Hiring Great Technical Communicators

Overcoming Resistance to Change

Emma C. HamerE. Hamer Associates Ltd.Career and Performance Consultants

When Technology and People meet Some hard facts

Some inconvenient truths

Symptoms, diagnosis, and

treatment

To Overcome Your Opponent, You Must First Understand Him Sun Tzu The Art of War

The number one reason:resistance to change According to LISAs 2006 Global Business Practices Survey:Staff resistance to change is a factor that complicates roughly half of all technology implementation projects and severely threatens about one in ten

Its (just) a technology implementationIts (just) business as usualIts (just) an infrastructure projectIts (just) a piece of software

If we explain the business rationale, people will understandIf we tell them what will change, people will adjustIf we give them application training, people will use the system

people will naturally fall in line (and do as theyre told)

behavior is more complex than that

everyone has different drivers

The technology is *just* the tool the desired outcome is to do something differently = transform (part of) the business

Business Transformation is a process - not a product

(With apologies to any vegetarian and vegan participants)

Technology is never the promised silver bullet not all business problems are solvable by automation

No sophisticated technology system can be used off the shelf there will always be a need for customization

Inefficient Processes + New Technology = Failure

Upgrading or automating a dysfunctional process: same problems, just faster and harder to fix

Get your key people involved and

fix whats broken first!

1. Secure C-level sponsorship

2. Bring in independent experts

3. Talk with your people, not just at them

Change may be psychologically painful, but uncertainty about the end-state is more painful

Fear of loss is a powerful motivator

Loss of what?

No more Mr. Big Shot?

I have no idea what Im doing anymore

No more working from home?

No longer part of the winning team?

I used to know where we were headed

Get ready to pound the pavement again?

Dysfunctional behavior; territorialismPassive resistance; apathyCling to inefficient work methodsJealously guard expertise; no sharingPoliticized environment

Which behaviours link to which fears?

What are the risks? to the team? to the project? to the individual?

What if the fear is justified?

One-on-one conversation

Acknowledge, discuss, resolve

Focus on CAUSE of behaviour

Do NOT like surprises

Get everyone together and communicate

Already feel overwhelmed with special projects dont need another headacheFeel uncomfortable with difficult conversations

Talk about the problem, not the solutionFocus on positive outcomes and benefitsTap into collective memories Provide forum for sharing experiencesInvolve users in defining new rolesUse peer-mentoring

Fact: most managers spend 80% of their time with the 20% that are poor performersStop it! Face time one-on-one with the boss should be a reward; an earned privilege, and recognition for a job well-done

Use mentor as a sounding board

Ask for help dealing with internal politics

Bottom-up solutions enhance ownership Managing by results, not by process gets a lot more work finished

Humans are actually very adaptive

and, as always, evolve to suit new worlds

Its all about trust in the system and in each otherModel desired behavior do as I do and most will followa new day

Contact: echamer@hamer-associates.caPhone: +1 604 317 2234

****Wrong system chosenNon-adoption by usersGovernance models didnt changeNo authoring and review policy in placeNo-one took ownership of the contentIT rolled it out and washed its hands

*IT knows the magic elixir

More featuresBased on cool factorI like the vendorWe have the last version****Old system + new upgrade = Failure******************Its not change they fear, its having to do it all by themselves

They also believe theyre the only ones having a hard time emotionally

Care about their co-workers

Want to do the best job they can

Need occasional reassurances

**********