A Business Management Software System Road Map (Part 3)

Preparing the People for Change

We have tackled two of the five stops in our business roadmap of implementing a business management software system. (You can read part one here and part two here.) Organizational culture sets the pace on how you can smoothly insert technological and system changes to your business structure. There are also the operational processes that need to be accounted for so that when it comes time for migration, you will be assured that you’ve covered all bases.

The most critical unit that participates in the implementation of change in your business, however, is your people.

Right from the beginning, the primary key is to support your employees. Let them know the new requirements of business and educate them so that they will appreciate the move into streamlining and automating with the new business management software platform. Make them feel that you care about how they will do well and adapt smoothly with the changes in their way of doing things.

Know, in detail, how staff groups, departments, and processes will functionally change. Know the tasks that will become automated, learn how to use the new automation, and then teach your employees how to do it. It is very important that you support your people by providing them the exact steps and procedures of how their jobs will change and how they will do the new job. It’s even better if you can compare old tasks to new tasks and offer more training than you think anyone needs. Give everyone as many opportunities as they want to practice.

Don’t expect it to be quick or easy to to get your employees to be welcoming and accepting of such as large change. This is particularly true if they have been doing their current job for many years – they may not want to learn new ways if they think the old ways work and especially if they can do the old ways with their eyes closed, so to speak. Guidance and support are critical.

Here’s an illustration of a classic scenario: Currently, you’re using manual sales invoice booking for orders of cans or gallons of oil. Your staff manually writes on the invoice pad and punches the sales into a cash register. When you have the business management software system in place, your front line will now be using a computer to record orders and the business management software will be entering and saving them into the system – less manual labor, more “safe-guarding” the equipment. While such a change seems like it would be readily accepted due to its lessening of the workload, it can still be daunting to employees who are used to doing something manually

In change management, getting the people on board always has obstacles, but you need to do so in order to make your implementation smoother; their new knowledge will do wonders in helping you to transform your business and move it towards your strategic goals.

Still not sure how to manage such change in your employees? It can seem really overwhelming – so contact Asyma Solutions Ltd., where we have just the right package to help you make it happen.

Also, stay tuned for part 4!