Is your organization on the verge of adopting a new system? If so, employee involvement is key. This doesn’t just mean getting your staff to make the switch, but full involvement before, during, and after rollout.
In this article, we’ll take a look at how to get your teams on board with imminent changes. We’ll explore why employee involvement is so important, and outline some steps you can take to make it happen.
Examples of implementing new systems and why employee involvement is important
When implementing new systems in the workplace, there’s no substitute for laying the groundwork early. And a core element of this is making sure all your employees are prepared for the switchover. Let’s have a look at a few examples of how this might work in practice.
Suppose an NGO decides to adopt dedicated nonprofit accounting software to help with grant application tracking and generally streamline its processes. Tools like this can be exceptionally helpful because they make it easy to produce progress reports that are fully compliant with nonprofit standards.
But it’s crucial that everyone working on a given project is fully on board. If some stakeholders prefer to stick to doing things the old way, a situation could arise where data silos begin to develop, which could ultimately undermine transparency. To avoid this, the nonprofit should signpost the benefits of the new system well in advance to encourage universal buy-in.
Or let’s consider the fast-paced world of the food service industry. If a restaurant wants to introduce a new POS system, they have to make sure every server is fully trained on it before it goes live. Otherwise, there could be a lot of grumpy customers on the first day if a lack of familiarity on the part of the staff leads to delays in taking payments.
Similarly, let’s say a manufacturing company wants to branch out and extend its product range. If this involves introducing new systems, the initiative will depend on employee involvement for its success. There may need to be new machinery installed in factories, or a radical rethink of the inventory system. This will require coordinated planning and input from multiple teams.
In essence, any system change that affects the whole workforce needs support from everyone. So, let’s explore how to encourage enthusiastic uptake.
How to enhance employee involvement
To encourage employees to get fully involved in system change, there are a few crucial steps you need to follow. Do this, and you should find everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Identifying common fears and reservations
Resistance to change is a perfectly normal element of human psychology. And that’s no surprise; the prospect of big changes can be a little scary. But this can pose a problem if that change is essential for making progress.
From the point of view of senior management, it may seem tempting to simply impose the change from above with minimal consultation – but this is a mistake. After all, you can force people to use the new system, but you can’t force them to like it.
Ahead of the switchover to the new system, open the communication channels and get some honest opinions. It’s likely that the vast majority of employee fears and reservations will be fairly straightforward to allay. But you can’t support people unless you know what they’re worried about.
The rollout is much more likely to be successful in the medium term if staff embrace it wholeheartedly. Additionally, consulting sincerely with employees is one of the hallmarks of a fair work environment. It’s simply good business practice.
Involving employees in the planning stage
One of the best ways to encourage enthusiasm for the new system is to get your employees directly involved at the planning stage. It sends a clear signal that their input is valued and encourages everyone involved to feel they have a stake in the project’s success.
But it can also have some practical benefits too. For instance, it’s impossible to anticipate exactly how a system rollout will affect each team. The impact on the sales reps might be very different from the impact on the stock control team.
If you leave implementation planning to a select few individuals, you may get a nasty surprise later on if an unforeseen issue causes a problem when the new system goes live. But if everyone has their say in advance, that kind of issue is much more likely to be picked up quickly ahead of time.
Maintain transparent and ongoing communication
According to Grammarly’s The State of Business Communications in 2023 report, 72% of business leaders say that effective communication has boosted their company’s productivity. So it’s no surprise that putting a focus on clear and transparent communication is key when you’re implementing change.
You should approach this from various angles. Consider:
- Establishing a dedicated channel to gather feedback and suggestions relating to the implementation
- Creating a central hub for all project documentation that’s accessible to all
- Offering online tutorials to help acclimatize employees to the new system
Keep these resources active when implementation begins. No rollout is ever completely glitch-free, so it’s essential to maintain that open communication as you go. You’ll need to check in with all stakeholders regularly so you can fine-tune the plan if necessary.
Provide training and support systems
Enhancing employee learning can be beneficial for all kinds of reasons, but it’s especially important when you’re deploying new systems. Make sure you provide comprehensive training in any new software systems you’re implementing so that the rollout goes as smoothly as possible.
Online learning that people can access as and when it suits them generally works best for most office-type software. For other systems, such as the POS software the restaurant was introducing in the example we gave above, in-person training would obviously be more appropriate.
Even once the switchover to the new system has happened, don’t assume you can drop the ball. Continue to make support available so that anyone who needs help using the new system can receive it in good time.
Recognizing and incentivizing participation
One smart way of encouraging participation is to incentivize it using rewards. You can give out digital credentials like virtual badges for accomplishing tasks, including:
- Completing a learning module
- Giving feedback on the development of the project
- Submitting suggestions for how to improve rollout
The great thing about using this tactic is that it motivates your employees in a fun way. There’s an element of gamification that’s quite appealing, and you can even offer real-life prizes for collecting the most participation points if you like.
What tends to happen when you deploy an initiative like this is that employees will push a little to try to compete against each other. Done well, this means your staff members become immersed in the details of the new system without feeling as if learning about it is a burden.
Of course, it also demonstrates that you value their commitment. And that’s good news for employee satisfaction.
Leveraging leadership and role models
When you lead by example, people are more likely to follow. This applies just as much to implementing new business systems as it does to other walks of life. If top managers demonstrate enthusiastic buy-in, it simply makes the whole project an easier sell.
Taking time to explain all the benefits of the new system is key. Reinforce your message by giving concrete examples of how the new system will address current pain points in everyday operations.
A good way of doing this is to look at case studies of organizations that have already trodden a similar path.
For instance, suppose your company is deciding to adopt an AI-driven contact center solution. Rather than simply telling all your customer support staff that they’ll be using it, outline the advantages that will make a difference to their everyday work lives, such as increased in-call support or better integration with existing customer data.
Testimonials from agents in other companies that have already made the switch will be much more persuasive than a corporate memo. That’s because these are role models speaking directly to your employees’ individual experiences. They’re relatable.
Evaluating and adapting the approach
When the new system is in place and live, you should monitor it to evaluate how successful your approach has been. There will no doubt be a few issues here and there, and determining where there’s room for improvement is vital so you can make the necessary tweaks.
There are a number of different ways you can do this, and the right choice will depend on the nature of the new system. In fact, you probably already have tools in place that you could leverage for the purpose.
As an example, let’s take the manufacturing company we mentioned earlier. It may well use its existing manufacturing inventory software to create real-time reports about how well the new product rollout is going. It would then be able to continue to adapt and create customized workflows relating to the new products.
Key takeaways
Transitioning to new systems is always a challenge. That said, there are ways you can approach it to make the deployment run as seamlessly as possible.
Getting your employees fully on board with the change is fundamental to the rollout of any new system because they’re the people who’ll be using it. Luckily, if you follow the steps laid out here, you’ll be well on your way to achieving that goal and heading toward even greater business success.
Further reading
Learn more about engaging and rewarding employees in training using digital credentials:
