Part IV: Adoption and Sustainability
This section focuses on ensuring that change is not only implemented but truly adopted and sustained over time. Many change initiatives fail not at implementation, but in the months following go-live when old behaviors creep back.
Overview
True change success is measured not by go-live completion, but by sustained adoption and value realization. This section covers:
- Chapter 12: Adoption Monitoring and Measurement - Tracking adoption metrics and identifying adoption barriers
- Chapter 13: Reinforcement and Sustainability - Embedding change into organizational culture and operations
- Chapter 14: Maturity Model and Assessment - Evaluating and advancing OCM capability maturity
The Sustainability Challenge
Research consistently shows that:
- 70% of changes that achieve initial adoption regress within 6 months without reinforcement
- Organizations underinvest in post-implementation activities by a factor of 3-5x
- Sponsors disengage after go-live, removing critical support structures
- Competing priorities emerge that pull focus from sustaining the change
Keys to Sustainability
The chapters in this section emphasize:
- Measurement - You can’t sustain what you don’t measure
- Reinforcement - Active effort to recognize and reward new behaviors
- Integration - Embedding changes into performance management, processes, and culture
- Accountability - Clear ownership for sustained adoption
The OCM Maturity Journey
Chapter 14 introduces the OCM Maturity Model, enabling organizations to assess their current OCM capability and develop a roadmap for improvement. Mature OCM capability is a competitive advantage that accelerates all future change initiatives.