This post will tell you exactly how to get buy-in when embarking on a digital change project.
There’s a number of people challenges you will encounter when trying to improve a process or system.
These include employee uncertainty, a rebellion against change and even a challenge training new ways of doing things. Much of the time, a challenge to the project outcomes are coming from the people who ‘do’ the job.
So, in this post I;m giving you 5 ways for
1. Inclusion
The number one method for getting everyone involved, is by including them from the very start and keeping them engaged throughout the project. To find out who the project outcome will impact, do a stakeholder analysis.
You don’t want to be getting to the end of the project and realising that someone who will be using the system, wasn’t included in the project stages – requirements, design, build, test,
It’s happened to me before:
I worked really hard to implement a whole new process and system which saved nearly 100 hours of manual labour.
However, during the project, one of the team members where the process was being implemented, was away on holiday.
On her return, I presented the new process and there was quite a lot of backlash.
I did manage to win her round in the end but, to me, it was living proof that had she been involved from the start, there would have been a much higher level of buy-in.
2. Clarity
Don’t confuse people to make it look like you know what you’re talking about.
Being clear with your stakeholders will make them much more likely to trust you and your work. Particularly when you come to implementing new ways of working.
That means, talk their language, empathise with them and reiterate things that they’ve told you. Do it with showing them an understanding of their problems and a genuine desire to help them improve their working lives.
3. Job Security
Automation and digital improvement can have a profound effect on the feeling of job security. Making sure the employees feel secure is a vital part of delivering a successful project.
Think about ways in which you can ensure them that their role and responsibilities will be redirected as opposed to being made obsolete once the change project has been delivered
4. Listening
Faciliating workshops that are designed to ‘listen’ to employees can be a huge help towards gaining their buy-in.
The saying often goes “make them think it’s their idea’. So, by listening to what stakeholders say and reiterating the ideas and issues back to them in their language, will make them think they are the ones who have designed teh solution,
There’s no better way of getting buy-in than having the people who need to ‘do’ the new process, think they designed the solution. Whether it’s right or wrong, people are generally much more passionate about something they have done than something anyone else has done.
A Voice of the Employee workshop will give you a real boost towards delivering this type of session