In any organization, one of the most challenging processes is when a new software system is being installed. Thus, it is important that the management of change software should be in place in order to achieve success in the implementation.
Mitigate Resistance Through Management of Change Software
It is daunting to overcome organizational politics and resistance whenever the organization is implementing new software systems like this work order software but which is absolutely necessary to help increase company efficiency. One of the first things that a manager should do is to work hard at agreeing on the initiative and deciding as to what would be the best for the organization as a whole which is not only for their particular area of expertise.
Resistance is always a constant battle both in the individual and the organizational level because this impairs the concerted efforts that help in performance improvement. Thus, management and the project leadership team must be able to find ways in order to work with this resistance, be able to overcome it, and then successfully carry out the new vision of the company. This is where the management of change software comes into play.
Deploying the management of change software is important to any successful software implementation because this will prepare the users for the introduction of the new system.
Strategies to Avoid Unsuccessful Implementations
- The project should have top management support
The support from the top management is the foundation of any success in organizational changes that revolve around the leadership team including collaboration, agreement, and commitment to the change process.
The support from the top management should form part in each step of the implementation and in all levels of the organization.
- The role of the project team
When it comes to the implementation of new technologies, teamwork is truly essential. Thus, it is necessary is to support change management processes. By being able to have cross-functional teams who are dedicated to managing the institution of change is strongly preferred when it comes to effective software implementation.
It is the role of the project team to make sure that the implementation is not lost of forgotten about.
- The systematic planning
Getting the presence of a clear plan for change is a great method in order to boost software implementation projects. A project vision is going to specify what the implementation project means to achieve including the positive impacts that it can give to the organization and the workforce.
After establishing a clear vision, the leadership team must be able to analyze their organization and evaluate their readiness for change by being able to analyze the culture and behavior of the manpower including the organization as a whole.
- The Board Participation
The company should want to participate within the whole life cycle of implementation so that the board will be in the loop and they will also be responsive.
If you want to make sure that all of your workforces are going to adapt to a specific change, it is essential that they must feel the demand for such change. It is important that each person should be able to understand the problems that you are addressing.
So, if the management can figure out how specific end users are going to benefit from the new system and communicate that to other users because they can help in strengthening the project significantly.
- Create effective communication channels
There should be meaningful and effective communication at all levels of the organization before and during any software implementation. The essence is because extensive communication yields stronger teamwork, effective planning, and end-user involvement.
Sufficient communication for the new implementation project is going to help foster an understanding of the vision of the project and then overcome resistance to the project. By having a good communication channel, this will also heighten the overall awareness of the system. It is only through extensive communication among and in between the management and the staff can the implementation of the project becomes successful. Thus, the more extensively end users are able to understand the project, the more willing and able they are going to be to use the new system.
- Allow feedback system
The feedback management that is being received from the staff is essential in identifying the source of user resistance to a project. Also, they must be able to gather feedback from their staff members and be able to identify the consensus as to the new system.
The people who are in charge of the enforcement of the new system will have to overcome the change obstacles by considering all of the end-user complaints. This feedbacks could be legitimate as it may indicate that the system has a glitch. Thus, it is important that system issues must be addressed immediately in order to avoid excessive pushback from the staff.
- Provide for effective training and knowledge transfer
Training is an important component for the success of software implementation. All of the employees in the organization should be able to know how the new system works and how they will personally relate to the new process. Training for your employees should be readily and broadly available in order to encourage the acceptance to the new system and use throughout the organization. Thus, training is truly an essential tool to contribute to overcoming employee resistance.
It is also important to note that training should be offered before, during and after the implementation of the new system in order to make sure the operational end-user knowledge. Thus, management must really take training seriously in order to avoid the adoption of a system that is going to be ineffective. And there is nothing worse than having an unused software program after a company has been able to spend a huge amount of time and capital in investing in such a project.
- Provide Incentives
When incentives are given to employees, this can also help in the development of strong feelings towards the acceptance and adoption of a new system. Offering incentives should not only be for the purpose of overcome resistance but it should also be able to retain key implementation staff as well.
- Provide for post-implementation activities
There should be follow-up implementation activities like mentoring by the super-users, training, help-desk support, end-user documentation, newsletters about the features and functions. Online help is also extremely beneficial. Thus, there must be ongoing post-implementation change management activities in order to help foster and maintain competent end-users.
