Now widely adopted across all sectors of the business world, digital technology offers significant benefits to companies. The importance of change management in the digitization of processes—which for a long time focused on tools—has for several years now centered on quality of life at work.
However, despite the need for this change, many companies have not yet taken the plunge. The reasons for this hesitation are varied: lack of time, lack of skills, but also strong resistance to change.
Inevitability? No, and thankfully so. Today, we’re offering a three-point development strategy to help you streamline change management within your organization: dialogue, method, and trust.
People: The Cornerstone of Process Digitalization
“Change,” in the broadest sense, is the main driver of progress and is therefore essential in certain situations. But the concept of change implies two things: first, a step into the unknown and on the other hand, a major change in habits.
Thus, for a very long time, the desire for change has always clashed with its “opposite,” resistance to change. Today, this phenomenon is well understood, and numerous statistics shed light on it.
For example, about 53% of people affected by a change adopt a “passive” stance, while 24% decide to resist out of “principle” (fear, refusal to change habits…).
Even more interestingly, approximately 12% of respondents say reject the proposals by offering substantive arguments, and only 11% position themselves as active supporters (1).
It is also worth noting that when change affects work organization or processes, 26% of the employees surveyed view it negatively (2).
Given these less-than-impressive results, how should we respond? Ignore or deny the need for change for fear of upsetting people or disrupting the company’s smooth operation?
Not at all! Many companies (sometimes large ones) have chosen this path in the past, and many have paid the price. Kodak is an excellent example of these companies that were set in their ways and overly confident in their foundations : it took only a few years for this giant with feet of clay to collapse.
In reality, one of the keys to this issue lies in dialogue. Sociology experts are unequivocal: resistance to change tends to grow when those affected feel as though they are being forced to accept it.
To mitigate the impact of this phenomenon, it is therefore crucial for management to engage in dialogue with their employees.
Current context, challenges faced, identified solutions, expected benefits… By clearly explaining the stakes involved in the change, the number of people opposed to it tends to drop dramatically.
However, those who remain opposed may well have solid arguments, which should then be listened to carefully: reservations and negative criticism can certainly be constructiveand have the potential to enrich the initial proposal, making it more relevant.
A proven methodology for successful process digitization
At INAGUA, we support many companies in their process digitization. Our approach is designed to be practical, because the importance of change management is far from being a mere administrative formality. Furthermore, Theoretical explanations are rarely sufficient to ensure the project's success.
As a result, we never leave our customers to fend for themselves when using our DAMAaaS tool, and we advocate a collaborative approach by involving the relevant stakeholders as much as possible.
Our method is based on two pillars: Design Thinking and the iterative (SCRUM), which has proven its worth over the years on numerous projects.
The process is divided into three main phases:
Step 1: To start things off, we usually spend a day introducing the tool, explaining its various features, and gathering questions, needs, and any potential roadblocks…
Step 2: Our consultants work closely with client teams to collaboratively develop the ideal solution to address the issues identified earlier.
Step 3: A series of tests is conducted before the solution is deployed, followed by any necessary adjustments and fixes. Sometimes, a minor tweak is all it takes to make a big difference and alleviate some initial concerns.
The Importance of Change Management Based on Mutual Trust
The method described in the previous section is carried out over a relatively short period of time, as it is rarely necessary to work for more than two weeks.
But if the procedures manage to stay on schedule despite such tight deadlines, it is also thanks to the trust of our employees.
We do not work based on functional specifications, but rather on the needs expressed by the people from the client company involved in the project. From one department to another, requests are often very different, and the role of consultants in such cases is also to provide guidance. Explanations, putting things into context, reassurance… Since the ultimate goal is for the tool to meet all needs, each party must be certain that their requests are being taken into account.
But this relationship of trust doesn’t end once the solution is implemented—quite the contrary! The ongoing support provided is also very important, as it serves as a kind of “insurance” for customers, ensuring they are not left to fend for themselves in the event of a question or a malfunction.
Drawing on our years of experience, we now consider mutual trust to be one of the key factors in reducing resistance to change. What do you think?
(1) – IFOP survey published in the newspaper La Tribune on June 21, 2010
(2) – Harvard Business Review
