There is no doubt that information systems, electronic inventory and other forms of technology are invaluable for decreasing costs, increasing consistency and improving organizational functioning. However, there are a number of common challenges that often come attached. Costly set up time, expensive training, adapting the current environment, unexpected breakdowns to name a few. Mismatched systems can all lead to delays, frustrations and financial burdens that leave organizations frustrated, disappointed and sometimes questioning decisions.

While the implementation of technology is generally well planned including plenty of time to train individuals on its use, most planning efforts fail to consider the impact on performance execution and organizational culture during implementation. This is where breakdowns in Accountability result in missed deadlines, exceeding budgets, and sometimes failed efforts. There are four key steps for improving the result of implementing new technology.

Step 1: New Mindset to Optimize Results from New Technology
While the implementation of new technology appears to be the solution for an organizational problem, in reality, it is only half of the solution. The other half of the solution involves how people will perform differently to support the goals of the change. Otherwise, you have people transferring their poor attitudes, behaviors and performance standards to the new technology. A new mindset is created by answering the following questions:

1. How do people need to change or expand their roles and responsibilities to achieve the results desired by new technology?

2. How do people’s relationships need to change regarding who and what they are communicating to achieve the results desired by new technology

3. What are the specific expectations for each individual to improve his or her quality, efficiency, accuracy or customer service based on the new technology?

Rarely can a technology be inserted in place of a manual process without a major shift in thinking.

Step 3: Proactive Recovery to Ensure Successful Implementation of Technology

This step involves as many obstacles, constraints or unpredictable aspects of the change and developing recovery plans for mobilizing resources to resolve those issues. This may involve consulting others that have used the technology, as well as having internal experts project possible barriers. This is a great time to involve the negativists that are resisting the change. This information is used to prepare for recovery and quick problem-solving, and not for abandoning the project. Successful implementations depend on continued progressive movement toward the desired outcomes. Too often when breakdown occurs, people spend more time finding someone to blame rather than solving the issue at hand.

Step 4: Effective Communication Throughout the Change

When the change is announced, it is important to discuss the context for change. This includes both the external and internal drivers for change. It involves discussing the positive and negative aspects of the change including possible challenges. Too often, managers try to “sell the change” which is the worst thing you can do. Selling the change destroys credibility and raises the question, “What aren’t you telling me about that change, that will result in failure and that I will end up being accountable to fix?” The second aspect of communication is to provide people regular updates on the progress of the change. This gives people a sense that the change is real and moving forward.

Step 5: Celebrating Success

Finally, the last step is to recognize the results of the change. This step lets people know that their time and effort to implement the change produced a positive result even though there were breakdowns. The organization demonstrates commitment to the change and appreciation for people’s contribution at the same time.

Answer the questions and respond to the activities to begin integrating these steps into your process for implementing new technology.

•  Which of these five steps for implementing new technology do you find get left out the most in your organization?

•  Identify the breakdowns and costs related to leaving out any of these steps when you have implemented new technology in the past.

•  What are your plans for integrating these steps into your process for implementing new technology?

Impaq
2321 Nichols Canyon Road
Los Angeles, California
800 332 2251
contactus@impaqcorp.com