--- title: 3 principles for helping people adapt to change description: 73% of employees tell us that they are overwhelmed by Change. Here are 3 principles to adopt to help them adapt image: https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/Blog%20Header.png --- [![Changefirst_logo_Hubspot.png](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo/Changefirst_logo_Hubspot.png?width=174&height=61&name=Changefirst_logo_Hubspot.png "Changefirst_logo_Hubspot.png")](http://www.changefirst.com) [Contact us](https://changefirst.com/contact-us) [+44 (0) 1444 450777](tel:+44-0-1444-450777) [Solutions](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions) ### Solutions Change Management Solutions matched to your specific business needs. #### [![orgainizations](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/orgainizations.jpeg) For Organizations Engage more of your people in change with a cost effective and scalable solution that builds sustainable capability.](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/organisations) #### [![consulting-firms](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/consulting-firms.jpeg) For Consulting Teams Digitalize and differentiate your Change Management practice, quickly on-board new hires and create ‘sticky’ client relationships](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/consulting-firms) #### [![change professionals](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/change%20professionals.jpeg) For Change & Project Experts Deliver strategic projects, support Executives through continuous change and add new tools, skills and Certification to your playbook](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/change-and-project-professionals) #### [![technology companies](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/technology%20companies.jpeg) For Technology Companies Take advantage of the missing ingredient in your Adoption Services model. 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People - Centred Implementation Changefirst’s research-based, highly practical, results-oriented methodology, for planning and executing the people-side of change, to achieve sustainable organisational results](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pci) #### [![pai](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/pai.jpeg) PAI – Personal Adaptability Inventory PCI® People-Centred Implementation Changefirst’s proprietary psychometric, with development system, help leaders and their teams develop resilience and adaptability for change](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pai) [Resources](https://www.changefirst.com/resources) ### Resources All the resources you need to help build your Change Management capability. #### [![resources](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/resources.jpeg) Whitepapers Download our latest Change Management whitepapers.](https://www.changefirst.com/resources) #### [![videos](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/videos.jpeg) Videos Watch our latest Change Management videos.](https://www.changefirst.com/resources#videos) #### [![blog](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/blog.jpeg) Blogs Read our latest Change Management blogs.](https://blog.changefirst.com/) [About us](https://www.changefirst.com/about-us) [Contact](https://www.changefirst.com/contact-us) Solutions [For Organizations](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/organisations) [For Consulting Teams](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/consulting-firms) [For Change & Project Experts](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/change-and-project-professionals) [For Technology Companies](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/technology-companies) [Drive up adoption](https://www.changefirst.com/business-issues/drive-up-adoption) [Deliver projects more succcessfully](https://www.changefirst.com/deliver-projects-more-successfully) [Build ECM capability](https://www.changefirst.com/build-ECM-capability) [Quickly upskilling your teams](https://www.changefirst.com/business-issues/upskilling-of-teams) [Develop an agile change culture](https://www.changefirst.com/business-issues/agile-change-management) Products [Roadmap Pro® - digital OCM platform](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-products/roadmap-pro) Training [Leaders, Heads of Business & Steering Teams](https://www.changefirst.com/training/executive) [Change, Project and Internal development professionals](https://www.changefirst.com/training/change-agent) [Line Managers, local teams, HRBPs & Communication Experts](https://www.changefirst.com/training/manager-and-local-teams) [Employees, large groups & accidental/new change agents](https://www.changefirst.com/training/on-demand-individual) [Project and Programme Managers (Introductory)](https://www.changefirst.com/training/change-projects-introductory) [Project and Programme Managers (Intermediate)](https://www.changefirst.com/training/change-projects-intermediate) [Train-the-Trainer](https://www.changefirst.com/training/train-the-trainer) [Content licensing](https://www.changefirst.com/training/content-licensing) [Certification](https://www.changefirst.com/training/certification) [Application Coaching and Consulting](https://www.changefirst.com/training/application-coaching-and-consulting) Methodologies [PCI® - People - Centred Implementation](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pci) [PAI – Personal Adaptability Inventory PCI®](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pai) Resources [Whitepapers](https://www.changefirst.com/resources) [Videos](https://www.changefirst.com/resources#videos) [Blogs](https://blog.changefirst.com/) [About us](https://www.changefirst.com/about-us) [Contact](https://www.changefirst.com/contact-us) # [Welcome to the Changefirst Blog](https://blog.changefirst.com) # 3 principles for helping people adapt to change Posted by [Audra Proctor](https://blog.changefirst.com/author/audra-proctor) It is a given – not only that organisations need to deliver more business-critical change solutions - but also true that change fatigue and burnout is on the increase.    ![Blog Header](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Header.png?width=800&height=400&name=Blog%20Header.png) 73% of employees tell us that they are overwhelmed by Change – particularly as major organisational change often requires people to also make personal changes. And the demand for Change very often exceeds people’s capacity to adapt and deliver it.    ![capacity to adapt](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/capacity%20to%20adapt.png?width=384&height=231&name=capacity%20to%20adapt.png) By helping people to adapt – faster and more sustainably – to change you: - Reduce resistance to change  - Help sustain good personal performance during change disruption   ![3 Principles for helping people adapt to change](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/3%20Principles%20for%20helping%20people%20adapt%20to%20change.png?width=304&height=287&name=3%20Principles%20for%20helping%20people%20adapt%20to%20change.png)   And helping people adapt to Change starts with equipping [middle and front-line managers](https://blog.changefirst.com/effective-change-leadership-through-committed-local-sponsors) – who have a pivotal role to play in helping their teams engage with Change – with the skills and tools to be effective local sponsors. Leading their teams through Change.     Principle 1: Decide how much commitment you need (or have the appetite for) First a definition: Commitment occurs when an individual takes personal responsibility for making a Change happen and for sustaining their effort to delivery promised outcomes. However, when we hear people talk about Commitment, they sometimes seem to be describing Acceptance. In fact, they are using much more passive descriptions which can be synonymous with the word ‘compliance’    ![Picture3-1](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Picture3-1.png?width=411&height=304&name=Picture3-1.png) And the reality is that different Changes require different levels of commitment.  Acceptance may be enough for low level Changes but it certainly won’t be enough to ensure you transform your enterprise.  Commitment requires far more effort to build, will take longer and be more expensive to achieve than Acceptance.   This in turn means that people can be slow to adapt since the sheer scope and magnitude of Change can be overwhelming. This means that: - Change plans need to **reflect the level of Commitment** you require. - A plan to build and sustain Commitment will be a more detailed undertaking. And will **require middle and front-line managers to show Commitment** - and have the know-how - to help push their teams along the same path. ## Principle 2: Engage local – middle and front-line managers early People can be logical, emotional, uncertain, controlling, kind and adversarial. All in the space of five minutes.  [Employees](https://www.changefirst.com/training/on-demand-individual)are usually signed-up members of the human race. In other words, they will act as people tend to act – with deep-seated habits and fears associated with a loss of control. Yet the mindset of many [senior sponsors](https://www.changefirst.com/training/executive) is that people will engage and commit if the argument is compelling enough.  Unfortunately, it rarely works like that. Even if people are positive and energised by early messages from senior leaders, for example -when they first hear the case for Change. It is the hard graft of committed ‘local’ leaders that can: - turn early energy into a **real connection and commitment to change** - identify and **manage resistance and relapses** that threaten early commitment    [![Picture1-3](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Picture1-3.png?width=350&height=247&name=Picture1-3.png)](https://info.changefirst.com/our-change-management-methodology-how-pci-helps-you-implement-change) ## Principle 3: Expect people to go backwards as well as forwards Change and the stages of change are not linear.  People don’t neatly trot through the stages to acceptance. Often, they might arrive at acceptance and relapse fall back to anger. They may move forward and then appear to lose their way and regress to denial.  Prochaska, Norcross and Diclemente, in their book Change for Good, refer to this process as the “spiral model” of Change. They suggest that relapses are the rule rather than the exception when it comes to Change. Those affected by Change can often feel as though they have failed and that all their efforts have been in vain.  The good news is that with focused Change Management application on major [organisational Changes](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/organisations), commitment can be built.  In fact, we have organisations who are using our [proven methodology and approach](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pci) who are reporting at the ‘end of an initiative’ that they are getting a commitment level of 60% plus.  ![Picture2](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Picture2.png?width=550&height=242&name=Picture2.png) Source: Changefirst Initiative Risk Assessment 2022 (8,830 responses from 82 organisations)   The challenge however, and the business case for an ongoing and data-driven approach to Change planning and deployment, is that only **24% of employees said they were still committed 9 – 12 months after a change was declared as ‘implemented’**.  ![3 Principles for helping people adapt to change (1)-1](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/3%20Principles%20for%20helping%20people%20adapt%20to%20change%20(1)-1.png?width=341&height=313&name=3%20Principles%20for%20helping%20people%20adapt%20to%20change%20(1)-1.png) Could this be a hard core of engaged employees who will ‘automatically’ commit to most organisational ideas?  So, what are we missing and where should we focus to [close the Change Gap between the 24% and the 60% + group?](https://info.changefirst.com/why-people-centred-data-is-pivotal-for-successful-transformation) We believe the answer lies in tracking and managing the risk associated with commitment to change.  | [**![Picture3](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Picture3.jpg?width=292&height=241&name=Picture3.jpg)**](https://info.changefirst.com/our-change-management-methodology-how-pci-helps-you-implement-change)   | Measuring risks around Commitment  Changefirst's initiative Risk Assessment is one of 9 powerful multi-lingual behaviour & risk assessment tools with built-in mitigation suggestions. It enables you to track and identify new change risks and take practical steps to reduce these risks which contributes to substantial shifts from ‘Acceptance’ to ‘Commitment’ around change.  Why not [schedule a personalised demo](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-products/diagnostics-pro) now?   [![Request a Demo](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/2401974/29503679-80a9-435d-9610-d8ac4d017d66.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/2401974/29503679-80a9-435d-9610-d8ac4d017d66) | | --- | --- |   ![Audra Proctor](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/Audra200x200.png) Posted by [Audra Proctor](https://blog.changefirst.com/author/audra-proctor) Audra is Managing Director at Changefirst and has over 30 years' experience of enabling organisations leaders and their teams to deliver complex Organisational Change. She leads an amazing, diverse team of highly experienced multi-industry Change Practitioners, Consultants, Coaches, Trainers, Technology Experts and trusted Strategic Partners to help organisations to deliver more effective Change through their people. Audra is a regular speaker at events focusing on Change and Transformation globally on a number of key themes including Agile Change Management and the use of digital in Change and Transformation. Find me on: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/audraproctor/) Tags: [adapt to change](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/adapt-to-change), [adaptability](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/adaptability), [Agile](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/agile), [Change Agents](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/change-agents), [agile methodology](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/agile-methodology), [change management sponsor](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/change-management-sponsor) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Leave a comment Search Blog ### Keep me updated ### Recent Posts ### SHARE THE BLOG [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.changefirst.com%2F3-principles-for-helping-people-adapt-to-change%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.changefirst.com%2F3-principles-for-helping-people-adapt-to-change%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.changefirst.com%2F3-principles-for-helping-people-adapt-to-change%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.changefirst.com%2F3-principles-for-helping-people-adapt-to-change%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=3%20principles%20for%20helping%20people%20adapt%20to%20change) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fblog.changefirst.com%2F3-principles-for-helping-people-adapt-to-change%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fblog.changefirst.com%2F3-principles-for-helping-people-adapt-to-change%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ### Posts by Tag [![](https://changefirst.com/images/Icons/Social_LI.svg)](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/changefirst) [![](https://changefirst.com/images/Icons/Social_TW.svg)](https://twitter.com/Changefirst) [![](https://changefirst.com/images/Icons/Social_VM.svg)](https://vimeo.com/changefirst) [![](https://changefirst.com/images/Icons/Social_FB.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/Changefirst-129807110363683/) [Website T&Cs](https://info.changefirst.com/website-tcs)    |     [Security Policy](https://info.changefirst.com/security-statement)    |     [Privacy Policy](https://info.changefirst.com/privacy-policy)    |     [Cookie Policy](https://info.changefirst.com/cookie-policy)