Preparing Your Workforce for New Technology Solutions

You’ve managed to get your organization’s leadership to see the benefits of a new business solution like ERP, HRIS, CRM, or HCM, but the real battle will be sharing your new vision with employees. Where an executive, partner, or upper manager might see the benefit in implementing new and more effective strategies and procedures to workflow, an employee might just see a disruption in their normal routine. Combating such a mindset is critical when asking employees to buy into a new system and can be all the difference between a successful implementation and a failed one.

Maximizing Acceptance

The fact of the matter is simple: employees can be resistant to change. Rather than battling upstream to force their hands, proper strategizing is required if you want to affect a positive transition. First, it’s important to understand your employees might not see the upside to these new protocols, and could even view them as nothing more than an inconvenience. The keys to this are designing a plan which will allow even the most jaded worker to see the personal upside to these changes, while also making sure communication channels are open and reactive.

Measure Your Success

Another key to successful employees is having realistic, tempered expectations. No one wants to accept the fact there will be disruption during a change in broad protocols. However, by setting proper KPI standards to reflect these new changes, you will not only be able to see the small successes in the early stages of post-implementation, but you will also have a measuring stick by which to measure your victories over the long term. This is a good way to share your results with leadership, but to also make sure employees are aware this success was largely due to their adoption of new processes.

Innovation vs. Stagnation

Integrating new strategies into existing systems can be another problematic facet of implementation. After all, why take the risk of change when your current structure is what allowed you so much success in the first place? Stagnation is a risk for any business, and by focusing energy on the future, you will be preparing your organization to enter a new paradigm in the workplace—instead of being stuck in an unforgiving past.

There are a lot of factors to consider when considering the implementation of new technology, and numerous paths to get there. To help you navigate this new world, consider contacting my team. We are more than a short-term solution, we want to work with you through every stage of your new plan, from conception to helping you measure your results.

Thanks for reading! In my next post we’ll be moving past pre-implementation and getting ready to launch our new plan. You can find my most recent blogs in the series here.