Addressing Reluctant Employees

When employees are still using outdated accounting and other business process software – and are resisting new software – they are causing a lack of transparency and collaboration throughout departments that can impact revenue and customer relations.

The resistance to change may even extend beyond your entry level/ middle level employees. It could also be upper management and key stakeholders resisting change. Even if they know that using new software could improve business, it’s often difficult for people to let go of the known for the unknown.

Microsoft Excel, for example, is often used company-wide without anyone fully realizing its limitations. But Excel, running separately on PCs without a company-wide network, is limiting the amount and type of information being shared by team members.

New software, especially enterprise resource planning systems, offers real-time information updating and full access to data from every department. New software like this will improve the accuracy of information and ensure that it is always up to date.

So while it’s true that getting new software and changing business practices means learning new things and adjusting to new roles for employees, it’s imperative to get their support and make a change.

How?

One way is to have upper management fully accept the decision. If they embrace the new technology, their acceptance and willingness to learn should trickle down to those that they lead/manage/influence.

Another way is to avoid measuring the completion of their new assignments against the current rate of productivity. New software has a learning curve, and mistakes are inevitable – failing to leave room for error places an unfair amount of pressure on your employees.

To make that possible, you should offer training, training, training, and more training. Your employees should feel confident about their ability to use the new software before they must officially use it to do their daily jobs.

Computers and software systems are only as good as the people who use them, so put your employees first.

Are you considering implementing new software but have reluctant employees? Look no further than Mantralogix – we know how important it is to put employees first, and we specialize in doing so. Contact us to see how we can help you.