How To Engage Employees With Technology Based Change
The message is not about the system itself but about the business reasons for the changes!
How To Engage Employees With Technology Based Change
Think about the millions of dollars organizations spend each year on IT programs of work. Wouldn’t it be prudent to know that employees actually understand and most importantly embrace the reason behind the changes?
Employees and their managers need to understand why new systems are being implemented, and it’s up to the leaders of the change to communicate this clearly.
And that is the means that you communicate change.
Communicating Technology Based Change
Let’s start with reviewing how most organizations manage technology-based change.
If your organization’s approach to this type of change is new skills training and employee communication strategies. Including stakeholder management (translated briefings), intranet and email updates. That’s not managing change, rather it is focussed on the information.
So what is the difference and why do we need to do anything more than provide information?
Communicate The Benefits
IT systems are not introduced for the sake of a new system itself. They are introduced because there are benefits to be realised from a business management perspective.
This may include more information on customer profiles and identifying other products or services clients may be interested in purchasing. The changes might focus on back-office systems such as greater information for human resources management or accounting. Or they may focus on the supply chain and logistics.
Whatever the reason there is a business reason for the change and this is what employees need to understand. If not the full benefits of any system implementation are not going to be realised.
Let’s Look At An Example
This financial services organisation was introducing a new back-office system. In the past employees worked in separate divisions. Customers were transferred from one area to another to process their requests.
The new system meant that all of the customer details were now available to employees. Now they could work in teams and “own” the customer from the commencement to the end of any transaction.
It was a complete system and work style change. So before specific system training was introduced a simulated work area was established. And employees were taken through the customer experience.
Customer Experience
It was important that they understood the benefits to the customer by looking at the changes through the eyes of the customer.
This way we created the “Aha” moment. Employees got the message better than any intranet, information session or email bulletin could have conveyed it.
And when employees went into system training they clearly understood the benefits and business reasons behind the changes.
Five Key Things To Remember
1. Clarity
Be very clear about the business reasons for the technology-based changes Who will benefit and what will those benefits be?
2. Benefits
Establish why those benefits are important. What will the impact be on the organization?
3. Key Messages
Decide the key messages for your information strategy – what will you need to communicate, to whom, and when?
4. Engagement Strategy
Concurrently design an engagement strategy at key points in your project plan. One that will engage employees at all levels in the reason for the technology based changes.
5. Business Reasons
Remember to ensure engagement the message is not about the system itself but about the business reasons for the changes.
Managing System Changes
Finally, as change management professionals can we take the same approach to managing system changes and apply it to every new organization?
The answer is clearly no because every organization’s culture is different. So it follows that every approach to change management and employee communication must be different. In order to maximise the investment and potential of the system changes that are implemented.
This article was contributed by Kevin Dwyer
Technology Based Change
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