But it's not for the reasons you might think. 

It was fitting that the last session I attended at the 2018 HR Tech conference was about change management. Having learned so much during the previous three days, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the room who wanted to go out and change the world — or at least their little corner of it. 

Change is usually good for an organization. After all, companies who don’t change, don’t last very long. It’s literally a survival tactic. When the change relates to benefits, however, employees typically don’t think about whether it’s a good thing for their organization, especially if they feel they are on the losing end of the equation.  

“Changes in benefits are deeply, deeply personal for anyone,” KPMG director Michael Lalonde told me in a special interview after his presentation. “And if it affects them, it also affects their family. You have to be hyper-focused and sensitive to ensuring that you are employing the right type of, not only activities, but strategy, throughout your process. That doesn’t mean at the end or in the middle. It means right from the onset.” 

Lalonde expanded on the importance of timing based on his experiences with his clients. We also talked about how change management (or the lack thereof) can impact culture and how to deal with detractors within your organization.    

Our six minutes together went by fast! Listen to the entire interview here to hear what Michael said about: 

• Where 70 percent of change management failures go wrong. Hint: it isn’t in the failure to use organizational levers.
• Whether it’s possible to over-communicate change. (Yes, but it’s all about the channels.) 
• How important top-down change leadership is to your overall strategy. (Tip: you can’t “buy your way out” of failing here.)