Making Change Stick
Posted on: June 29, 2016 | By: David Kwo | QAD Business Process
So you’ve just upgraded to QAD’s Enterprise Edition! You’ve done away with 60% of your customizations and gotten your people trained on how to properly use the system. Now the trick is how to prevent the natural backsliding that occurs as people tend to revert back to old habits under stress. As we look back at supporting our QAD clients during this upgrade journey’s we’ve seen a few patterns in the companies that are able to embrace the improved processes and not go back to their old ways.
1. Acknowledge, Understand and Spell out the impact these changes will have on people.
The saying goes, “everybody loves change…as long as it is not them.” Even if people are creating more work and more stress by using off-line spreadsheets and databases, it is still the devil they know. Over the years, we have come to realize that people have more fear with the prospect of change than with the actual change itself. A clear eyed, objective assessment of the impact the changes will have on each department is a must. If the intensity of change is going to be high in a particular group, then this is where the communication has to take place in a firm, yet empathetic manner.
2. Build an emotional and rational case for change
It is often said people buy things on emotion and justify the decision with logic. This is the same for “buying” into change. We see this issue the most when a someone is operating in their own silo, using Microsoft Access or Excel and has created the “perfect” spreadsheet that in isolation, does everything you could ask it to do. But they don’t see how not working within an integrated ERP system disrupts the upstream and downstream processes. When you ask people to adapt to a new reality, it cannot be presented as another “program of the month” that they have to live through. The leaders have to paint a vivid picture of what the change means for the employees personally, both the good and then acknowledging the loss of something familiar. To focus solely on why it benefits the business won’t create the traction required.
3. Ensure that the entire leadership team is a role model for the change
Change starts at the top. Senior executives must be not only on top of the change, but also in front of it. They need to both model the new behaviors they are asking their people to adopt and hold one another accountable to the process improvements agreed to. Under stress, we often see employees, especially long term ones, ask their managers if it is OK to go back to their old ways. This is when it is most critical to hold them accountable to what they agreed to. Our experience is that after a time or two, people will understand that this change is here to stay.
Getting change to stick is not easy, especially after years of doing things one way. But if you lay the proper groundwork up front and lead by example, you can greatly improve the probability of success.