More Than Half of Organizational Leaders Say Recent Technology Investments Failed to Achieve Intended Outcomes, New Eagle Hill Research Finds

Organizations are losing value after go-live because employees continue old ways of working

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- An Eagle Hill Consulting survey of senior business decision makers shows that more than half (51%) of organizational leadership respondents report recent technology investments failed to fully achieve their intended outcomes. The findings suggest that organizations are focusing too heavily on technology implementation and not enough on changing how work gets done after deployment.

The research comes as organizations accelerate investments in artificial intelligence, automation, cloud platforms, and other technologies intended to improve efficiency, decision-making, and innovation. Yet many organizations struggle to realize the expected return on those investments.

Read the research.
Read Technology Adoption Needs Its Own Strategy

"Organizations often think the finish line is go-live, but that's really where the hard work begins," said Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. "Technology alone doesn't create value. People using it differently do. When organizations fail to change workflows, decision-making processes, and employee behaviors, they leave significant value on the table and risk undermining the return on major technology investments."

The Eagle Hill Consulting 2026 Senior Business Decision Makers Survey identifies a disconnect between technology implementation and technology adoption:

• 51% of organizational leaders surveyed say recent technology investments failed to fully achieve their intended outcomes.
• Underestimating the impact on day-to-day work was the most commonly cited reason technology investments fell short of expectations.
• Only 35% of organizational leaders surveyed say their organization considered day-to-day work impacts ahead of technology rollout.
• Approximately one-third cite continued use of legacy processes and workarounds as primary reasons technology investments fail to deliver expected value.

According to the research, organizations often begin losing value immediately after implementation when employees continue using old processes, create workarounds, or fail to adopt new ways of working. The study finds that successful organizations focus not only on deploying technology, but also on redesigning workflows, reinforcing behavioral changes, and measuring whether employees are working differently to achieve desired business outcomes.

"Many organizations treat technology change management as a training and communications exercise," Jezior said. "The organizations that realize the greatest return on technology investments take a different approach. They start by understanding how work must change, align technology to those workflows, and measure whether new behaviors are actually taking hold. That's what drives business value."

The research also highlights key practices that distinguish successful organizations from those that struggle with technology adoption. Organizations that consistently achieve stronger returns:

• Start with work, not technology.
• Measure changed behaviors, not just technology usage.
• Manage technology adoption as an ongoing operating discipline rather than a one-time implementation project.

As organizations continue investing heavily in AI and other emerging technologies, Eagle Hill advises leaders to evaluate how technology will change work across the organization before implementation begins. Without that focus, even successful technology deployments may fail to generate meaningful business results.

Methodology
The Eagle Hill Consulting Senior Business Decision Makers Survey was conducted by Ipsos from March 3-9, 2026, via an online survey in the U.S. For this survey, Ipsos recruited a sample of 200 senior business decisionmakers from various industries using B2B panel samples. To qualify for the survey, respondents had to be employed full-time, Director level or above, and working for an organization with annual revenue of $100+ million. No post-hoc weights were applied to the data and the findings reflect the opinion of these respondents.

Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is an award-winning business that provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of Organizational Performance, Business Intelligence, Technology Enablement, Talent, and Change Management. The company's expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and global nonprofits. Eagle Hill has offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Boston, MA, and Seattle, WA. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com.

SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting LLC