Change is hard. On a personal level it can be a huge achievement to convince yourself that starting a new healthy habit is better than remaining in a rut with a bad one. Multiply that by 100 times or more and there you have change at a business level, the struggle of convincing not just yourself but hundreds of employees that a new way of working is the best course of action. There’s no perfect way to communicate change but a great way to start is by being clear and transparent.
Share Your Goal & Communicate Your Plans
Start at the beginning and tell your story, tell your employees where you see the business and where you want it to go, what you dream it could be. A paperless organisation where your employees can work productively, flexibly, safely and help provide a service that they are proud of. Producing a corporate social responsibility that aids global footprint reduction while enticing new customers. Telling them your aspiration lets them in, giving them an insight into the possibilities. Once they know this you can start telling them how you would like to make this achievable… by introducing a new asset management software solution to change and improve the way everyone works.
Find Your Asset Management Software Solution Provider
With the challenging part of announcing the change out of the way, now comes the opportunity to find the best matched provider to help implement an asset management software solution within your business that meets all of your needs. Research is key in this section and so is a team that can not only help you make the decision but also keep the trend of transparent communication going. A team effort allows you to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions from employees up to management and to feed it back down through the pipeline in the same way, keeping everyone involved. We’ve got a great blog that helps you with your selection efforts so take a look later. Our suggestion at this point in your transition would be software and hardware demonstrations to get a more in-depth feel of the solution and equipment you would like your business to handle; any great provider will be able to offer you their expertise during this period.
Plot Your Timeline
Your chosen solution provider is now in hand and they should provide you with a standard timeline that it takes to implement the asset management software. This may change slightly with every business being unique. At this point you and your team will be able to note key factors of the implementation and add any critical points on your side, whether it is delaying it for a few weeks to match up with business dates or company slow downs. This presents another opportunity to share information with your business about the project status and how it will affect them as it continues. This might be when you plan to launch the new system and when the old one will be discontinued, what the results might look like. Most importantly your employees will have the opportunity to raise questions and concerns they may have about the project and get answers for information you may not currently have that needs to come from your provider.
Nominate Your Champions
Communicating organisational change and nurturing it within your employees can be a tough ask as some may see the status quo as perfectly fine. If it’s not broke don’t fix it right? Without change there can be no growth so an encouraging way to include those who may be slightly fearful and not ready to communicate is to get them actively involved with training and the introduction of the new asset management system. This is the stage where you need to nominate your champions. Champions are employees from all levels that will help you get everyone trained in the asset management software solution once it is released, cascading the knowledge learned, which is a vital part of nurturing the change, continuing the culture of communication between management and staff. Your champions will get trained by the service provider and be the link you need. They can test the system during setup and flag any issues that they may come across in day to day use. This is where you will see the results you’re looking for and the validation that your new way of working is beneficial.
Keep the Buzz Going
Once your chosen solution is implemented and you’re truly on your way don’t let the communication with your employees and asset management provider stop there. Utilise the helpdesk and software support options that are part of your package, keep getting feedback from your employees so you can see how things develop and how employee productivity and experience has increased.
Change is hard but it’s possible with open communication, keeping everyone updated and with the right service provider. The Pro-Cloud asset management software solution can help you implement digital organisational change with a dedicated team who can bring your vision of a paperless company with happy and productive employees to life. Communicating consistently, frequently and through multiple channels the Pro-Cloud team will guide you through the journey and create a life-long partnership.
For more information about our asset management software solution Pro-Cloud and the communication channels we use throughout implementation and within the software itself contact our Business Development Director, Emma Strain:
T: 0800 652 0488 E: enquiries@csseurope.co.uk