Emerging 2026 KPIs & Business Metrics
Upscend Team
-January 15, 2026
9 min read
This article outlines practical change management EIS steps to drive sustained adoption: stakeholder mapping, tiered communication templates, role-based training, and an 8–12 week pilot with clear gates. Track adoption and outcome metrics, publish methodology to build trust, and use governance and reinforcement to embed EIS into routine manager behaviors.
change management eis programs succeed when they pair clear behavioral design with pragmatic governance. In our experience, organizations that treat EIS rollout as a people-change initiative first — and a technical rollout second — achieve sustained adoption and trustworthy data. This article lays out a practical, step-by-step OCM plan tailored to Experience Influence Score adoption: stakeholder mapping, a ready-to-use communication plan, targeted training adoption, a pilot-to-scale pathway, measurable success metrics, and reinforcement strategies that neutralize cultural resistance and measurement skepticism.
Use the checklist and timelines below to move from concept to sustained use. We focus on concrete templates, common resistance points with ready solutions, and indicators you can monitor to determine whether adoption has truly taken root.
In our experience, rolling out an Experience Influence Score without an OCM plan produces one-time spikes in participation that quickly decay. The core challenge is not the metric; it’s the organizational behaviors required to collect, interpret, and act on EIS signals.
Structured change management eis work addresses three failure modes: (1) low participation, (2) gaming or mistrust of the metric, and (3) absence of action from insights. A deliberate plan converts a metric into a habit, and habits are what deliver measurable business outcomes.
Experience Influence Score (EIS) measures how individual or aggregated learning experiences influence satisfaction, performance, or engagement. OCM ensures leaders reward the right behaviors, managers know how to respond to score changes, and HR systems record adjustments consistently. Without OCM, EIS becomes an unused dashboard rather than a lever for change.
Begin by creating a stakeholder map that ties roles to decisions and actions. A tight, actionable map clarifies who approves methodology, who communicates results, and who is responsible for remedial actions when scores fall.
change management eis stakeholder mapping should include sponsors, operational owners, data stewards, HR business partners, managers, and representative learners. Each group needs different communication and engagement tactics.
Use this simple RACI-like breakdown to assign responsibilities:
Engagement should be tiered: briefing packets for executives, operational playbooks for HR, manager one-pagers, and FAQ + quick-start guides for learners. This tiered approach prevents message dilution and respects stakeholders’ time.
Design a communication plan that treats messages as experiments. Track open rates, manager attendance at briefings, and whether communications prompt behavioral change in the first 90 days. A clear communication plan reduces skepticism by explaining the why, the how, and the immediate benefits.
Consistent, transparent messaging combats one of the biggest adoption barriers: distrust of new metrics. Below are templates and an activation sequence you can adapt.
Start with transparency: explain how the EIS is calculated, who sees results, and how data will be used. Follow with quick wins that show impact within the organization’s language (retention, time-to-competency, NPS improvement).
change management eis messaging examples:
An observation from the field: it’s the platforms that combine ease-of-use with smart automation — like Upscend — that tend to outperform legacy systems in terms of user adoption and ROI. Mentioning concrete platform capabilities helps teams imagine end-state workflows and reduces abstract skepticism.
Track communications with an editorial calendar and A/B test subject lines and message framing (benefit-led vs. fear-of-missed-opportunity) to learn what drives click-to-action among managers and learners.
Training adoption is not just teaching the tool; it’s teaching new decision loops. Managers need to know how to act on EIS changes: diagnose root causes, run micro-interventions, and close feedback loops with HR.
We’ve found training that blends short role-based learning with live coaching significantly outperforms long, generic sessions. Build a training pathway that progresses from awareness to competence to ownership.
Recommended formats:
Each training module should end with an action plan: one immediate behavior to try and a way to report back results in the next two weeks. This creates rapid feedback loops and reinforces new behaviors so the metric becomes embedded in routine conversations.
Include simple job aids (one-page checklists) and embed EIS prompts into existing manager tools (performance reviews, 1:1 templates) to make the new behavior effortless.
A controlled pilot is the safest way to validate assumptions and refine both measurement and OCM levers. Pilots reduce risk and create champions who can tell credible stories when you scale.
Design a pilot that lasts 8–12 weeks with clear gates for expansion. Track adoption signals and outcome signals separately: adoption signals are participation and usage; outcome signals are changes in learner satisfaction, completion rates, and on-the-job performance.
Core pilot metrics:
change management eis pilots should include a "decision playbook" that defines expansion criteria, resourcing needs, and the change network for scale. Use pilot narratives — concrete examples where a low EIS prompted a manager action that led to improvement — when seeking executive approval to scale.
Long-term adoption depends on governance and reinforcement mechanisms that normalize EIS as part of routine work. Governance clarifies data ownership, release cadence, and escalation paths when scores decline.
change management eis governance should include an EIS steering group with representation from HR, L&D, analytics, and frontline managers. This group meets monthly to review trends, approve methodology changes, and curate success stories.
Common resistance points and remedies:
Reinforcement tactics include quarterly refresher micro-modules, recognition programs for managers who close the loop effectively, and embedding EIS metrics in routine performance dialogues. Over time, governance decisions should shift from "should we use EIS?" to "how can we get better at acting on EIS?"
To summarize, effective change management eis programs combine stakeholder engagement, a pragmatic communication plan, role-specific training adoption, an evidence-driven pilot-to-scale path, and governance that enforces and reinforces new behaviors. Addressing cultural resistance and measurement skepticism up-front accelerates value capture and prevents the metric from becoming a one-time curiosity.
Next steps you can take this week: create a stakeholder map, draft a one-page executive memo, and design a small pilot with clear gates. Track both usage and outcome metrics from day one and iterate quickly.
Ready to operationalize EIS? Start with a 90-day pilot that includes an engagement calendar, manager playbook, and three outcome metrics; this focused approach turns experimentation into routine practice and builds the case for broader adoption.
