As is often the case with organizational change, the success of a technology implementation is less dependent on its design than it is on the employees’ willingness to “buy-in” to the project and their ability to adapt to the new technology. This calls for robust change management for technology implementations.
It is estimated that up to 75% technology related initiatives fall short of their expectations. This is likely because technology can be intimidating to many employees. This leads to resistance and calls out the need for clear communication to all levels of the organization.
However, a common mistake is to assume that communication alone is enough to drive change when putting in new systems. Yes, it is essential, but it is simply not sufficient. Enabling employees to perform at high levels after “go live” requires a far more robust change management strategy.
Check out the Change Communication Triangle.
These implementations are unique from other changes because of the amount of hands-on training that is required. When faced with such behavioral change, you must plan your strategy accordingly.
5 Best Practices for Technology Change Management
1. Take the Assessment Phase Very Seriously
All technology change management processes should start with an assessment phase. It is impossible to determine where you are going if you don’t know where you are coming from. Too often, strategies are put in place without proper assessment. This is particularly true when implementing technology. The thinking (or lack thereof) is sometimes to skip ahead and focus on the change activities. However, these activities will not be effective without the critical assessment needed to guide their design.
2. Do a Complete Stakeholder Analysis
A stakeholder analysis is a set of processes set in place to determine all the employees who are impacted by a change. This analysis is essential for technology implementations because of the amount of hands-on interaction that is required. The analysis can later help determine the level of engagement that is required for each group. For example, some group will require more training than other groups. A possible added benefit of this analysis is that it enables a clear picture of the groups that are impacted by the change and can therefore lead to greater support from leadership.
3. Rely on your Change Impact Summary
Technology is rarely implemented to help employees complete new tasks. Typically, it is meant to replace current ways of doing things by making them easier, faster, or more cost effective. This means that stakeholders typically have done things a certain way for a considerable amount of time. Whereas the stakeholder analysis determines who is impacted, the change impact summary details how they are impacted. It is very important to clearly document the changes to each stakeholder group. Later, this will help guide your technology change management strategy, because you can design touchpoints and activities specifically aimed at each of these changes.
4. Use a Change Agent Network
Change Agent Networks are extremely useful for technology projects. The Change Agents serve as extensions of the project team and represent their business areas for the overall project. They can serve many purposes, including:
Provide feedback to the project team
Attend project meetings
Be early adopters of the new behaviors
Help with communications
Look for and help manage resistance
Register employees for training
Support the business area after implementation
Be “Go-To” person for questions
These agents should be at all levels and within all business areas. The change team will determine how many are needed and the structure based on the needs of the project. Carefully choosing Change Agents will help lead to project success.
5. Have Clear Leadership
Leadership is a critical component of enabling change. A senior leader should be the sponsor and voice of the project and provide clear messaging to the organization. Without this leadership, the initiative will lack the necessary driving force behind the change and employees are likely to resist.
Putting these best practices in place are sure to increase the likelihood of success for your implementation. Additionally, below are some tips to keep in mind as you are planning your strategy.
7 Tips for Successful Technology Implementation
1. Expect and Plan for Resistance
Resistance is a part of any change and it is important to have a resistance plan in place. It is not a question of whether or not it will occur, it is a question of how much will occur. Do not wait for resistance to appear; you need to have systems in place to go out and find it. Also, employees resist for different reasons. You need actions ready for those who resist for organizational reasons (e.g., this is not the right decision for our department) vs. personal reasons (e.g., what if I can’t learn the new software?).
2. Be Ready for a Lot of Training
Technology implementations require a lot of training because the employees need to learn the new system. This requires a lot of front end work to design and deliver the training for each stakeholder group. It also requires a lot of time on the back end to get everyone through the necessary courses. When possible, use role-based training and/or modules so the targeted groups can attend only those sessions instead of potentially day-long classes.
3. Emphasize Communication
Regular and honest communication with employees will go a long way in helping your change effort. Remember to take an empathetic approach to your communications, you do not want your employees to feel as though something is being forced upon them. Employees should always hear information from senior leaders or the project team instead of the rumor mill.
4. Reinforce Behavior After Go-Live
Change management does not stop when the implementation goes live. It is necessary to support employees and reinforce behavior long after the technology goes live.
5. Develop Knowledge Management Materials
Along with your training plan comes the need to develop knowledge materials for when employees are away from training and working at their desks. The materials to be developed are determined as you build your change management strategy and reference the Change Impact Summary. Materials can include job aids, reference guides, cheat sheets, web-based training, etc.
6. Have a Tiered Support System
Depending on the size of your organization, it is probably not feasible to have all questions from users go to one person or group. Use a tiered system where all the questions within one business area are handled within that area. Only when questions cannot be answered by that unit’s representative (likely the change agent) would the question get escalated to the project team.
7. Use Engagement Activities
As mentioned earlier, communication is essential to successful change management for technology implementations. However, this is limited because it offers no opportunity for employee involvement or feedback. Engagement opportunities such as town halls and “lunch and learns” provide an avenue for employees to be heard and voice their concerns. Of course, management should not only hear their concerns, but they should also take action based on their concerns to the extent possible.
Including the best practices above and incorporating the tips will help your change effort succeed. We also offer expert change management consultants for your project.
