We live in an age of disruption. A business’s adaptability determines whether it lives or dies. Technology is changing at faster speeds than ever before, which has its positives and negatives.
On the upside, change is progress. Change helps us adapt to the world and competition around us and reach the goals we set for ourselves. On the downside, change requires businesses to be agile. And a business can’t be agile if its employees are resisting change.
For a business to change, specifically when introducing new technologies and procedures, everyone needs to be on board. One way to reduce employee resistance to change is to engage them from the very beginning of the project.
Employee acceptance of ERP implementation will make or break your business. Therefore, having a plan for organizational change is key to your success.
How to Engage Employees During ERP Implementation
Below are some tried and true tips from Godlan Consulting’s experts for getting employees involved and excited about your new ERP system.
1. Communicate Well and Often
Communication is key, and it isn’t just informing employees that organizational change is going to happen. You need to get your employees invested in that change and what it means for them. You also need to provide them with information that will help them to adjust. This could include sharing the scope of the changes, explaining why the changes are happening, and detailing what each team can expect during implementation.
When your employees understand why change is happening and what their role is in the pursuit, they are much more likely to embrace it. Having everyone on the same page makes it easier to monitor perceptions and assuage anxieties. It also gives employees time to speak about their concerns and worries in a way that won’t slow progress.
2. Have a Plan
After announcing that organizational change is imminent, you should then create a plan for your employees. They need a roadmap that directs them from point A to point B and shows them their role in reaching the company’s goals.
This roadmap should advise your teams of the following:
- What role they will be fulfilling or how their daily processes will change
- The new skills they will need to develop and who will support them
- How they will be trained and prepared for these new skills
- What means of communication will be used to discuss expectations and updates
- How team members can reach out to voice their questions and concerns
- How managers will measure success in implementing workplace changes
- How will the new processes fit into everyday operations
- What to do if employees encounter system errors
3. Stay Involved and Aware
After announcing the change and your plan, you can’t just expect that things will fall into place.
Throughout each step of the process, everyone on your team should be aware of how the implementation is going and what the expectations are. It’s important that team leaders know what to expect of employees, and that employees know what is expected of them.
Team leaders should regularly report to managers, and managers to executives. This way leaders and management can assess what is currently happening and offer advice and support regarding how to adjust to challenges along the way.
This will be most helpful in the area of training. If employees aren’t trained well, they won’t have the confidence to use the new technology. Checking in with employees about their understanding of the new technologies and processes as well as their role in the change prevents employees from being overwhelmed or left behind and allows them to understand the role they play in the future of the company.
4. Effective Training
When your company introduces new systems and processes, it isn’t only the technology that’s changing. Employees, company processes, and data changes too.
In addition to explaining the tasks and expectations that come with the implementation of new technologies, it’s essential to build training that includes all of these areas. The opportunity for training should be awarded across your enterprise and be based on each team’s functions and new tasks or practices that need to be refined.
5. Encourage Teamwork
While your company is comprised of a variety of different teams, you won’t see success unless all teams are working together like a well-oiled machine. Ideally, don’t have your teams working in a silo. Collaborative efforts and clear communication between teams will only strengthen your enterprise as a whole.
Especially while you work to implement and fine-tune a new ERP system, encourage members from different teams or departments to meet together and elaborate on what they are seeing, struggles they are having, and operations they need the technology to do. This will keep departments on the same page and give team members points of contact if they run into challenges before the next meeting.
6. Give Positive Feedback
It’s also important to celebrate even small milestones. Build excitement among your team. Let them know that management is aware of the burden of change and that you appreciate the efforts of every single person on staff.
Change Doesn’t Have to Mean Challenge
Undertaking a large change that impacts the entire company requires a good deal of work. That load becomes a lot lighter if you have everyone on board for the change. Adopting a strong change management strategy will share your vision with employees and help to prepare them for the future.
Need help developing a change management strategy or with your ERP implementation? The experts at Godlan take pride in learning about your organization and its goals and being a part of making those dreams a reality. Contact us today by calling 586.464.4400 or by visiting www.Godlan.com.
