Overcoming Resistance to the New System
Involve the user community - Prior to and During Development
Experience with a previous product implementation told us that if we were to
develop and implement an application that the users were going to have to use, there
would be widespread dissent. Nothing about it would be satisfactory and the tool
wouldn’t get very good reviews up the corporate chain. With that knowledge, and
the encouragement of management, a steering committee was formed. The purpose
of this committee was to bring the end users’ ideas and experience to the
development table.
A steering committee should be a diverse group of users who bring a full spectrum
of methods and business rules to the development team. Each member needs to
have his own manager’s support to be 100% dedicated to the outcome of the
project. They also need to have all users interests in mind and no personal agendas.
Meet with them often during the development process. When modules of the
product are conceptualized, show them. Find out their likes and dislikes. Make
sure they know how the system works.
Secure the Project Champion
Have a Project Champion – an executive who is 100% committed to the success of
the project. This person should have the authority and willingness to promote,
support, and enforce the use of the product. The Project Champion, by having
ownership in the project, should provide support to the project team both up and
down the corporate chain. This person should also be willing to dedicate the time
and effort to learn about the product and have the knowledge to answer basic
questions about it. The Project Team must be able to dedicate the time to keep
him/her informed.
Test the product thoroughly
Prior to release, make sure the product performs. As each member of the
development team brings different skills into the team, each may be responsible for
a module or process within the product. Make sure each team member does his or
her part to insure the application works as advertised. If it doesn’t, there will be a
high price later. If their time permits, this is also a good place to bring in the
Steering Committee and let them perform some of the testing. They will be finding
out what is going on in the background and preparing for their future role as a
Super User.
Answer the "Why?" Question Early and Often
In each IT project, this question looms very large. ”Why are we doing this
anyway?” It may be consolidation of work functions, building a clearinghouse for
corporate data, or a simple tool to reduce time and effort. Every time, this question
must be answered to the end users. Tell the truth. If consolidation of work
functions means eliminating jobs, tell them. If the data was poor before and the new
process will improve the data quality, tell them. If the new process is going to
impact other processes they have grown to love, tell them. Prepare them for each
new thing early and often. It will make it easier on everyone if the change is
digested slowly.
Train the Users
Training is a major issue and has many components. These components include the
Trainer, training environment, documentation, class structure, and scheduling. The
Trainer must have a thorough knowledge of the product and all of its quirks.
He/she must also be a person with excellent “people” skills and a soothing
personality. Much of the trainer’s time will be spent advocating the product so he
or she must also possess a persuasive and convincing demeanor.
In order to have a successful training program, the trainees must be comfortable.
The Training Environment must be convenient and familiar. Equipment used in
the class should be similar to that used in production. The data and examples
demonstrated in the classroom should reflect the nature of the work of the end user.
If possible, a mirrored training system should be used where the data and
application are identical to that in production. The trainees can use this
environment to practice without the fear of corrupting production data. Finally,
there are the personal issues. Is parking adequate, are restrooms available, is it
handicapped accessible, what about snacks and meals? Make sure these issues have
been addressed before scheduling the first class.
Documentation used in training should be professionally done. It should be written
with the most elementary user in mind. The use of familiar data and illustrations,
copied directly from the production system, provides a comfortable setting for
learning a new way to perform old tasks. Care should be taken to include everyday
work illustrations and exercises the users can relate to their specific work duties.
Examples that can be used as “cookie cutter” jobs will give the user a resource other
than the “Help Desk” when a problem arises. Insure that the training is relevant to
their work area and job requirements.
The class should be manageable. Depending on the application being taught and the
hardware resources, the size of the class is important. If more than seven or eight
trainees are in a class, an assistant will be beneficial to the Trainer. Have the
sessions structured so that certain milestones can be reached during each session.
Keep the sessions on track. Don’t schedule so tightly that unexpected problems
greatly impact the projected finish. If things go smoothly, the extra time can be
used for user practice or one-on-one attention. Try to keep trainee cross-discussions
short and to a minimum. If they persist, it tends to degrade the training session into
a gripe session and emphasis becomes avoidance rather than usage.
Scheduling the classes should be the Trainers responsibility. Scheduling the
participants in each class should be the responsibility of the User Community. The
front line management should get a master copy of the class availability and fill in
the slots with their personnel. In this manner, daily workload can be balanced and
the managers have a personal stake in the training process. When establishing the
master schedule, the trainer should make sure that adequate time is allowed for
formal training as well as to accommodate the unexpected glitches, such as software,
hardware or database problems. Time should also be allotted for relevant questions
from the trainees, both complex and simple.
Involve the user community - During implementation
As in the development phase, getting the end users input during the implementation
phase is critical to the success of the project. By now, they have had training and
some exposure to the product and have formed opinions on things they like or
dislike. When a change is made, let them test the workflow and find out where it
wrinkles and causes headaches. Get the Steering Committee together and listen to
their comments. These are people who have looked at the product from a different
perspective than that of the Project Team. Find out where difficulties lie and where
they have found shortcuts. This information can be used to make enhancements to
the product, future user training or improve the quality of the user documentation.
By accepting and using their input, within reason, the end users’ sense of ownership
will increase. Since these are people who are willing to share their experiences with
the product, develop them into the Super Users. When having difficulty, many
people will seek help from their peers before calling the product support team.
With the Super Users in the work place, help is close by.
End User Support
It is impossible to teach every scenario in a training class. There are going to be
situations where the user gets confused or is unsure of what the next step needs to
be. There are going to be undiscovered “bugs” in the software. There will be
unique situations that require more expertise. There are going to be users who are
just confused. When these situations arise, the resources need to be in place to help
the user get over the obstacle. End User Support comes in several different formats.
The use of a “Help Desk” can be a way to track trouble calls. These can be sorted
and recurring problems can be categorized and solved on a large scale rather than
on an individual call basis. Make the Project Team accessible to the user
community. This builds good will between the user community and the project.
Use the Super Users developed by involving the user community in steering
committees or user groups.
Involve the user community during production
Encourage the development of a Users Group within the user community. These
are trusted coworkers who will be in the same boat with them when the change is
evoked. Arrange to have the project team be an invited participant in their
discussions. Encourage regular meetings and agendas that are driven by the users,
not the Project Team. This committee needs to be focused on the improvement of
the product and data and operate professionally and positively. As a participant,
the Project Team needs to accept ideas for enhancement as well as criticisms and
play a support role within the committee. Encourage communications within the
Users Group. Suggest ways to share information about shortcuts, user tips, and
problems encountered. Offer support services such as newsletters or bulletin
boards to get information circulated.
Conclusion
Applying these principles will not stop resistance but maybe it will soften it to a
manageable state. The corporate world is no longer a family affair but can be a
dog-eat-dog atmosphere. In this time of corporate uncertainty, the focus is on the
bottom line and our associates are uneasy if not afraid of what the future might
hold. It is my feeling that as long as we practice patience, understanding,
compassion, and help each other through the learning curve, basically just care for
one another, the bottom line will take care of itself.
