Is the staff experience really important for managing successful digital change?

Is the staff experience really important for managing successful digital change?

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If you have spent any time around horses you will know that the old adage, ‘you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink’, is in fact true.

Same goes for your staff. You can tell them as many times as you want that things are going to change, but attitude is everything, and in reality nothing is going to change unless they do things differently. So your staff not only need to understand what’s changing, they need to accept it, and hopefully, if you are lucky, they may even be a bit excited about the changes that are coming.

In a technology driven change process, organisations frequently focus on getting the technology design and build right, and think that all they need to do is train staff to use the new system. Unfortunately, this approach often underestimates the impact of new technology on staff and their roles.

New technology often means new ways of doing things, changes to user interfaces and increased automation. All of these factors impact on staff, their role and how they do their work. As a result, it is important to not just manage the change from a technology perspective but also from a staff experience perspective.

So what is the basic staff experience in a digital change process? The staff experience is made up of 3 key elements:

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Engagement – staff need to be aware of the changes to occur, understand how the changes will impact their role and how they work, and feel engaged in the change process.

Preparation – staff need to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to use the new systems and or processes.

Support – staff need to be support through the change phase with effective communications, technical support and leadership from their manager and executive team.

Once you understand the elements of the staff experience you also need to appreciate that the experience will vary between individuals. Some people are more open to change and will therefore engage more easily with the process. Others who are less comfortable in a changing environment may be less willing to engage or experience more anxiety through the process. Understanding these differences and planning for them enables you to better tailor the staff experience to each individual’s needs.

It is also important to remember that culture is influenced by the words, actions and behaviors of those at the top of the organization. But it cannot be shaped in a formal, linear and controlled way. It is just as much shaped by the gossip, the anecdotes, the jokes that people share–and by a variety of people who are influential by virtue of their relationships with others rather than their formal position in the hierarchy. So it is also important to understand who the cultural leaders are across your organisation and enlist their help to understand and support a positive staff experience through the change process.

Proactively managing the staff experience through a change process will not only deliver a better change outcome but will also enhance your organisational culture and its resilience in the long term.

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Michael Bretton