It’s disconcerting to consider that research from the likes of McKinsey & Company, Gartner and others shows that up to 70% of all change initiatives fail. And only 30% of companies navigate digital transformation successfully*. Why?
A study from EY and Oxford University sought to uncover what exactly makes some transformation projects thrive and others fail.
The study found:
- 85% of senior leaders have been involved in two or more major transformations in the last five years alone. Two-thirds (67%) of those leaders said they have experienced at least one underperforming transformation during this time.
- 52% of respondents in high-performing transformations said that employees were assigned clear roles and responsibilities, and 49% said that decision-making authority was delegated in a clear and appropriate way across the organisation (versus 29% in low-performing transformations).
- Negative emotions among workers increase by 25% in successful transformations but by more than 130% during under-performing transformations.
By focusing on ‘people-centred’ transformation, the study found that the likelihood of a successful outcome increased 2.6 times to 73%.
It isn’t the lack of resources or budget that result in change initiative failures; rather, it’s human behaviour. Behaviour that does not support the intended transformation – i.e. resistance, scepticism and lack of buy-in from employees and managers – is often the deciding factor.
Without specifically citing any particular change model (of which there are many), the following four steps should help your shift-based, deskless organisation produce successful change management outcomes, simply by taking a people-centric approach.
1. Outline the need for change
This first step is about identifying and illustrating the reasons for investing in new technology and communicating these reasons to three key stakeholders: executives, managers and employees.
Many change initiatives fail at this early stage simply because they talk about the benefits to the organisation (time savings, greater productivity, etc.) and while these are obviously important, they are rarely inspirational. That’s why the ‘what’s in it for me?’ (WIIFM) factor needs to be clearly articulated during this first step and throughout the change process. Stakeholders will want to know:
- How will it solve my challenges?
- How will this new system help me perform better?
- What are the tangible benefits for me in my daily job?
- How will it affect my team, my customers, my suppliers, etc.?
Encouraging managers and employees to think about how technology may impact their roles is one way of involving them in the change. Involving the end-users or at least getting their input into what they need, where their bottlenecks are, etc. can help bring them along on the change journey instead of expecting them to adopt a fully-formed system at the end.
2. Prepare and plan for change
Outline the impact of implementing the new system at a granular level. During this step, change roles should be assigned and clarified, and support requirements should be established. That support may include employee training. You’ll need to clarify:
- End-user roles: A review of how each user will use the technology in their day-to-day role to see what support is required
- Training delivery: Using a mix of webinars, live demonstrations, on-the-job practical training and eLearning – perhaps delivered in small chunks as microlearning accessible via mobile devices
- Training assessments: Using formal testing to ensure each user can use the technology effectively
3. Implement the change
Next is the creation of a detailed action plan, including timelines for completion and who’s leading the implementation. A phased rollout is often preferred, using a pilot test group as a starting point.
The benefits of a pilot group include having a smaller group to manage, verify the configuration, train and support. Once the solution has been configured and tested, this group will commence utilising the new processes, providing additional validation of the solution and its benefits.
As mentioned in Step 2, workforce training may need to be scheduled, and feedback should be gathered and analysed. Often a ‘train the trainer’ approach is the most efficient. By training a select few employees, each trainer can then educate the wider workforce. You might also want to consider giving incentives to encourage participation.
4. Sustain the change
This last step is about ensuring processes and systems introduced by the new technology will be sustained. This might include ongoing systems training, changes to processes and procedures, and updating of manuals and support documentation. This step may also involve:
- Getting people into the habit of using the tech – the development of KPIs and metrics to measure the effectiveness of the training can help
- Documentation of learning to inform future HR transformation projects
- Development of incentive programs to encourage employees to keep using the software
Communication matters
Communication plays a huge role in achieving buy-in from employees and other stakeholders. Part of this is about creating psychological safety and confidence in the tools being used – and the key to that is not just support and training, but transparency and two-way feedback.
Leaders should be continuously sharing information across the organisation so that everyone affected feels like a part of the ongoing journey. Also remember that frontline workers have daily contact with customers and may be the first to notice new issues. If they can share their observations and insights, it benefits the whole organisation.
Here are some tips to ensure communication is embedded in your change strategy for deskless workplaces:
- Identify change agents – and laggards
These workers are keen, engaged and influential. They are always asking for new technology and putting forward new ways to complete work tasks more efficiently. If you can adopt these ‘contagion influencers’ their excitement can be used to ‘rally the troops’ and build positive momentum for the change.
Winning over the naysayers
At the other end of the spectrum are those who resist change with all their might. They will only come onboard if they are repeatedly pushed and incentivised to do so. You could try to:
- Clarify how they stand to benefit from the new tech. For example, time savings, greater flexibility, better work-life balance. Remember, every employee is different!
- Involve these individuals from the start and encourage them to provide their feedback – that means there’s no way for them to claim “I wasn’t involved” or “You didn’t listen to me!”
- Offer more support. These workers may need a bit more handholding and one-on-one sessions. Their reluctance might simply come down to fear of doing the wrong thing.
- Be empathetic. You may be asking seasoned professionals to give up the way they’ve previously undertaken tasks. Some empathy can go a long way.
- Make it fun. Consider a gamification approach whereby employees accumulate points, gain financial incentives or achieve new levels of ‘status’.
By getting to know your employees, actively listening, challenging perceptions and ultimately gaining their trust, it’s possible your laggards might become change champions.
- Use multiple channels for communication and feedback
Deskless workers may not have access to laptops or PCs – but they do invariably use mobile phones, so your communication strategy should focus on mobile-friendly communication. Notifications, updates, rewards and recognition to mark milestones, training and more can be delivered via mobile devices. SMS updates can convey information quickly, while social channels can be used to celebrate successes. Important information can also be conveyed in one-on-one or group in-person meetings.
Sentiment can be gathered through employee pulse surveys or workshops. However, research shows that while 84% of surveyed leaders in deskless workplaces say their company has channels in place for collecting feedback, only 24% said their company asks them for feedback. This is important to keep in mind when it comes to tech rollouts – user feedback is gold.
- Treat change as a journey, not a destination
Most tech rollouts will take a phased approach, with participants having to complete the preceding phase before moving to the next. The structured approach ensures everyone is onboard, and also allows everyone to move forward together, even if some may require extra support or training. Most change programs will encounter unexpected delays or challenges. Perhaps mistakes will be made. These should be treated as learning opportunities and worked into the change program further down the track. Technology implementation is also never ‘set and forget’. There are always new users, refresher courses to run, new features to learn about.
Any technology change project is of course process-oriented and can be very technical too. However, the human element of change management is just as important. In fact, it might be the most critical component. Get the who, what, where and why elements right and success will follow.
