This post was written by Kim N. Kim is a consultant who has over 10 years of experience. Her experience helps to aid in the development and delivery of technology-driven services and solutions, outstanding client service, and driving profitable revenue growth.
Every industry is evolving, so there is a constant outturn of technology that aids in the efficiency of day-to-day tasks. It is great to have this innovation as it is meant to help formalize and standardize the workflow of individuals as well as teams. The phrase “work smarter, not harder” comes to mind immediately.
Introducing anything new has always led to pushback. Whether it is new food, routine, or even new toilet paper that causes people to deter from change. It is built into our brains to like the things we like. So as a company looking to implement changes, there will always be challenges to get your team on board with a new system. Likely there will be a range of people on your team, some with 15+ years of experience to those straight out of college. With that range, you will have many different levels of resistance with the move over to an integrated system. Some will be relentlessly resistant to the updates while others will accept it as an opportunity to grow and strengthen their knowledge. The key is to get everyone to understand the benefits that ultimately come with using an integrated system. Regardless of age, experience, or product – there will always be the questions like:
“Why do we need to change it?”
“What makes it better?”
“Whose job is it to do this?”
“If it isn’t broken, why are we fixing it?”
With personal experience of implementing various systems at almost every company I have worked at; I have felt every emotion that comes with changes. I have been on the side of fully supporting integration and having the change run smoothly. But I have also led a resistance to updating to a system that I didn’t think my company was set up to take on. The reality is that it will cause a headache during the entire implementation process. Individuals will have frustrations over not understanding or adding additional steps to their current less structured processes. But you can’t fault them for opposing because changes take time, patience, and understanding. Some things that I have found useful when implementing:
1. Make it clear that these changes are happening and give a reasonable timeline for all team members to adhere to.
2. Be prepared to explain the benefits of and overall goals in updating the technology and system.
3. Reiterate that this knowledge can help to lessen the workload overall once everyone has been fully integrated.
4. Ensure that there will be detailed training to make the change a lot less daunting instead of throwing them into the deep end.
5. Have the difficult conversation as a team or individually addressing the concerns, questions, and frustrations without dismissing anyone.
Ultimately you just need to hear your team out while also reassuring them that this is in the best interest of the company’s team and future. A few headaches at the beginning for smooth sailing in the future!
Need more advice or assistance? Your product strategy and business transformation experts at Unity Consulting are here to help!
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