the center of every organizational change. It also means ensuring a lasting, deep-rooted transformation — driven by men and women who are genuinely convinced of the merits of change. In short: let's stop thinking "digital transformation" and start thinking "change management."

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