The Grossman Group and The Harris Poll Reveal What Separates Change Success from Failure

A new national study from The Grossman Group and The Harris Poll pinpoints communication and leadership visibility as the most decisive factors in organizational change success.

As companies accelerate AI adoption and respond to ongoing disruption, new data reveals a stark reality: most employees can only absorb one or two major changes a year, yet more than half of business leaders are planning to implement three or more within the next two. The result? A high risk of burnout, disengagement, and failed transformations.

The study—The Change Tipping Point—analyzed responses from nearly 1,200 employees and senior leaders in U.S. for-profit companies. It identifies key contributors to change failure, including poor communication, lack of leadership visibility, and unrealistic change pacing. Notably, AI was identified as both the most frequent and most difficult transformation initiative, with one in four leaders calling it the hardest to implement.

But there’s good news: the research shows that organizations are three times more likely to succeed when employees are fully bought in—and clear, credible communication is the catalyst. Even more striking, organizations are 5.5 times more likely to fail when leadership visibility is missing.

This new data reinforces why The Grossman Group—recently recognized as Agency of the Year at Ragan’s Zenith Awards—is so trusted in the internal comms space. As organizations reach the threshold of what their people can tolerate, success will depend on whether change is treated as a strategic, people-centered discipline.

Effective change isn’t just about launching initiatives—it’s about sequencing them thoughtfully, equipping leaders with communication tools, and engaging employees in a way that earns their commitment. The Change Tipping Point gives communicators and executives a roadmap for doing exactly that.